The Wailing Octopus: A Rick Brant Science-Adventure Story

by Harold L. Goodwin

  CHAPTER X

  The Wailing Octopus

  As Rick steered the _Water Witch_ to its anchorage above the reef, hetold Scotty about the theory he had developed that morning.

  He concluded, "Their going out to take a look where we were diving isanother piece of evidence. Unless they were afraid that we might beinterested in their stuff--whatever and wherever it is--why would theybe so concerned about what we're doing?"

  "It makes a lot of sense," Scotty agreed soberly. He looked at Rick witha sudden twinkle. "It might be a good idea to take a look around downbelow--just so we'll know what to stay away from, of course."

  Rick grinned.

  By the time they dropped anchor, Scotty had the diving gear rigged andit was only the work of minutes to get into the water. Each carried aspear gun in one hand and a wrecking bar in the other. Ordinarily theywould not have bothered with the guns, but being armed seemed justcommon sense.

  On the bottom, Rick scouted around the wreck, looking for signs of itsformer structure while Scotty attacked the stern with a crowbar. UnderScotty's prying, a timber suddenly gave with an audible crack, and ahuge grouper that must have weighed nearly three hundred pounds rushedpast Rick, startling him half to death until he saw what it was.

  Scotty hooted in derision as Rick back-pedaled, then he put his bar downand swam to Rick's side. He scrawled on his belt slate, "Whre he cmfrm?"

  Rick shrugged. It was a good question. They swam slowly around, lookingfor the grouper's hiding place and failed to locate it. Rick knew thebig fish liked caves, rocky clefts, and the interiors of wrecks. Thisone must have a hole somewhere.

  He tried again, going right down to the bottom and crawling along withstomach touching the sand. Even so, he might have missed the hole ifstirred-up dust from the fish's sudden departure hadn't indicated whereit was. The hole, big enough for him to crawl through, was _under_ thewreck, hidden by rotted planks covered with marine growth. He hooted forScotty's attention and showed it to him.

  He took his belt slate and wrote, "Way into shp?"

  Scotty nodded and wrote in his turn, "Too drk. Need lites."

  Rick nodded. For a moment he was tempted to try ripping off the plankswith his bar, but he decided against it. Any disturbance might very wellcollapse the entire structure. He wondered whether the hole was just ashallow opening, or whether it actually led into the ship. No matter.They had watertight flashlights with their spare gear in the boat. Theycould find out on the next dive.

  For their remaining time underwater he joined Scotty in his assault onthe stern of the ship. They were rewarded by finding what was evidentlythe interior of a cabin. Rick ripped off another plank, then jumped asScotty hooted four times for danger. The cabin was the home of a fairlylarge moray eel! Both boys dropped their bars and grabbed for theirspear guns, but Scotty held up his hand in a sign to wait. Rick did so,and saw the big eel emerge and swim rapidly toward the reef.

  Scotty had shown wisdom. The moray is hard to kill, and this one wouldhave given them a battle that might have used up more air than theycould spare.

  The water inside the cabin was murky. Rick looked at his watch. They hadonly a few minutes left. He wrote on his slate, "Sty dwn til rsrvewrning."

  Scotty nodded agreement.

  They watched as the water settled and the interior of the cabin grewclearer. Evidently it had been a very small cabin. There was a rottedframe that might once have been a single bunk, and a few broken, almostdisintegrated boards that might have been a table. Mattress and beddinghad long since vanished. Then Rick spotted a squarish shape under theruin of the bunk and motioned to Scotty. They went in after it.

  The top crumbled under their touch and silt rose into the water aroundthem. But Rick persisted and felt fabric under his hands. He pulled itout and recognized a seaman's jacket, brass buttons corroded and fabricnearly rotted through. Apparently they had found a sea chest, but theirexploring hands discovered nothing but rotted fabrics.

  Rick felt the warning constriction that told him he had only minutesleft. He pulled down the reserve lever of his tank and touched Scotty'sarm. He hooted twice for the ascent.

