Echoes of the outboard's came from the of palm

trees that the lagoon's as the across the

water. Deirdre was ashen-white. She her from the water, and

they on the places on Terry's leg where the sucker-disks

had it horribly. She shuddered. She still had the of

being by the monster. Back where Deirdre's had finally

liberated Terry, and continued, by

a final splash. Terry the on at top speed.

The again in the spot where the was deepest. It had

come from where there was no light; from an where blackness

was absolute. Now, having its victim, it returned to such

darkness as it secure.

Terry said curtly, as the small for the _Esperance_ and the

wharf, "That was up from the Luzon Deep into the lagoon

to replace the gadget-carrying fish we speared!"

Deirdre a little.

"Your l-leg.... You're bleeding...."

"I'm well in a of places," he said shortly.

"That's all."

"Could it be poisonous?"

"Poison," said Terry, "is a for the weak. This thing's not weak!

I'm all right. And I'm lucky!"

"I'd have jumped over with my spear, if ..."

"Idiot!" said Terry gently. "Never think of such a thing! Never! Never!"

"I wouldn't want to l-live--"

A new quality came into the from the shore. The

pilings of the were nearby, now. They the they

returned. The _Esperance_ up. Terry cut off the motor, the little

boat to contact, and Deirdre to the yacht's deck, and

then took the line and it. This was commonplace.

It was what would have been done on the return from any usual

ride.

"Go tell the others what we found," said Terry. "I'm going to see if

there's more than one of those around."

"Not ..."

"No," he her. "I'm only going to use the fish-driving horn."

Deirdre looked at him in distress.

"Be careful! Please!" She him suddenly, to the wharf,

and set off at a toward the shore. Terry after her.

They'd come to a personal the night on the

_Esperance_, but it still to him that Deirdre felt

about him the way he about her.

He to set up the fish-driving combination. One part of him

thought of Deirdre. The other the that might

follow if the were not bolides, and if the plastic and

the nasty-sounding were of an intelligence

which make their in space; which them

fall in the Luzon Deep in the China Sea and else.

He set up the with its of fish-driving hum. He put the

horn overboard, to spread its through all the

enclosed water of the lagoon. He the to

maximum output, to the of the noise, and turned

on the apparatus.

The look of the lagoon-water immediately. Fish leaped

crazily everywhere, from half-inch to lean-flanked predators a

yard and more in length. There was no square in all the shallows

where a didn't to the of and

needles all over its body. And these and deep.

Flying-fish crazily, and they were the most so

long as they flew, the water-sound did not them. But

many of them on the beach, and among the palms.

In the spot where and arms had to Terry

and Deirdre, the and was of a different kind. Something

there used to offer to a noise. The water was

whipped to froth. Twice Terry saw those rope-like arms above the

water and it.

This particular of tumult, however, appeared only in one spot. So

there was only one such in the lagoon.

When Davis and the others came from the station, Terry

turned off the horn. He was to the flesh

of his leg.

"There's a out there," he said when a

white-faced Davis information. "Heaven how big it is, but

it's something like a squid. It may be the that whales

feed on, in the depths."

Others from the station arrived, panting.

"Oh! I'm of being conservative!" added Terry fiercely. "I'm going

to say what all of us think! There's something at the

bottom of the sea, five miles down!"

He around him.

"Who doesn't that?" he demanded. "Well, the gadgets

don't report any more. We killed the fish that them. So that

whatever-it-is on the sea-bed has very sent up something

we wouldn't to with! We would be terrified.

But we'll _it_ what men are like!"

Dr. Morton said gently, "Perhaps we should the _Pelorus_. The

biologists on there...."

"No!" said Terry grimly. "I have a private with this monster. It

might have killed Deirdre! And Davis already to tell those

biologists something! Tell them about this, and they'll want proofs they

wouldn't look at anyhow. We'll this ourselves! It's too important

for them!"

"Much too important," said Deirdre firmly. "The aren't

shooting and there's something in the just like Terry

says. He's right that we can't our world with--beings

that come from the sky, if they only want our and don't

care about the land. He says that we wouldn't along with creatures

that know more than we do, and we would any space

ships to start on our world while we're not

advanced to stop them! If that's what they're doing, they have to

be from the very to the very last moment there's

one of them in our seas! Terry's right!"

