by Various
From An Amber Block
_By Tom Curry_
"These should prove especially valuable and interesting without a doubt,Marable," said the tall, slightly stooped man. He waved a long handtoward the masses of yellow brown which filled the floor of the spaciousworkrooms, towering almost to the skylights, high above their heads.
[Sidenote: A giant amber block at last gives up its living, ravenousprey.]
"Is that coal in the biggest one with the dark center?" asked anattractive young woman who stood beside the elder of the men.
"I am inclined to believe it will prove to be some sort of blackliquid," said Marable, a big man of thirty-five.
There were other people about the immense rooms, the laboratories of thefamous Museum of Natural History. Light streamed in from the skylightsand windows; fossils of all kinds, some immense in size, weredistributed about. Skilled specialists were chipping away at matricesother artists were reconstructing, doing a thousand things necessary tothe work.
A hum of low talking, accompanied by the irregular tapping of chiselson stone, came to their ears, though they took no heed of this, sincethey worked here day after day, and it was but the usual sound of thepaleontologists' laboratory.
Marable threw back his blond head. He glanced again toward the darkhaired, blue eyed young woman, but when he caught her eye, he lookedaway and spoke to her father, Professor Young.
"I think that big one will turn out to be the largest single piece ofamber ever mined," he said. "There were many difficulties in getting itout, for the workmen seemed afraid of it, did not want to handle it forsome silly reason or other."
* * * * *
Professor Young, curator, was an expert in his line, but young Marablehad charge of these particular fossil blocks, the amber being purebecause it was mixed with lignite. The particular block which held theinterest of the three was a huge yellow brown mass of irregular shape.Vaguely, through the outer shell of impure amber, could be seen theheart of ink. The chunk weighed many tons, and its crate had just beenremoved by some workmen and was being taken away, piece by piece.
The three gazed at the immense mass, which filled the greater part ofone end of the laboratory and towered almost to the skylights. It was asmall mountain, compared to the size of the room, and in this case themountain had come to man.
"Miss Betty, I think we had better begin by drawing a rough sketch ofthe block," said Marable.
Betty Young, daughter of the curator, nodded. She was working asassistant and secretary to Marable.
"Well--what do you think of them?"
The voice behind them caused them to turn, and they looked into the faceof Andrew Leffler, the millionaire paleontologist, whose wealth andinterest in the museum had made it possible for the institution toacquire the amber.
* * * * *
Leffler, a keen, quick moving little man, whose chin was decorated witha white Van Dyke beard, was very proud of the new acquisition.
"Everybody is talking about the big one," he continued, putting his handon Marable's shoulder. "Orling is coming to see, and many others. As Itold you, the workmen who handled it feared the big one. There wererumors about some unknown devil which lay hidden in the inklikesubstance, caught there like the proverbial fly in the amber. Well, letus hope there is something good in there, something that will make worthwhile all our effort."
Leffler wandered away, to speak to others who inspected the amberblocks.
"Superstition is curious, isn't it?" said Marable. "How can anyone thinkthat a fossil creature, penned in such a cell for thousands andthousands of years, could do any harm?"
Professor Young shrugged. "It is just as you say. Superstition is notreasonable. These amber blocks were mined in the Manchurian lignitedeposits by Chinese coolies under Japanese masters. They believeanything, the coolies. I remember working once with a crew of them thatthought--"
The professor stopped suddenly, for his daughter had uttered a littlecry of alarm. He felt her hand upon his arm, and turned toward her.
"What is it, dear?" he asked.
She was pointing toward the biggest amber block, and her eyes were wideopen and showed she had seen something, or imagined that she had seensomething, that frightened her.
* * * * *
Professor Young followed the direction of her finger. He saw that shewas staring at the black heart of the amber block; but when he looked hecould see nothing but the vague, irregular outline of the inkysubstance.
"What is it, dear?" asked Young again.
"I--I thought I saw it looking out, eyes that stared at us--"
The girl broke off, laughed shortly, and added, "I suppose it was Mr.Leffler's talking. There's nothing there now."
"Probably the Manchurian devil shows itself only to you," said herfather jokingly. "Well, be careful, dear. If it takes a notion to jumpout at you, call me and I'll exorcise it for you."