  Back in the _Water Witch_, they connected their tanks to the compressor,put the regulators on charged tanks, then tested their underwaterflashlights.

  Rick said, "Do you realize I haven't taken a single picture?"

  "Why not take some on the next dive?"

  "Good idea." Rick went into the cabin and brought out his camera.

  The camera was the same one he had adapted for night movies, duringtheir adventure known as _Smugglers' Reef_. He had built an underwatercase for it from stainless steel and Lucite. An intricate geararrangement allowed him to focus or change aperture underwater, and alight meter in the rear of the case told him what setting to use. Therewas an ordinary inner-tube valve projecting from one side by which thecase could be charged with compressed air to compensate for the pressureof the water. The unit was battery-powered and had a bracket formounting the infrared light used for night photography.

  He unscrewed the front of the case and took the camera from its mount.He hesitated. "Suppose there's enough light down there for color film?"

  "There might be," Scotty replied, "but you wouldn't gain much by usingcolor. Everything would photograph in shades of green. Might as wellhave it in shades of gray."

  "You've got a point." Rick loaded the camera with fast black-and-whitefilm and returned it to the case. Then he replaced the cover anddisconnected the compressor long enough to pump pressure into the cameracase. "Ready to go," he announced.

  "Take it easy," Scotty said. "We'd better rest a half hour or so. If wedon't knock ourselves out, we can get in three more dives today."

  Rick knew the wisdom of that. He adjusted the camera and took a seriesof "establishing" shots, to establish that the movie had been taken on aboat near an island. Then, when the time came to dive, he photographedScotty entering the water. At his direction, Scotty got out again, whileRick got in, swam down a few feet, and took a shot of Scotty enteringfrom that angle. Then the camera followed as Scotty flippered smoothlydown into the deep water.

  Rick followed, camera extended in front of him, sighting through thegun-type sights mounted on top of the case. There was a handgrip on eachside, with the controls handy to his fingers. By watching the lightmeter he could change his exposure as the shifting light required.

  He moved ahead of Scotty, panned across the wreck, then reversed thecamera to photograph Scotty approaching. On a hunch, he stood well backwhen Scotty approached the underwater entrance and got a picture thatwas priceless! The grouper had returned to his home, and frightened bythe light that suddenly probed his hide-out, he flashed out and caughtScotty by surprise. Scotty dropped his flashlight and back-pedaledfrantically. Grinning, Rick kept his camera grinding. Scotty turned andsaw that Rick was shooting, and held both hands to his face in mockdismay. Rick cut and secured the camera to an outcropping with itssafety line.

  Scotty picked up his light and crawled slowly into the opening. Rickwaited, watching anxiously to be sure his friend's hoses and regulatorcleared the entrance. Then Scotty vanished inside. In a moment hereappeared, headfirst, and beckoned.

  Rick followed him in, his own flashlight extended. It was a little murkyfrom the grouper's hurried departure, but he saw instantly that theywere in what had been for those days a large cabin. This must have beenthe skipper's quarters. His light picked out the remains of furniture,including one massive chair that was still in good condition.

  Scotty gestured with his light and Rick saw an oaken door. He swam overto it and inspected it closely. It was still firm, still in place. Wheredid it lead?

  There was only one way to find out. He took hold of the old-fashionedhandle and pulled. The door didn't budge. Rick tried again and failed.He swung himself around and put both feet on the wall next to the door,then applied leverage.

  The handle came completely off. Rick sailed backward across the cabinand his tank rang like
a bell as it struck something metallic. Scottyhurried to his side, and Rick gestured that he was all right. Theyturned to inspect the object against which Rick had hurtled and foundthat it was the still-sound strap for a beam, probably made of wroughtiron.

  Rick took his belt slate and wrote, "Whre wld he hide it?"