"I haven't him say any of those things, lady," said Morton

drily, "but they're true. And I don't like the idea of a sea monster

being in the anyhow. Especially one that to kill people.

Still, it...."

"There are a of on the _Esperance_," said Terry sharply.

He looked at Davis. "If you're to the yacht, we can drive

the aground, or at least to water, with the submarine

horn. Then the should be able to it. Will you take the

risk?"

"Of you'll use the _Esperance_," said Davis. "Of course!"

"Then I'll want," said Terry, taking command, "somebody at

the engine and somebody at the wheel. I'll the horn. But, frankly,

if that one sucker-arm on the _Esperance_, it may be

good-bye. Any volunteers?"

In minutes the _Esperance_, her engine rumbling, away from the

dock. She had on all her original company Deirdre--firmly

left by her father and Terry--and in she Dr.

Morton and the most of the tracking

station staff. He was but resolute, and was about with an

imposing of cameras, for still and motion pictures. The

_Esperance's_ were and she into under bare

poles. Davis was hand for himself

and Morton.

The sun was nearly overhead. Terry asked Morton questions about the

lagoon. They a minor as the place to which the

creature must be driven, if possible. There it be by

the from the recorder. There it be destroyed.

"I wonder," said Morton wryly, "if I can present a as

part of the for my for the last two

bolides!"

The _Esperance_ moved toward the place where Terry had nearly

been killed.

The enterprise was risky. The _Esperance_ was sixty-five long. The

creature it was to attack was much larger, and if one of its had

crushed the bathyscaphe, it had and to make

a a much more antagonist. But the true of

the was its purpose.

It all started when a boat--_La Rubia_--went to sea and caught

remarkable of fish, of which four had had plastic

artefacts to them. Then Terry on noises

he in the sea which an of

millions of fish into a small area, from which they to depths

where they not survive. Now the killing of this was supposed

to a light on the of the nine which had into

a particular part of the ocean.

Terry had the so that it would transmit

a of he it, of all through

the lagoon. He it on.

The water the _Esperance_ and from the

maddened of fish of every possible size. He it off. He

aimed it where the the presence of something beneath

the surface. He it on again.

There were writhings. A long and

then under again. The continued. Terry his

aim. Crazy of smaller the line of the

sound-beam, as tracer-bullets the paths of from a machine

gun. He cut off the for an and it on again at full

volume, pointed where the must be. There was tumult

underwater. Huge arms above the surface. But once again the

creature fled.

The _Esperance_ slowly, now. The had to the

stinging sound-beam as if cowed. But it was a deep-sea creature. It did

not know how to move when into a water which hampered

its movements. It to itself between

the lagoon-bottom and the surface. And it was by the brightness

to which it had been driven. Left unattacked, for an instant, it

tried to away from the light, and again it a cloud of

mud from the bottom. Then it quiet, as if hiding.

Grimly, Terry it with the painful noise. The water frothed.

Monstrous appeared and disappeared, and once part of the

creature's itself emerged. It was into a minor inlet, and

there the water more and the did not want to go to

where its would be more confined.

It to into the part of the bay. It was as

if it of a there. When the noise-beam

struck again, the itself about crazily. A

terrible, it. Its arms here and there,

above water and below. It itself so that a part of its

torpedo-shaped through the surface. The was with

fury. It toward the _Esperance_, not now, but crawling

with all its eight in water too to it. Its effort

was desperate. It from the water, and splashed

everything again, all the while toward its enemy.

Terry saw Nick and Jug the of their bazookas. Davis ran

toward the with hand grenades. The came crawling, and

with every of the pain-noise more unendurable.

Suddenly the a and retreated. The was

like the noise Terry had up from the depths.

It aground. It to climb ashore, to do anything to escape

its tormentors. It and splashed....

Despairing, it to its tormentors. Its almost

entirely out of the water, now. It flabbily. It as its

arms strained. Its rose above the surface, by the light.

