d ran down on to the main-deck
with her, and all this before I had come to a full knowledge of our
danger. But now I perceived that I should do well to get further back
from the stern, the which I did with haste, and, coming to a safe
position, I stood and stared at the huge creature, its great arms, vague
in the growing dusk, writhing about in vain search for a victim. Then
returned the second mate, having been for more weapons, and now I
observed that he armed all the men, and had brought up a spare musket
for my use, and so we commenced, all of us, to fire at the monster,
whereat it began to lash about most furiously, and so, after some
minutes, it slipped away from the opening and slid down into the weed.
Upon that several of the men rushed to replace those parts of the
superstructure which had been removed, and I with them; yet there were
sufficient for the job, so that I had no need to do aught; thus, before
they had made up the opening, I had been given chance to look out upon
the weed, and so discovered that all the surface which lay between our
stern and the island, was moving in vast ripples, as though mighty fish
were swimming beneath it, and then, just before the men put back the
last of the great panels, I saw the weed all tossed up like to a vast
pot a-boil, and then a vague glimpse of thousands of monstrous arms that
filled the air, and came towards the ship.

And then the men had the panel back in its place, and were hasting to
drive the supporting struts into their positions. And when this was done,
we stood awhile and listened; but there came no sound above that of the
wail of the wind across the extent of the weed-continent. And at that, I
turned to the men, asking how it was that I could hear no sounds of the
creatures attacking us, and so they took me up into the look-out place,
and from there I stared down at the weed; but it was without movement,
save for the stirring of the wind, and there was nowhere any sign of the
devil-fish. Then, seeing me amazed, they told me how that anything which
moved the weed seemed to draw them from all parts; but that they seldom
touched the hulk unless there was something visible to them which had
movement. Yet, as they went on to explain, there would be hundreds and
hundreds of them lying all about the ship, hiding in the weed; but that
if we took care not to show ourselves within their reach, they would have
gone most of them by the morning. And this the men told m