  Scotty read it with his light, then shrugged. They began a methodicalinspection of the cabin, surprised that it was so clear of marine life.Rick surmised that the opening had developed only recently, perhaps fromthe shifting of the ship. They found a closet and a heap of what hadonce been clothes on its floor. Then Scotty made the big discovery ofthe day. He reached into a shelf space above the bunk, hand exploring,and touched something hard. He drew it out. It looked like agreen-covered bundle about a foot long and two inches thick. But beforehe had a chance to inspect it further, his air gave out and both boyshurried to the surface on their reserves.

  Aboard the _Water Witch_ they shed their equipment and sat down toinspect Scotty's find. The covering proved to be layer after layer ofoilcloth, wrapped around the object. The outer layers had deterioratedsomewhat, but the inner ones were intact.

  Scotty finished unwrapping and found a second wrapping of still-drylinen. He pulled the linen off, and both boys gasped. It was a jeweleddagger, with a good-sized ruby winking in its hilt!

  "Take it out of the sheath," Rick suggested.

  Scotty did so, and disclosed a blade covered with some hard brownsubstance. "That's not rust. Got a jackknife?"

  Rick found one and handed it to him. Scotty scraped and was rewarded bythe gleam of bright metal.

  "It must have been coated with heavy grease," Rick remarked. "During theyears, the grease hardened into a permanent rustproof coating. Waituntil the scientists see this!"

  Scotty grinned his pleasure. "This is one treasure the log didn'tmention. Poor Captain Campion must have thought a lot of it to protectit so thoroughly."

  "He might have been taking it to the New World as a gift for someinfluential friend," Rick ventured. "It looks like Spanish work."

  Scotty looked at Rick speculatively. "Are you making a claim on this?"

  Rick knitted his brows. What was Scotty driving at? "You found it," hesaid. "Technically, we're supposed to share and share alike, the four ofus and Barby. But how do you split a dagger? And we wouldn't sell it,anyway. It's too nice a souvenir."

  "I'll ask Tony and Zircon," Scotty said, "but if none of you have anyobjection, I would like to claim it, because I want to give it to Dadfor a birthday present next month."

  Rick punched him on the arm. "You'll get no objection from me. Or fromTony and Zircon either."

  "I can buy presents for the family," Scotty said slowly. "I do, onbirthdays and Christmas. But I've always wanted to give Dad somethingreally special, something to tell him how I feel about being taken intothe family."

  Rick nodded. He knew how Scotty felt, and he liked him all the betterfor it. "Let's get ready for the next dive," he said abruptly.

  They went through the necessary checks on their equipment, transferringthe regulators to the third set of tanks. Rick decided to leave thecamera on the boat this time. He was anxious to inspect the shipthoroughly, and photography took time.

  After a half hour of rest the boys went back into the water again,carrying their wrecking bars and spear guns, flashlights on their belts.

  An inch-by-inch inspection of the cabin disclosed no more treasures, butRick found a plate, still intact. He wondered if it were the plate fromwhich the captain had last dined before the pirate attack, and put itoutside the entrance to be carried to the surface.

  Once satisfied that the cabin held no secrets, the boys attacked thedoor. It was hard work, and they raised so much dust that their lightbeams were almost useless. However, they struggled on until the doorfinally gave, only to admit quantities of sand.

  Rick guessed that the door had opened onto a deck that was now buriedfar under the sand. They went outside to allow the murkiness to settlein the cabin, and Rick consulted his watch. Their time was nearly up. Hehooted to Scotty and they surfaced.

  The first tanks they had used were ready now. They shifted theregulators and hooked up another pair to the compressor.

  "I'm afraid Tony was right," Rick said. "We'll have to take the shipapart piece by piece."

  Scotty examined his foot where the fin was rubbing a little. "What wouldbe a logical hiding place? If I were the captain, I'd probably hide thestatue under false flooring or something. Anyway, I'd hide it aft, inofficer's country, and not near the forecastle where the crew lived."

  "That's probably right. Anyway, we won't have time to do much wreckingtoday. What say we hunt for loose boards in the cabin?"

  Scotty grinned. "The treasure fever has got our boy Rick. Have youforgotten we were going to see what those fancy frogmen were curiousabout?"