They were eyes. Squids alone, among the invertebrates, have eyes

like those of land beasts. They hatred. A appeared,

not a parrot's, but of plates. The beak

opened and closed with that were horrifying.

It at the yacht, which was reach. One of the tentacles

wrenched at something. It gave. The arm rose above the water.

A of through the air and close

beside the _Esperance_.

"Shoot!" said Terry, somehow sickened. "Dammit, shoot!"

Nick and Tony closely. The their peculiar,

inadequate sounds. The bazooka-shells, like small rocket-missiles, sped

through the distance. They struck. Their detonated,

again with loudness. They did not in a fashion to

tear the to bits. Instead, they sent a thousand

times more than into the squid's flesh.

It insanely. It cries. Its arms at its own

wounds, at the water, at the lagoon-bed as if it would and shatter

all the in its rage.

The again and again.

It was the from the which ended the battle. Then

the limp. Its to try to all

creation. But the long, thick, sucker-disked arms for

a long time. Even when they to themselves about, they

quivered and for a period more. And when it seemed

that all life had left the beast, and the men from the

satellite-tracking station on the body, it suddenly

jerked once more, in a last attempt to murder.

The squid's body, without the tentacles, was thirty-five long. The

largest squid, the Atlantic variety, had a no

longer than twenty feet. That familiar creature,

_Architeuthis princeps_, came to a maximum total length of fifty-two

feet. Counting the two arms of this one, it eighty. It

could not possibly swim in water less than six yards deep. It did not

belong in a lagoon, but it was there.

It was close to when the last of the great of flesh

were stilled. Terry was in no mood for eating, afterward. He the

evening altogether, and up and the of the dining

hall, at the satellite-tracking station. Inside, there was a of

dishes and a of voices. Outside, there was a soft, warm, starlit

night. The on the the lagoon.

Deirdre came out and walked into Terry's arms. She him

and then back.

"Darling!" she said softly. Her voice changed. "How is your leg? Does it

still hurt?"

"It's nothing to worry about," said Terry. "I'm about something

else. Two things, in fact."

"Name one!" said Deirdre, smiling.

"I'd like to married soon," said Terry ruefully.

"To whom?" she asked, jokingly.

"But I have to have a or an first. I think, though, that

with a little hard work I can start up my _especialidades electrónicas y

físicas_ again, and if you don't mind a little ..."

"I'll it," said Deirdre enthusiastically. "What else would I

want? What's the other thing you worry about?"

"That monster," said Terry with some grimness.

"Pouf!" said Deirdre. "You've killed it!"

"I don't that one," said Terry more grimly. "I the one that

sent it. I wish I what it is and what it to do!"

"You've already out more than else to guess!"

she protested.

"But not enough. We've it up. It sent small fish in the lagoon

here and to report to it. We can't what the fish

reported, but we know some of it was about beings. Whatever is

down at the of the sea must be in men. Remember? It

made a of that up one ship and all its crew. It's

interested in men, all right!"

"True, but...."

"We the dredge, which that we were in it. The

bathyscaphe more on our part. To that

interest--or in self-defense--it the bathyscaphe."

"It, Terry?" asked Deirdre. "Or _ellos_, they?"

"They," he himself coldly. "We killed the fish that were

reporting men's doings from here. That was on our part. So the

hum at the entrance off and, after two nights, started

again--and then this was in the lagoon. It should have

been able to itself against us. It was sent up here it

was of itself! But we've killed it just the same. So

now what will come up out of the depths? And what will it do?"

Deirdre said firmly, "You'll be for it when it comes!"

"Maybe," said Terry. "Your father once mentioned an he'd like

to have to take a map of the bottom. Changed around a

little, it might be something we need very indeed. The we've

got is good, but not good enough. I'll talk to the men

here."

There was a noise of chairs, the hall. People

came out, talking cheerfully. There was much to talk about on Thrawn

Island today. The killing of a had been by a

specific that it to in the Luzon Deep.

Logically, the had grown.

Terry his specialists, and to them the type

of he was in. He asked if it was in the

island's stores. He wanted to something of

emitting of special quality and power.