Betty blushed and laughed again. She looked at Marable, expecting to seea smile of derision on the young man's face, but his expression wasgrave.
The light from above was diminishing; outside sounded the roar ofhome-going traffic.
"Well, we must go home," said Professor Young. "There's a hard andinteresting day ahead of us to-morrow, and I want to read Orling's newwork on matrices before we begin chipping at the amber."
Young turned on his heel and strode toward the locker at the end of theroom where he kept his coat and hat. Betty, about to follow him, wasaware of a hand on her arm, and she turned to find Marable staring ather.
"I saw them, too," he whispered. "Could it have been just imagination?Was it some refraction of the light?"
* * * * *
The girl paled. "I--I don't know," she replied, in a low voice. "Ithought I saw two terrible eyes glaring at me from the inky heart. Butwhen father laughed at me, I was ashamed of myself and thought it wasjust my fancy."
"The center is liquid, I'm sure," said Marable. "We will find that outsoon enough, when we get started."
"Anyway, you must be careful, and so must father," declared the girl.
She looked at the block again, as it towered there above them, as thoughshe expected it to open and the monster of the coolies' imagination leapout.
"Come along, Betty," called her father.
She realized then that Marable was holding her hand. She pulled away andwent to join her father.
It was slow work, chipping away the matrix. Only a bit at a time couldbe cut into, for they came upon many insects imbedded in the amber.These small creatures proved intensely interesting to thepaleontologists, for some were new to science and had to be carefullypreserved for study later on.
Marable and her father labored all day. Betty, aiding them, wasobviously nervous. She kept begging her father to take care, andfinally, when he stopped work and asked her what ailed her, she couldnot tell him.
"Be careful," she said, again and again.
* * * * *
Her father realized that she was afraid of the amber block, and he pokedfun at her ceaselessly. Marable said nothing.
"It's getting much softer, now the outside shell is pierced," saidYoung, late in the day.
"Yes," said Marable, pausing in his work of chipping away a portion ofmatrix. "Soon we will strike the heart, and then we will find outwhether we are right about it being liquid. We must make somepreparations for catching it, if it proves to be so."
The light was fading. Outside, it was cold, but the laboratories werewell heated by steam. Close by where they worked was a radiator, so thatthey had been kept warm all day.
Most of the workers in the room were making ready to leave. Young andMarable, loath to leave such interesting material, put down theirchisels last of all. Throughout the day various scientific visitors hadinterrupted them to inspect the immense amber block, and hear thehistory of it.
All day, Bet
ty Young had stared fascinatedly at the inky center.
"I think it must have been imagination," she whispered to Marable, whenYoung had gone to don his coat and hat. "I saw nothing to-day."
"Nor did I," confessed Marable. "But I thought I heard dull scrapingsinside the block. My brain tells me I'm an imaginative fool, thatnothing could be alive inside there, but just the same, I keep thinkingabout those eyes we thought we saw. It shows how far the imaginationwill take one."
"It's getting dark, Betty," said her father. "Better not stay here inthe shadows or the devil will get you. I wonder if it will be Chinese orup-to-date American!"
* * * * *
The girl laughed, said good night to Marable, and followed her fatherfrom the laboratory. As they crossed the threshold a stout, red-facedman in a gray uniform, a watchman's clock hanging at his side, raisedhis hat and smiled at the young woman and her father.
"Hello, Rooney," cried Betty.
"How d'ye do, Miss Young! Stayin' late this evenin'?"
"No, we're leaving now, Rooney. Good night."
"G' night, Miss Young. Sleep happy."
"Thanks, Rooney."
The old night watchman was a jolly fellow, and everybody liked him. Hewas very fond of Betty, and the young woman always passed a pleasantword with him.
Rooney entered the room where the amber blocks were. The girl walkedwith her father down the long corridor. She heard Marable's step behindthem.
"Wait for me a moment, father," she said.
She went back, smiling at Marable as she passed him, and entered thedoor, but remained in the portal and called to Rooney, who was down thelaboratory.
He came hurrying to her side at her nervous hail.
"What is it, ma'am?" asked Rooney.
"You'll be careful, won't you, Rooney?" she asked in a low voice.
"Oh, yes, ma'am. I'm always careful. Nobody can get in to harm anythingwhile Rooney's about."
"I don't mean that. I want you to be careful yourself, when you're inthis room to-night."
