eaming, Chan. I'm here with you now. Steady. Take it easy.
Lord, this air--it's pretty foul, but it smells good to me, and it'll
save our units. How ever do they get it down here?" He asked the
question in hope of steadying Beddoes; giving his mind something
definite to occupy it.

A soft ripple sounded just then; looking round, Ken saw that his two
guards had slipped back beneath the water, leaving them alone.

Chan Beddoes' helmet was off, but the rest of his body was still clad in
a sea-suit. He half squatted on the rocks, his face raised and peering
at the first torpooner fearfully, as if afraid he would disappear as
suddenly as he had come. The beam of light came from a hand-flash held
in his hand. Scattered around were pieces of whitish meat--fish--and the
air was sickening with its smell. Ten feet above was the chamber's domed
ceiling, from which water kept dripping to the slimy rocks below.

"Air?" repeated Beddoes, stupidly. His mind was obviously affected.
"They fetch it from the surface with seal-hide bags, and release it.
They change it often. All over the caverns. They have to breathe, too. I
think they sleep in rooms like this." His voice rose with hysteria.
"Ken, they're seals and yet they're human! Human, down here! They have
arms and legs and they breathe air, like whales--and they've kept me
here for weeks, years--I don't know! They're devils! It's been so dark
and cold and--and--" He began to cough painfully.

"I know," Ken told him sympathetically. "Steady, man. How did you get
here? How did they catch you?"

* * * * *

Beddoes' eyes wandered. He sucked his lips.

"I can't remember," he said. "No. Yes! We left the _Narwhal_, both of
us, chasing those killers. They broke up and we went after different
ones, and I lost sight of you.

"I chased mine for a long time, and when I fired I only wounded him. He
went like hell, and I after him. After half an hour I was ready to give
up; I couldn't get close enough. God! Ready to return! To the submarine!
To life!"

His voice broke, and he paused until he was able to go on.

"Then I saw another shape ahead of the whale. A queer looking thing--one
of these human seals, though I didn't know it then. It seemed to be
fleeing from the killer, just as the killer was from me. There was
something big and dark ahead--a shadow, I thought, and kept my eyes on
the whale. And the next second my torpoon crashed and I was knocked
cold.