Ere long she was lying securely moored to a huge black rock which thrust its scarred surface some feet above the wave-crests; then Haverly and the engineer joined the group on deck, and they fell to discussing the proposed trip ashore. “We must go well armed,” the baronet said. “That goes without saying,” replied Haverly, “and I guess yer Uncle Sile ’ud better go along with you to see as you don’t get into trouble. You see, you might get lost in this yer plaguey jungle without the guidance of yer humble.” “Oh. come, Silas!” Seymour laughingly retorted, “draw it mild, you know.” “As legal adviser to this yer outfit,” returned Silas drily, “I feel kinder called on to keep an eye on you young fellers.” “Oh, dry up, you old fraud,” Garth cried, rolling up a pellet of paper and dexterously flipping it on to the tip of the Yankee’s nose. “See here, sonny,” the latter remarked in mock severity, rubbing his offended nasal organ the while, “I reckon you’re considerable lackin’ in due and proper respect for yer elders. What was yer mommer thinkin’ about to bring you up in such a style? I’m shocked, young feller, real shocked!” A roar of laughter greeted this quaint speech. “Well, if you don’t take the proverbial biscuit, Silas,” the engineer said; then a gigantic ripple passed over the water alongside. “What was that?” Mervyn cried sharply. Quick as a flash came the answer, but in a terrible and unexpected manner. A long, lithe, whip-like tentacle, its under-side armed with hundreds of terrible suckers, writhed up over the rail, swayed for an instant high above the _Seal,_ then fell heavily across the deck. The startling suddenness of this attack paralysed the explorers for a moment, and, ere they could recover their wits, a second great arm hissed upward, and flung its wet and glistening length around the rail. “A squid!” gasped the Yankee. As he spoke, a third tentacle wriggled into view, and the _Seal_ listed slightly beneath the grip of those terrible arms. Recovering from his stupor, Haverly made a dash for the turret; but, ere he could reach it, with a curling snap--for all the world like the crack of a whiplash--a giant feeler coiled about his waist. High above the deck he was lifted, struggling desperately, yet vainly, against the grip of the suckers which seared his flesh like red-hot iron. His fearful plight aroused his comrades to a sense of their own peril, and, as two more tentacles flashed over the rail, Seymour leapt into the wheelhouse. Escaping by a miracle the writhing, groping arms of the cephalopod, and urged to action by the feeble groans of the American--fast becoming exhausted by the unequal struggle--Seymour entered the turret. Snatching down a couple of axes from the rack, he skimmed them towards his friends; then, with a third, he commenced a furious attack upon the nearest tentacle.