"Why, miss, what is there to be wary of? Nothin' but some funny lookin'stones, far as I can see."
* * * * *
The young woman was embarrassed by her own impalpable fears, and shetook leave of Rooney and rejoined her father, determined to overcomethem and dismiss them from her mind.
All the way home and during their evening meal and afterwards, ProfessorYoung poked fun at Betty. She took it good-naturedly, and laughed to seeher father in such fine humor. Professor Young was a widower, and Bettywas housekeeper in their flat; though a maid did the cooking for themand cleaned the rooms, the young woman planned the meals and saw to itthat everything was homelike for them.
After a pleasant evening together, reading, and discussing the newadditions to the collection, they went to bed.
Betty Young slept fitfully. She was harassed by dreams, dreams of hugeeyes that came closer and closer to her, that at last seemed to engulfher.
She awakened finally from a nap, and started up in her bed. The sun wasup, but the clock on the bureau said it was only seven o'clock, tooearly to arise for the day's work. But then the sound of the telephonebell ringing in the hall caused her to get up and don her slippers anddressing gown and hurry out into the living room.
* * * * *
Before she reached the phone, however, she heard her father's voiceanswering.
"Hello.... Yes, speaking. Good morning, Smythe."
Smythe was the janitor of the museum. Betty, standing behind her father,wondered what he could want that he should phone so early in themorning. Her father's next words sent a thrill of fright through herheart.
"My God! I--I can't believe it!" cried Young. "Is he dead?"
There was a pause; Betty caught the sound of the excited Smythe's tonesthrough the receiver.
"Who--who is it?" she whispered, clasping her parent's arm.
"I'll be right down, yes."
Young hung up, turned to his daughter. His face was sad, heavily linedwith shadows of sorrow.
"Dear, there's been a tragedy at the museum during the night. PoorRooney has been murdered--at least so they believe--and Smythe, whofound him, wants me to come down and see if anything has been stolen. Imust go at once. The body is in our laboratory."
"Rooney? Ah, poor fellow."
The girl wept a little, but braced herself to assist her father.
"I'm going with you," she said.
"No, no. You'd better remain here: you can come along later," saidYoung. "I don't like to have you see such sights, dear. It wouldn't begood for you."
"I'll be all right. I promise you I will."
She insisted and he was forced to let her accompany him to the museum.They hailed a cab and were soon at the door. The elevator took them tothe top floor, and swiftly they passed along the corridors and came tothe portal which led into the rooms where the amber blocks were.
* * * * *
Smythe greeted them, a worried look on his seamed face. "I've sent foran ambulance, Professor," he said.
Young nodded, brushed past him, and entered the laboratory. In themorning light the amber blocks had taken on a reddish tinge. Now, theyseemed to oppress the young woman, who had bravely remained at herfather's side as he walked quickly to the base of the biggest block.
A vague shape lay in the shadows between the wall and the largest ambermass. Professor Young bent over the body of Rooney, and felt the pulse.
"He's been dead some time," he said.
She nodded, stricken to the heart by this terrible end of her old friendRooney.
"There's nothing we can do for him, now," went on her father soberly."It looks as though he had been set upon and stabbed time after time byhis assailant or assailants, whoever they were."
"How--how pale he is," said Betty. "Poor Rooney was so jolly andred-faced, but his skin is like chalk."
"And he's shrunken, too. It seems there's no blood left in his veins,"said her father.
* * * * *
Marable, who had been called also, came in then and aided in theexamination. He said good morning to Betty and her father, and then wentto bend over Rooney's body.
"See the look of abject terror on his face," Betty heard Marable say toher father as the two examined the corpse. "He must have been very muchafraid of whoever killed him."
"They beat him up frightfully," said Young. "There must have beenseveral of the assassins; it would take more than one man to do suchdamage."
"Yes. His ribs are crushed in--see, this gash, Professor, would beenough to cause death without any of the other wounds."
Betty Young could not take her eyes from the ghastly sight. She steeledherself to bear it, and prayed for strength that she should not faintand cause her father trouble. She could see the two men examining alarge blistered area under the corpse's armpit, in the center of whichwas a sharp vertical slit which had without doubt punctured the arterynear the surface of the axilla. Perhaps it had pierced even to theheart.
