Avon Fantasy Reader No. 9 — page 109: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

_ the Third, as we pulled off. “Go slow. There'll be no wind yet awhile. See if fe you.can fix up what made those noises, while you’re looking round.” We pulled right across about thirty fathoms of clear water, and in a minute we were between two great arches of rock. It was then I realized that the reduplicating of our oar-roll was the echo from these on each side of us. Even Es in the sunlight, it was queer to hear again that same strange cathedral echoey sound that we had heard in the dark. We passed under the huge arches, all hung with deep-sea slime. And pres- ently we were heading straight for a gap, where two low reefs swept in to the apex of a huge horseshoe. We pulled for about three minutes, and then the Third gave the word to vast pulling. “Take the boat-hook, Duprey,” he said, “and go forrard, and see we don’t hit anything.” | “1, “1, Sir,’ I said, and drew in my oar. “Give way again gently!” said the Third; and the boat moved forward for another thirty or forty yards. “We're right on to a reef, Sir,” I said, presently, as I stared down over the bows. I sounded with the bone ask. | There s about three feet of water, Sir,” I told him. “Vast pulling,” ordered the Third. “I reckon we are right over the rock, where we found that rum packet last night.” He leant over the side, and stared down. 7 “There’s a stone cannon on the rock, right under the bows of the boat,” I said. Immediately afterwards I shouted— “There’s the hair, Sir! There’s the hair! It’s on the reef. There’s two! There’s three! There’s one on the cannon!” “All right! All right, Duprey! Keep cool,” said the Third Mate. “I can see them. You’ve enough intelligence not to be superstitious now the whole thing’s explained. They’re some kind of big hairy sea-caterpillar. Prod one with your boat-hook.” I did so; a little ashamed of my sudden bewilderment. The thing whipped ~ round like a tiger, at the boat-hook. It lapped itself round and round the boat- hook, while the hind portions of it kept gripped to the rock, and I could no more pull the boat-hook from its grip, than fly; though I pulled till I sweated. “Take the point of your cutlass to it, Be: said the Third Mate. “Jab it through.” The bow-oar did so, and the brute loosed the boat-hook, and curled up round a chunk of rock, looking like a great ball of red hair. I drew the boat-hook up, and examined it. “Goodness!” I said. “That’s what killed the Old Man—one of those things! | Look at all those marks in the wood, where it’s gripped it with about a hun- & dred legs.” I passed the boat-hook aft to the Third Mate to look at. 7 “They're about as dangerous as they can be, Sir, I reckon,” I told him. 107 - COMIGDIOOKS EO