"It will be hard when we live in two different mediums—we in water and they in air."
"No matter; we will manage somehow after we have made contact with them. I'll start the engine and head for the surface."
Ronaro saw it first, a short cylinder-like object tumbling through the waters, directly toward their craft. Sensing danger instinctively, he cried out:
"Ekrado! Full speed ahead!"
He had barely gotten the thought out when it happened. A great explosion rocked the waters as the depth bomb went off. The lifeboat was smashed open, its alien water blending imperceptibly with the waters of the Atlantic.
The body of a squid appeared on the surface, its tentacles trailing aimlessly. The keen eyes of the men on the destroyer flickered past it, looking for the tell-tale oil slick of a broken submarine, in vain.
"Now just what the hell was that?" wondered the captain, scratching at his balding head.