ever
saw.

The black water lay before us, a transparent crystal sheet. On its
rocky bottom we could see the innumerable clusters of upright azure
cylinders that were the city of the crabs. The blue cylinders seemed
to bend and waver in the water.

A hundred yards away from us, over the dark water, was Mildred. She
stood on a slender azure cylinder that came just to the surface. Tall,
slender, superbly graceful, with only the scant bodice of green silken
stuff about her, she looked like the statue of a goddess in white
marble. Her head was thrown up, golden-brown hair fell behind her
shoulders, and the pure notes of her song rang over the water.

Beyond her, all about her, were thousands upon thousands of the giant
crabs, swimming at the surface of the water. Their green antenna rose
above the water, a curious forest of luminous tentacles, flexing,
wavering. Green coils moved and swung in time to the strange rhythm of
her song.

The last note died. Her white arms fell in a gesture of finality. The
thousands of twisting green antennae vanished below the water, and the
giant red crabs swam swiftly back to the tall blue cylinders of their
submerged city.

* * * * *

The white goddess turned and saw us.

Her voice rang out in a golden shout of welcome. With a clean dive she
slipped into the water and came swimming swiftly toward us. Her slim
white body glided through the crystal water as smoothly as a fish.
Reaching the shore she sprang to her feet and ran to meet Ray.

"The Things come together when the giant bell rings, to listen to my
song," she said. "They like my singing, as they liked mother's. But
for that, they would not let us live. That is the reason they would
not let us go."

"I like your singing, too," Ray informed her. "Though at first you
made me cry. It was so lonely."

"The song was lonely because I have been lonely. Did you hear the glad
song I sang because you have come?"

"Sure! Great stuff! Made me feel like a kid at Christmas!"

"Come," she said. "We will eat."

Like a child, she took Ray's hand again, smiling naively up at him as
she led the way toward the three sapphire cylinders.

Back in the blue-vaulted dining room, Ray made Mildred sit with me at
the little metal table while he served the little brown cakes and the
dark-red soup and the fragrant amber drink. Mildred got up and brought
a great metal bowl filled with tiny purple fruits that had a
de