"It's a deliberate scheme," he went on at a tangent. "The seal things
get a killer chasing them and lead it towards the traps they've got in
the sides of these hillocks. They dart in and the whale follows; then
bars drop over the entrance and they've got the killer trapped. They eat
them."

"But how does the blubber-man get out?" Ken asked.

Beddoes scowled. "Oh, they're clever enough! A passage runs off the
trap, big enough for the seal thing, but not for a killer.... Well, my
torp had gone into the trap and was stuck in one of the walls. When I
came to I reversed my engines full, but I couldn't get free. The impact
had ruined my radio.

"Through the after peep-holes I could make out the killer in the trap
with me, lashing around like mad. The bars over the entrance were
wide-spaced enough to let the torp squeeze through--but I couldn't get
loose.

"As I lay there, wondering what to do, I saw some more of those
blubber-men in the corridor raising the bars. They had long spears and
knives--and in ten minutes that killer was dead and the place black with
its blood.

"Well, I thought I saw my chance. I got into my sea-suit, thinking I
maybe could dig the torp free and escape before the damned fish caught
me. I climbed out the port and was hacking at the mud bank with my
crowbar when a rope slipped over my head and they had me."

Ken nodded. "They got me in the same way," he said.

"And gave you the once-over in the big room," Chan declared. "You'll get
plenty more of that."

For most of the man's narrative his tone and manner had been sane
enough, but now again he broke out wildly.

"And I've been here for days! Weeks! And nothing but fish to eat, and
whale meat, and pieces of ice brought for me to drink, and the darkness
and the fish smell! God, it's driven me crazy! I can't stand it any
longer, Ken, and I won't. I've got to get out right away or kill myself.
I've got to!"

Ken gripped his shoulders and shook. "Steady!" he said sharply. "Get
control over yourself!"

"Steady!" Beddoes gasped. "You don't know how long I've kept control!
Waiting and hoping, for a chance. One little chance to escape!"

"Why haven't you tried before? Don't they leave you alone here?"

Chanley Beddoes laughed harshly. "Just because you can't see them, you
think that? Hell, no! Put on your helmet. Look down--down under the
water--and you'll see a guard at the entrance. There's always one
there--with a spear. And every now and