Once more the rocky ledge appeared to glide upward.
“Should be there soon,” Dave murmured. “Only hope the old boy is at home. He probably is. But we may miss him. It’s hard to get the right location.”
For Dave this brief expedition had one purpose—to capture the immense, sea-green octopus he had seen on a previous trip. As they continued to sink into the depths, his eyes remained fixed on that wall. Then of a sudden he exclaimed:
“There! There he is!”
Adjusting his microphone he said:
“Doris, we are here. Stop the cable drum.”
The ball ceased to sink. For a full moment Mildred saw only a dark cavern in the wall. Then suddenly she was startled to discover two large eyes staring out at her.
A moment more and a long arm came wavering toward them.
“Doris,” said Dave. His voice was steady. “Have them swing us out a bit. Ten feet may do.” Then, seconds later, he said: “There. That’s it.”
He began working at something close beside him. As Mildred watched the dark cavern she saw an arm reach out, then another. For a time these appeared to wave aimlessly. Then they took direction. To her astonishment she saw that a steel rod had swung outward toward the octopus from the bottom of the ball. At the end of this arm were steel clamps, and in the clamps she saw a dead lobster. The terrifying tentacles of the octopus, appearing fully twenty feet long, were moving toward the lobster.