"Bloodless," exclaimed Marable, noticing the same thing as her fatherhad spoken of. "It is as if the blood had been pumped out of his body!"
"Yes, I think it has drained out."
"There is not much of a pool here where he lies, though," said Marable,in a low voice. "See, there are only splotches about, from various cutshe received."
"Maybe he was dragged here from another room," said Young. "When theothers come, we will soon know if anything is missing. It seems that mendesperate enough to commit such a murder would not leave without tryingto get what they came after. Unless, of course, the killing of Rooneyfrightened them away before they could get their booty."
* * * * *
Smythe approached the group, with a physician in tow. The latterconfirmed the facts which Marable and Young had found: that Rooney hadbeen killed by the deep gash near the
heart and that most of the bloodwas drained from the body.
"They seem like the slashes from an extremely sharp and large razor,"said the medical man.
Others were coming in to look at Rooney, and the museum was buzzing withactivity as various curators, alarmed about the safety of their valuablecollections, feverishly examined their charges.
"He punched his clock in here at two A.M.," said Smythe. "I seen that.It's the last time he'll ever do his duty, poor feller."
"Curious odor," said the doctor, sniffing. "It smells like musk, but isfetid. I suppose it's some chemical you use."
"I noticed that, too," said Professor Young. "I don't recognize it,myself."
Marable, who had been looking at the floor between the great block ofamber and the body, uttered an exclamation which caused the two men tolook up.
"There are wavy lines leading around back of the block," said Marable,in answer to their questions.
The young man disappeared behind the block, and then he called to themexcitedly to join him. Betty Young pressed closer, and finally slippedpast the corpse and stood by her father.
* * * * *
Before her, she saw a large pool of black liquid. It had been hidden bythe corner of the block, so that they had not noticed it, so busy werethey looking at Rooney.
And there was a great cavity in the heart of the amber block. Pieces ofthe yellow brown mass lay about, as though they had fallen off andallowed the inky substance to escape.
"It's hardened or dried out in the air," said Young.
"It looks like black lacquer," said Betty.
The musky smell was stronger here. The great amber block seemed tostifle them with its size.
"Our chipping and hammering and the heat of the radiator causing it toexpand must have forced out the sepia, or whatever it is," said Young.There was a disappointed note in his voice "I had hoped that inside theliquid we would discover a fossil of value," he went on.
Marable looked at Betty Young. They stared at one another for someseconds, and both knew that the same thought had occurred to the other.The frightful eyes--had they then been but figments of the imagination?
Marable began looking around carefully, here and there. Betty realizedwhat he was doing, and she was frightened. She went to his side. "Oh, becareful," she whispered.
"The giant block has been moved a little," he replied, looking into herpretty face. "Have you noticed that?"
Now that she was told to look, she could see the extremely heavy amberblock was no longer in the position it had been in. Marks on the floorshowed where it had been dragged or shifted from its original restingplace.
* * * * *
Betty Young gasped. What force could be so powerful that it could evenbudge so many tons? A derrick had been used, and rollers placed underthe block when men had moved it.
Reason tried to assert itself. "It--it must have exploded. That wouldcause it to shift," she said faintly.
Marable shrugged. His examination was interrupted by the arrival of themuseum's chemist, sent for by Young. The chemist took a sample of theblack liquid for analysis. Reports were coming in from all over themuseum, different departments declaring, one after another, that nothinghad been disturbed or stolen from their sections.
Betty Young went again to Marable's side. She followed the direction ofhis eyes, and saw long, clawlike marks on the floor, radiating from thesepia.
"Doctor Marable," she said, "please don't--don't look any longer. Leavethis terrible place for the day, anyway, until we see what happens inthe next twenty-four hours."
He smiled and shook his head. "I must make a search," he replied. "Mybrain calls me a fool, but just the same, I'm worried."
"Do you really think ...?"
He nodded, divining her thought. The girl shivered. She felt terrormounting to her heart, and the matter-of-fact attitudes of the others inthe great laboratory did not allay her fears.
Rooney's body was removed. The place was cleaned up by workmen, andMarable's search--if that was what his constant roving about thelaboratory could be called--ceased for a time. The chemist's report camein. The black liquid was some sort of animal secretion, melonoticprobably.