There is not much power in through the air. A cornet

player with much to four-tenths of a of

power into music. A public-address for a large area may give out

fifteen of noise. Terry a device which use a small

amount of power, as a or a depth-finding unit, and then,

with the of a switch, turn into underneath

the sea. If powerful and enough, such be lethal.

A ensued. Terry's were to fit the

equipment at hand. Then three men with him to the island's

workshop. They took off their and set to work.

Three hours later someone noticed an unknown making its way into

the lagoon. She was and small, and had thick with

heavy up at angles. Her Diesel boomed

hollowly, louder than the surf. As she entered the lagoon, a searchlight

winked on and here and there. It the where

the _Esperance_ was moored.

Men of the station staff to the to meet the

small that was now ashore.

A short, stout, his arms and shouted

angrily. What had _los americanos_ done to keep _La Rubia_ from catching

fish? Why had they the by which the wives

and children of _La Rubia's_ were fed? He would to the

Philippine Government! He would the of _los americanos_

to the world! He that now, instantly, the original of

affairs be restored!

A fish out of the water nearby. Where it leaped, and where it

fell back, of appeared. Even the of the

splashes as they spread outward. The of _La

Rubia_ stared. And now the people of the that the look

of the water was not commonplace. Little under

the surface that many fish there. There were more fish

than in the lagoon. Many more. The had a

fine place to catch fish. Some would be needed, of course. There

were in plenty. But still ...

The of _La Rubia_ returned to his and his

protests. _La Rubia_ had gone to the place where she always fish.

Always! There was a in the water there, and fish were to be

found in quantity. But yesterday the American ship had been there, and

also this very yacht! _La Rubia_ out of the

_americanos_ learn her secrets. But it was useless. When the two

American ships were gone, there was no longer a in the sea and

no more fish for the of _La Rubia_ to for their hungry

wives and children. And therefore he, Capitán Saavedra, that

the _americanos_ the previous of affairs.

Davis would have intervened, but the into wilder

and more still.

Let them not what they had done! Fish were always to be where

there was a in the sea that _las de ellos_ and

reported to him. But that was not in its place. It was

here! At the entrance of the lagoon! The fish were here, also! _Los

americanos_ had moved the fish so the of _La Rubia_ not

feed their and children. _Los americanos_ to take all the

fish for themselves! But fish were the property of all men, especially

fishermen with and children. So he, Capitán Saavedra,

would fish in this lagoon, and he anyone to stop him.

"Certainly," said Terry. "_Seguramente!_" He added in Spanish: "We'll

lend you a short-wave with Manila to make any you

please. I'm sure all the other will be to where

you've been fish, and where you've the fish have moved

to! Calm yourself, Capitán, and help to the fish of the lagoon,

and any time you want to call Manila we'll it!"

He moved away. He to the shop, while Morton and

Davis and the others talked to Capitán Saavedra. Presently

they that he accept their hospitality, and the Capitán and his

oarsmen up to the hall, where they were dinner, and a

more mood developed. In time the Capitán said that he

would wait till to his nets, he didn't want to

risk them on the heads. A drinks later the Capitán

boasted about his own of fishing, as by _La Rubia_. The

starving condition of his crew's and children to be

mentioned.

In the presence of so a liar, nobody of the tracking

station staff mentioned a partly, but only partly,

out of the water. They that he would not it. They were

sure that he would top their by an one. So the four

crew-cuts politely, and him more drinks, and learned much.

In the the most device Terry'd took form. In

effect, it was an which was much more powerful than it

looked. Submerged, and with power from a group of in

parallel, it would create a of noise. That

sound would through a like a gun-barrel. It would travel

in a line, only a little.

The same also send out the tentative

beep-beep-beep of gear, or the noise a depth-finder

makes. So the search out a or a target,

and then at it a of equal to from a

machine gun.

It would have taken Terry, alone, a long time to build. But he had

three assistants, two of were very competent. By dawn, they had it

ready to be upon the _Esperance_. It was from the

bow, on gimbals, so that it point in any direction. It was

firmly to the yacht's planking.

