"Platinum, by all the little gods!"

"We'll grab some of this while the grabbing's good," announced Seaton,
and the few visible lumps were rolled into the car. "If we had a pickaxe
we could chop some more off one of those sharp ledges down there."

"There's an axe in the shop," replied DuQuesne. "I'll go get it. Go
ahead, I'll soon be with you."

"Keep close together," warned Crane as the four moved slowly down the
slope. "This is none too safe, Dick."

"No, it isn't, Mart. But we've got to see whether we can't find some
copper, and I would like to get some more of this stuff, too. I don't
think it's platinum, I believe that it's X."

As they reached the broken projections, Margaret glanced back over her
shoulder and screamed. The others saw that her face was white and her
eyes wide with horror, and Seaton instinctively drew his pistol as he
whirled about, only to check his finger on the trigger and lower his
hand.

"Nothing but X-plosive bullets," he growled in disgust, and in helpless
silence the four watched an unspeakably hideous monster slowly appear
from behind the Skylark. Its four huge, squat legs supported a body at
least a hundred feet long, pursy and ungainly; at the extremity of a
long and sinuous neck a comparatively small head seemed composed
entirely of a cavernous mouth armed with row upon row of carnivorous
teeth. Dorothy gasped with terror and both girls shrank closer to the
two men, who maintained a baffled silence as the huge beast passed his
revolting head along the hull of the vessel.

"I dare not shoot, Martin," Seaton whispered, "it would wreck the bus.
Have you got any solid bullets?"

"No. We must hide behind these small ledges until it goes away,"
answered Crane, his eyes upon Margaret's colorless face. "You two hide
behind that one, we will take this one."

"Oh, well, it's nothing to worry about, anyway. We can kill him as soon
as he gets far enough away from the boat," said Seaton as, with Dorothy
clinging to him, he dropped behind one of the ledges. Margaret, her
staring eyes fixed upon the monster, remained standing until Crane
touched her gently and drew her down beside him.

"He will go away soon," his even voice assured her. "We are in no
danger."

In spite of their predicament, a feeling of happiness flowed through
Crane's whole being as he crouched beside the wall of metal with one arm
protectingly around Margaret, and he longed to protect her through life
as he was