* * * * *
In spite of the fact that they had learned so many facts about themurder, they as yet had not solved the mystery. Who had murdered Rooney,and why? And where had his blood gone to? In no other rooms could befound any traces of a struggle.
"If you won't do anything else, please carry a gun," begged Betty ofMarable. "I'm going to try to take father home, right after lunch, ifhe'll go. He's so stubborn. I can't make him take care. I've got towatch him and stay beside him."
"Very well," replied Marable. "I'll get a revolver. Not that I think itwould be of much use, if I did find--" He broke off, and shrugged hisbroad shoulders.
Leffler came storming into the room. "What's this I hear?" he cried,approaching Marable. "A watchman killed in the night? Carelessness, man,carelessness! The authorities here are absurd! They hold pricelesstreasures and allow thieves to enter and wreak their will. You, Marable,what's all this mean?"
Leffler was angry. Marable looked into his red face coolly. "We do thebest we can, Mr. Leffler," he said. "It is unlikely that anyone wouldwish to steal such a thing as that block of amber."
He waved toward the giant mass.
Leffler made a gesture of impatience. "It cost me many thousands ofdollars," he cried.
"It is time for lunch, Professor," said Betty.
Marable bowed to Leffler and left the millionaire sputtering away,inspecting the various specimens he had contributed.
The one o'clock gong had struck, and all the workers and investigatorswere leaving in paleontological laboratories for a bite to eat.
* * * * *
Marable, with Betty, went out last. Leffler was over in one corner ofthe room, hidden from their sight by a corner of an amber block. Theycould hear Leffler still uttering complaints about the carelessness ofthe men in charge of that section of the museum, and Marable smiled atBetty sadly.
"Poor Rooney," he said. "Betty, I feel more or less responsible, in away."
"No, no," cried the girl. "How could you have foreseen such a thing?"
Marable shook his head. "Those eyes, you know. I should have takenprecautions. But I had no idea it could burst from its prison so."
For the first time Marable had definitely mentioned his idea of whathad occurred. The girl had understood it all along, from their brokenconversation and from the look in the young scientist's eyes.
She sighed deeply. "You will get a revolver before you search further?"she said. "I'm going to. Smythe has one, and I know he'll lend it tome."
"I will," he promised. "You know, Leffler has the same idea we have, Ithink. That's why he keeps talking about it being our fault. I believehe has seen something, too. His talk about the devil inside the blockwas half in earnest. I suppose he put it down to imagination, or perhapshe did not think this fossil to be dangerous."
They went out together, and walked toward the restaurant theyfrequented. Her father was there, lunching with one of thesuperintendents of the museum. He smiled and waved to Betty.
Everyone, of course, was discussing the killing of Rooney.
* * * * *
After an hour, during which the two young people spoke little, Marableand Betty Young left the restaurant and started back toward the museum.Her father was still at his table.
They walked up the driveway entrance, and then Marable uttered anexclamation. "Something's wrong," he said.
There was a small crowd of people collected on the steps. The outerdoors, instead of being open as usual, were closed and guards stoodpeering out.
Marable and Betty were admitted, after they had pushed their way to thedoors.
"Museum's closed to the public, sir," replied a guard to Marable'squest
ion.
"Why?" asked Marable.
"Somethin's happened up in the paleontological laboratories," answeredthe guard. "Dunno just what, but orders come to clear the rooms and notlet anybody in but members of the staff, sir."
Marable hurried forward. Betty was at his heels. "Please get yourself agun," she said, clutching his arm and holding him back.
"All right. I'll borrow one from a guard."
He returned to the front doors, and came back, slipping a large pistolinto his side pocket.
"I want you to wait here," he said.
"No. I'm going with you."
"Please," he said. "As your superior, I order you to remain downstairs."
The girl shrugged. She allowed him to climb the stairs to the firstfloor, and then she hurried back in search of Smythe.
* * * * *
Smythe obtained a gun for her, and as she did not wish to wait for theslow elevator, she ran up the steps. Smythe could not tell herdefinitely what had occurred in the upper laboratory that had caused themuseum to be closed for the day.
Her heart beating swiftly, Betty Young hurried up the second flight ofstairs to the third floor. A workman, whom the girl recognized as amanual laborer in the paleontological rooms, came running down, passingher in full flight, a look of abject terror on his face.