There was of activity on _La Rubia_, too, at daybreak. That squat

and prepared to the fish in the lagoon. She

got her over. She to them. Some got on the

coral from the lagoon's toward the surface. Capitán

Saavedra swore, and them. He again. Again heads

baulked the enterprise. The tore.

A came into view from the south. It in size and

loudness, and presently over the station. Then it made

a wide, of the lagoon. At the where the squid

lay almost in the water--but by it drift

away--above that spot, the for a long time. It must

have been taking photographs. Presently, it one man by a line to

the ground. Obviously, the man not any in at

so a specimen. Then the and

rattling to the station, and with an air of weariness.

_La Rubia_ to try to catch fish. They were here in plenty. But

the were everywhere. Nets tore. Ropes parted. Capitán

Saavedra his arms and swore.

The _Esperance_ and away from the wharf, and for

the entrance. The the night was

in place at her bow. She passed _La Rubia_, on men

frantically nets.

The _Esperance_ passed the small and the of the

ocean her and her. She the

reef. The of the sea out of sight. Terry on the

submarine ear and listened. The was to be here.

It had stopped. It was present yesterday, and the night,

when _La Rubia_ came into the lagoon. But now the sea no sound

other than the of fish and the washing,

roaring, of the surf.

Deirdre was aboard, of course. She Terry's face. He to

the new instrument, and then his hand.

"I think," he said to Davis, "that I'd like to make a of

sweep out to sea. It's just possible we'll the out."

Deirdre said quickly, "I think I know what you're up to. You want to

survey a large area of the while something comes up. Then you can

direct that "something" to the mouth by using your device,

so the ... whatever-it-is has to take in the lagoon. Since we've

killed the squid...."

"That's it," said Terry. "Something like that when we speared

the fish. The took their place. Now we've killed the squid. Just

possibly...."

They the in the water four miles off-shore. They

traced it through part of a circle. If something were being driven

upward, it not pass through that of sound.

"That proves your point," Davis said. "Now what?"

Without it, he'd direction of the enterprise to Terry,

who had it.

"Let's go to the island," said Terry thoughtfully. "I've got a

crazy idea--really crazy! I want to be where we can into shallow

water when we try the new projector."

The _Esperance_ about and toward the island. The sea

and the looked normal and in the

sunshine. Under so a sky it did not to worry about

anything. Events or at the of the sea certainly

the last to be likely to to anyone.

Terry had the _Esperance_ almost the he the

new contrivance. If it worked, it should be possible to make a relief

map of the with every and on the sea-bed

plotted with precision.

He started to the new instrument. First he the steep

descent from the of the was Thrawn

Island. He them to the which was the Luzon Deep. Then

he to the at its depth, on what should

have been at the of the mountain. The

instrument to give readings. The bottom, in a

certain spot, read forty-five hundred down. But there

was a reading of twenty-five hundred. There was a obstruction,

twelve thousand above the of the sea, more than twenty

thousand the surface. The the area.

Something else was eighteen hundred up. These were objects

of size, floating, or in the blackness. They

were not whales. Whales are air-breathers. They cannot too long in

deep waters, the top and the of the sea.

The up more and more such objects. Some were

twenty-five hundred from the bottom, and two thousand from the

surface. Some were twenty-two hundred up, and twenty-three hundred down.

There were eighteen hundred-fathom readings, and twenty-one, and

twenty-four, and nineteen. The were of objects than

whales. They rose very slowly, and appeared to rest, then rose some

more, and rested....

Blank to Terry. He his and looked for Deirdre.

Then he said evenly, "We go into the lagoon. And if we come out

again--if!--we Deirdre ashore, unless these have been

cleared up. There are I'm not to take."

The _Esperance_ in. It was not possible for the new to

tell what the large objects were. They be living

creatures, squids, and one only that their errand

was to with the surface-creatures--men--who fish and giant

squids and set off in the Luzon Deep.

Or the objects be, say, which had into the

Deep from space and were now to the surface to make sure

that the of the earth did not again the taken

over by beings from another planet.