ally, at a long lever that came down from above. There
was a clang, and a steel shutter dropped across the door.

* * * * *

Then came a sound of crashing thunder that split my eardrums with its
unbearable clamor. Then a mightier roar, as the mountain-high sea,
held back so long by the invisible ray, poured its countless millions
of tons of deep green water down into the man-made hole.

The impact was terrific. The yards-thick concrete shuddered and
strained. The tremendous pressure forced trickles of water into the
concrete shell: the roaring of the elements was indescribably
deafening.

I was in pitch darkness, expecting every moment to be crushed under
miles of ocean, when suddenly I was thrown from my feet. The floor was
heaving drunkenly beneath me. In a moment I was slammed breathlessly
against the shattered remnants of a huge vacuum tube. The jagged glass
slashed my arms and face. I grabbed with my hand to steady myself;
came in contact with in iron bar: clung like grim death.

For a huge concrete sphere was whirling, tossing, gyrating in a welter
of waters. The din was terrific. I rolled over and over, my arms
almost pulled out of their sockets. Then, like a ton of brick,
something collided with my head. There was a blinding flare in the
black void, and I knew no more.

* * * * *

Slowly I came out of a hideous nightmare.

My head ached frightfully, and my wounds smarted and stung. It was
dark, but a faint luminescence from somewhere enabled me to faintly
discern my surroundings. I was wedged between a steel cable-bracket
and the curving wall. Across the glass strewn floor a body lay,
sprawling queerly.

The room was swaying in long undulations, or was it my head? I lay
helpless, unable to move. A leg dangled uselessly. There was a bump,
the sound of scraping. I heard confused sounds penetrating the walls,
and the jar of steady impacts.

A half an hour passed so; maybe an hour: I had no means of telling. I
was weak from pain and loss of blood, and slightly delirious.

A faint whirring noise, a sudden intensity in the illumination caused
me to turn my head. The steel shutter was glowing red, then a shower
of white sparks broke through. The heavy steel was melting away into
incandescence. It crashed.

A group of men stumbled cautiously in. Now I was sure I was delirious.
For the men wore khaki uniforms! Americans! Then, in my fever, I
th