"What is it?" she cried.
He was so frightened he could not talk logically. "There was a blackfog--I saw a red snake with legs--"
She waited for no more. A pang of fear for the safety of Marable shotthrough her heart, and she forced herself on to the top floor.
Up there was a haze, faintly black, which filled the corridors. As BettyYoung drew closer to the door of the paleontological laboratories, themist grew more opaque. It was as though a sooty fog permeated the air,and the girl could see it was pouring from the door of the laboratory inheavy coils. And her nostrils caught the strange odor of fetid musk.
She was greatly frightened; but she gripped the gun and pushed on.
* * * * *
Then to her ears came the sound of a scream, the terrible scream of amortally wounded man. Instinctively she knew it was not Marable, but shefeared for the young professor, and with an answering cry she rushedinto the smoky atmosphere of the outer laboratories.
"Walter!" she called.
But evidently he did not hear her, for no reply came. Or was it thatsomething had happened to him?
She paused on the threshold of the big room where were the amber blocks.
About the vast floor space stood the numerous masses of stone and amber,some covered with immense canvas shrouds which made them look like ghosthillocks in the dimness. Betty Young stood, gasping in fright, clutchingthe pistol in her hand, trying to catch the sounds of men in thatchamber of horror.
She heard, then, a faint whimpering, and then noises which sheidentified in her mind as something being dragged along the marbleflooring. A muffled scream, weak, reached her ears, and as she took astep forward, silence came.
She listened longer, but now the sunlight coming through the window tomake murky patches in the opaque black fog was her chief sensation.
"Walter!" she called.
"Go back, Betty, go back!"
The mist seemed to muffle voices as well as obscure the vision. Sheadvanced farther into the laboratory, trying to locate Marable. Bravelythe girl pushed toward the biggest amber block. It was here that shefelt instinctively that she would find the source of danger.
"Leffler!" she heard Marable say, almost at her elbow, and the young mangroaned. The girl came upon him, bending over something on the floor.
* * * * *
She knelt beside him, gripping his arm. Now she could see the outline ofLeffler's body at her feet. The wealthy collector was doubled up on theground, shrivelled as had been Rooney. His feet, moving as though byreflex action, patted the floor from time to time, making a curiousclicking sound as the buttons of his gray spats struck the marble.
But it was obvious, even in the murky light, that Leffler was dead, thathe had been sucked dry of blood.
Betty Young screamed. She could not help it. The black fog choked herand she gasped for breath. Leaving Marable, she ran toward the windowsto throw them open.
The first one she tried was heavy, and she smashed the glass with thebutt of the gun. She broke several panes in two of the windows, and themist rolled out from the laboratory.
She started to return to the side of Marable. He uttered a sudden shout,and she hurried back to where she had left him, stumbling over Leffler'sbody, recoiling at this touch of death.
Marable was not there, but she could hear him nearby.
Cool air was rushing in from the windows, and gradually the fog wasdisappearing. Betty Young saw Marable now, standing nearby, staring atthe bulk of an amber block which was still covered by its canvas shroud.Though not as large as the prize exhibit, this block of amber was largeand filled many yards of space.
"Betty, please go outside and call some of the men," begged Marable.
But he did not look at her, and she caught his fascinated stare.Following the direction of his gaze, the girl saw that a whisp of smokymist was curling up from under the edge of the canvas cover.
"It is there," whispered Betty.
* * * * *
Marable had a knife which he had picked up from a bench, and with thishe began quietly to cut the canvas case of the block, keeping severalfeet to each side of the spot where the fog showed from beneath theshroud.
Marable cut swiftly and efficiently, though the cloth was heavy and hewas forced to climb up several feet on the block to make his workeffective. The girl watched, fascinated with horror and curiosity.
To their ears came a curious, sucking sound, and once a vague tentacleform showed from the bottom of the canvas.
At last Marable seized the edge of the cut he had made and, with aviolent heave, sent the canvas flap flying over the big block.
Betty Young screamed. At last she had a sight of the terrible creaturewhich her imagination had painted in loathing and horror. A flash ofbrilliant scarlet, dabbed with black patches, was her impression of thebeast. A head flat and reptilian, long, tubular, with movable nostrilsand antennae at the end, framed two eyes which were familiar enough toher, for they were the orbs which had stared from the inside of theamber block. She had dreamed of those eyes.
