Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net THE WAILING OCTOPUS A RICK BRANT SCIENCE-ADVENTURE STORY BY JOHN BLAINE 1956 BY GROSSET & DUNLAP, INC. NEW YORK, N. Y. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED _Printed in the United States of America_ [Transcriber Note: Extensive research was unable to find a U.S. copyright renewal.] [Illustration: _With his spear Scotty jerked off the enemy frogman's face plate_] Contents I DESTINATION: CLIPPER CAY II THE SCUBA SLIP III THE SHADOW IV VISITORS BY NIGHT V THE WARNING VI THE DEADLY TANK VII THE DERELICT VIII THE FANCY FROGMEN IX WRECK OF THE "MAIDEN HAND" X THE WAILING OCTOPUS XI LIGHTS ON CLIPPER REEF XII CLOUDS OVER CLIPPER CAY XIII MESSAGE IN THE STORM XIV BELOW THE DARK CORAL XV HOW SINGS THE GAY SARDINE? XVI THE DEADLY SPRING GUN XVII TRAPPED IN TWENTY FATHOMS XVIII THE FIGHT ON THE "MAIDEN HAND" XIX JANIG TAKES TO THE WATER XX THE BURIED SECRET List of Illustrations _With his spear Scotty jerked off the enemy frogman's face plate_ _Pretending to lose his balance, Rick fell squarely against the man_ _The valve assembly, traveling with bullet speed, barely missed Scotty's head_ _Rick turned in time to see a six-foot shark speed past_ _A third man lowered something that glistened like gold_ _Rick nudged Scotty to back away_ [Illustration: Spindrift Island] THE WAILING OCTOPUS CHAPTER I Destination: Clipper Cay The Sky Wagon droned through Caribbean skies, following a compass course that led to Charlotte Amalie, capital city of the Virgin Islands. With eager interest, the four people in the small plane watched the blue water below. In a few moments they should pass over the island that was their ultimate destination. Rick Brant, in the pilot's seat, turned to the husky, black-haired boy next to him. "See anything yet?" he asked. Don Scott had been surveying the far horizon through binoculars. He took them from his eyes and shook his head. "Nothing but water. You sure there is an island called Clipper Cay?" Rick let the plane fly itself for a moment while he stretched luxuriously. He was a lean, long-legged boy with brown hair and eyes and a bone-deep tan. He grinned at his friend. "No faith. That's the trouble with you." "No logic, that's the trouble with you," Scotty countered. "If there were such an island it would be called an island, not a cay. A cay is something that follows an O, as in okay." The two scientists in the rear seat had been listening with amusement to the boys. Since the start of the expedition Scotty had professed doubt and misgiving, more for the sake of conversation than anything else, Rick was sure. Dr. Anthony Briotti, archaeologist of the Spindrift staff, leaned forward. "At least pronounce it correctly, Scotty. 'Cay' is pronounced 'key.'"