In a moment more the signal was given to rise, and slowly the diving bell went up to the surface of the ocean, dragging the bodies of the two deep-sea monsters with it.
"A glorious find!" cried Captain Broadbeam, when the two monsters were hoisted on board of the Swallow.
"Yes, but we don't want to make another such find under the same circumstances," answered Amos Fearless. And then he related the particulars of the adventure on the bottom of the ocean.
There were two scientists on board of the ship and they went to work at once to prepare the bodies of the two fish which had been caught.
"That sword spear can be fastened on again," said one of the learned gentlemen. "And then the specimen will be practically perfect."
"Folks at home ought to see them alive," said Dave. "I never saw such a horrible sight in my life!"
"These fish could not live in ordinary water," was the answer. "See, the breathing apparatus on each is already bursting. They can only live at a depth of half a mile or more. If one tried to reach the surface by swimming upward, it would only be committing suicide."
"I don't quite understand the reason for that, sir."
"It is simple, my lad. You know the air around us presses us on every inch of our bodies, and we are built to resist that pressure. An ordinary fish is built to resist the pressure of ordinary water. Such a fish as the Sea Devil is built to resist the pressure of hundreds of pounds to the square inch, and consequently when it is brought up, the pressure inside is too great for the pressure outside, and that destroys the breathing power of the marine animal," concluded the learned man.
By evening the Swallow was on her way westward once more and the scientific men had the specimens almost ready to be placed in huge tanks of alcohol.