But the reptile moved like a flash of red light, though she knew itsbulk was great; it sprayed forth black mist from the appendages at theend of its nose, and the crumpling of canvas reached her ears as thebeast endeavored to conceal itself on the opposite side of the block.
* * * * *
Marable had run to the other side of the mass. The air, rushing in fromthe windows, had cleared the mist, in spite of the new clouds thecreature had emitted, and Betty could see for some feet in eitherdirection now.
She walked, with stiff, frozen muscles, around to join Marable. As shecame near to him, she saw him jerking off the entire canvas cover of theblock to expose the horrible reptile to the light of day.
And now the two stood staring at the awful sight. The creature hadflattened itself into the crevices and irregular surfaces of the block,but it was too large to hide in anything but a huge space. They sawbefore them its great bulk, bright red skin blotched with black, whichrose and fell with the breathing of the reptile. Its long, powerfultail, tapering off from the fat, loathsome body, was curled around thebottom of the block.
"That's where it's been hidden, under the shroud. We've been within afew feet of it every moment we've been at work," said Marable, his voicedry. "There were many hiding places for it, but it chose the best. Itcame out only when there was comparative quiet, to get its food...."
"We--we must kill it," stammered the girl.
But she could not move. She was looking at the immense, cruel, lidlesseyes, whi
ch balefully held her as a serpent paralyzes a bird. Thetubular nostrils and antennae seemed to be sniffing at them, waving toand fro.
"See the white expanse of cornea, how large it is," whispered Marable."The pupils are nothing but black slits now." The interest excited bythis living fossil was almost enough to stifle the dread of the creaturein the man.
But the girl saw the huge flat head and the crinkled tissue of thefrilled mouth with its sucker disks.
* * * * *
Suddenly, from the central portion of the sucker-cup mouth issued along, straight red fang.
The two drew back as the living fossil raised a short clawed leg.
"It has the thick body of an immense python and the clawed legs of adinosaur," said Marable, speaking as though he were delivering alecture. The sight, without doubt, fascinated him as a scientist. Healmost forgot the danger.
"Oh, it's horrible," whispered the girl.
She clung to his arm. He went on talking. "It is some sort ofterrestrial octopus...."
To the girl, it seemed that the living fossil was endless in length.Coil after coil showed as the ripples passed along its body and thestraight fang threatened them with destruction.
"See, it is armored," said Marable.
"Betty, no one has ever had such an experience as this, seen such asight, and lived to tell of it. It must be ravenous with hunger, shut upin its amber cell inside the black fluid. I--"
A sharp, whistling hiss interrupted his speech. The reptile was puffingand swelling, and as it grew in bulk with the intake of the air, itsenamel-like scales stood out like bosses on the great body. It spatforth a cloud of black, oily mist, and Marable came to himself at last.
He raised his revolver and fired at the creature, sending shot aftershot from the heavy revolver into the head.
* * * * *
Betty Young screamed as the reptile reared up and made a movement towardthem. Marable and the girl retreated swiftly, as the beast thumped tothe floor with a thud and started at them, advancing with a queer,crawling movement.
It was between them and the door. Betty thrust her gun into Marable'shands, for his own was empty and he had hurled it at the monster.
"Hurry! Run for your life!" ordered Marable, placing himself betweenBetty and the reptile.
She would not leave him till he swerved to one side, going dangerouslyclose to the beast and firing into its head. The rush of the flowingbody stopped; it turned and pursued him, leaving the girl safe for themoment, but separated from Marable.
Luckily, on the smooth marble it could not get an efficient grip withits clawlike arms. It was clumsy in its gait, and for a time the maneluded it.
Betty Young, looking about for a weapon, calling for help at the top ofher lungs, caught sight of a fireman's ax in a glass case on the wall.She ran over, smashed the glass with the small hammer, and took out theheavy ax.
Shot after shot reverberated through the big laboratory as Marable triedto stop the monster. Betty, bravely closing in from the rear, sawMarable leaping from side to side as the brute struck viciously at himtime and again.
The creature had been emitting cloud after cloud of black fog, and theatmosphere, in spite of the open windows, was dim in its vicinity.Vaguely Betty heard shouts from the far hall, but all she could do wasto call out in return and run toward the horror.