  Rick grinned back, a little sheepishly. "You're right. I had forgotten.Well, we can spend half the time looking for the treasure and the otherhalf looking for the frogmen's cache."

  The search for the treasure disclosed no loose boards, or anythingresembling a secret hiding place. At the end of ten minutes they turnedfrom the wreck and swam along the bottom toward the reef.

  Since they had no idea what they were looking for, the search couldn'tbe a very carefully planned one. Rick led the way, following the reef,taking time to examine the coral formations. There were countless seaurchins, and enough small fish to feed the entire population. Biggerfish, however, were not plentiful. Once Rick saw a snook that would havebeen worth taking, but the fish sped off into the watery gloom. Again,Scotty called his attention to a deadly scorpion fish. This small,rather weird-looking little creature had a dangerous defense mechanismin the spines of his back. His poison bore a strong resemblance to cobravenom. The boys gave him a wide berth.

  Now and then a moray glared at them with unwinking eyes from a crevice,but the boys paid no attention. The morays wouldn't attack unlessdisturbed, and there was no reason for disturbing them. Rick wondered ifthe big one they had ousted from the wreck had found a new home.

  They passed a colony of sea worms, colorful even in the green light. Theworms were pretty, but their long hairs could give a painful sting.

  Their time was growing short. Rick consulted his watch, then his depthgauge. They were at eighty-five feet. Because of the shallower waterthey would have a little more time, perhaps another five minutes beforeconstricted breathing told them only a few minutes of air remained.

  Scotty found a puffer and waved at him, but the fish paid no attention.Scotty motioned to Rick, then reached out and scratched the creature'sstomach. It began to gulp water until it resembled a balloon. They leftit to return to normal in its own time. On the surface, the puffer wouldhave gulped air in the same way. They had caught them on lines manytimes.

  They were past the _Water Witch_ now, Rick estimated. He hooted atScotty, then led the way up to a depth of about forty feet. There hestarted back along the cliff.

  Suddenly he wished he had brought a game bag attached to his belt. Thereef here was alive with shellfish. He identified cowries, whelks, andsome excellent specimens of Triton's horn. They would have to come backagain, to collect some to take home. The biggest problem was getting theanimals out of their shells, unless there were some anthills on theisland. Ants would do the job neatly in a few days.

  Scotty hooted, and pointed. Directly ahead was a small shelf. Rick movedto Scotty's side and saw the dark opening of a cave. Next to the openingwas a small octopus. As they approached he changed color, trying toimitate the multicolored coral against which he rested.

  Rick reached out a hand and the animal retreated, sliding into the mouthof the cave. Apparently this was his home, because the ledge waslittered with shells from a number of meals.

  Now Rick wished for his camera, then smiled inwardly. To satisfy all hisunexpected wishes he would need a sort of underwater trailer to tow hisgear.

  Scotty moved close to the octopus and it r
etreated still further. Bothboys knew the creatures were harmless to divers, and some divers evenhandled them. But there were reports of divers being bitten whileplaying with octopuses, and they had learned long ago that unnecessaryrisks were foolish.

  Rick suddenly rocked back as his ears were smitten by sound. A wailechoed in his head, so intense that it almost hurt. Scotty started, too,and reached for the ledge in his astonishment.

  The octopus peered out of the cave, and the wail came again, buzzinguncomfortably in their heads. And in that moment, Rick's air gave out.He pulled the reserve lever and planed to the surface, Scotty close onhis heels.

  On the _Water Witch_ they stared at each other.

  "Did you hear that?" Scotty demanded.

  "I'll say I did!"

  "That octopus wailed," Scotty insisted. "Twice!" He hesitated, then putRick's thoughts into words. "Only--octopuses don't wail. They don't makenoise of any kind."

  "This one did," Rick said. "A wailing octopus! This is either a newscientific find, or ..."

  "Or we've found what the fancy frogmen didn't want us to find," Scottyconcluded.