“Wha—what is it?” he exclaimed.
“Shrimp,” was Dave’s matter-of-fact reply. “Something is after them. The squid shoots out ink to make himself invisible, but in this darkness that would do no good. These shrimp shoot out little balls of fire. Look!” Suddenly Dave switched on a powerful electric light, and the little world about them was transformed.
Seeming to swim in air, a score of tiny, crab-like creatures moved rapidly across the spot of light. Viewed through the six-inch-thick window of fused quartz, they seemed fantastic indeed.
For a few seconds the space before them was a dark and empty void. Then again, it filled with darting creatures. Dave switched off the light, and once again the shrimp disappeared. As soon as the more powerful light from their strange, sub-sea visitor had been turned on, they had appeared as dark, darting creatures.
“What was following them?” Johnny asked.
“Who knows?” There was a suggestion of deep mystery in his companion’s tone. “That’s the thrill and charm that comes from exploring the sea’s depths! Anything may put in an appearance. Creatures such as the world never has dreamed of, may pass before our eyes!”
“How strange! How sort of—”
Johnny broke off to stare, then to exclaim—“There—there’s something huge!”
“Quick! The camera!” Dave’s voice trembled. “No—it’s too late!”
Moving with surprising swiftness, some great, dark bulk passed through the outer edge of their narrow beam of light.