* * * * *
Marable, out of breath, had climbed to the top of an amber block. Betty,close by, saw the reptile rear its bulk up into the air, until it washigh enough to strike the man.
Before it could send forth its death-dealing fang to pin Marable to theblock, however, Betty Young brought the ax down on its back with all herstrength.
There was a sickening thud as the sharp weapon sunk deep into the fleshyback. She struck again, and the creature fell in folds, like acollapsing spring. It lashed back at her, but she leaped clear as itslashed in agony, thrashing about so that the whole room seemed to rock.
Marable came scrambling down the side of the block to help her. He wasbreathing hard, and she turned toward him; as Betty looked away, aportion of the scarlet tail hit her in the body and she fell, strikingher head on the floor.
Marable reached down, seized the ax, and in a desperate frenzy hacked atthe reptile's awful head. He leaped in and out like a terrier, sinkingthe ax deep into the neck and head of the beast. He gave the impressionof slashing at heavy rubber, and Betty Young, trying to drag herselfaway from that dangerous body, heard his whistling breath.
They were almost hidden from one another now, in the mist which camefrom the thing's nostrils.
"Help, help!" screamed the girl, mustering her last strength in thedespairing cry.
She saw Marable go down, then, as the reptile hit him a glancing blowwith its body. When the powerful young fellow did not rise, the girlthought it was all over. The air really became black to her; she faintedand lay still.
* * * * *
When Betty Young opened her eyes, the air had cleared greatly, and shecould see the familiar outlines of the paleontological laboratory andthe bulks of the amber blocks. Her father was holding her head in hislap, and was bathing her temples with water.
"Darling," he said, "are you badly hurt?"
"No," she murmured faintly. "I'm--I'm all right. But--but Walter--didit--"
"He's all right," said her father. "The reptile was dying, and could dohim no damage. We finished it off."
Then, Marable, covered with blood, which he was trying to wipe from hishands and clothes, came and smiled down at her.
"Well," said Professor Young, "you two have mutilated a marvelous andunique specimen between you."
There were several men examining something nearby. Turning her eyes intheir direction, Betty saw they were viewing the remains of the reptile.
* * * * *
Marable helped her to her feet, and stood with one arm about her.Professor Orling, the famous specialist on fossil reptiles, was speakingnow, and the others listened.
"I think we will find it to be some sort of missing link between thedinosaurs and mososaurs. It is surely unbelievable that such a creatureshould be found alive; but perhaps it can be explained. It is related tothe amphibians and was able to live in or out of the water. Now, we havemany instances of reptiles such as lizards and toads penned up in solidrock but surviving for hundreds of years. Evidently this great reptilewent through the same sort of experience. I would say that there hasbeen some great upheaval of nature, that the reptile was caught in itsprison of amber thousands and thousands of years ago. Throughhibernation and perhaps a preservative drug it emitted in the blackfluid, this creature has been able to survive its long imprisonment.Naturally, when it was released by the cutting away of part of the amberwhich penned it in, it burst its cell, ravenous with hunger. Thefanglike tooth we see was its main weapon of attack, and it set upon theunfortunate watchman. After knocking him unconscious, its sucker-likefringe glued the mouth near the heart while the fang shot into thearteries and drew forth the body fluids. There is a great deal to bedone with this valuable find, gentlemen. I would suggest that--"
* * * * *
Marable grunted. "Oh, hell," he murmured in Betty Young's ear. "To thedevil with paleontology, Betty. You saved my life. Come out and let'sget married. I love you."
The girl smiled up into his eyes. The scientists close by were listeningfascinatedly to Orling's words, and had no time to watch the two youngpeople, for they stared at the reptile's body as the great man went fromsection to section, lecturing upon one point after another.
"You've forgotten paleontology for a moment, thank goodness," saidBetty. "I'm glad."
"Yes, Betty dear. This terrible experience has shaken me, and I realizedhow much I love you when I saw you in danger. What an awful few minutes!If I had to live them over again, I don't think I could face them."
>
"Never mind," she murmured. "We are safe, Walter. After all, it's notevery woman who is helped by a living fossil to make the man she lovesrealize he loves her!"
The SF-22 and her convoy were surrounded by theseunearthly rays.]