Down in the depths of a strange underwater world, the little band of adventurers are having their troubles one at a time. When Mrs. Gregory, Captain Bradford, Jerry, and Joan started down inside the island of Euclidia in one of the automatic elevators, they didn't even dream of the sort of thing they would find. Carried down to a level which they believed to be about 200 feet below sea level, 100 feet below the foundation of the island, they set out to walk along one of the familiar corridors of polished steel. One by one, they disappear. Captain Bradford first, then Jerry, Joan next, and finally Mrs. Gregory. They are still separated. The first one we find is Jerry Hall. Jerry is seated in a small metal chair. A bright light shines into his eyes, and out of the blackness before him a strange voice speaks. You will answer my questions, Hall. Maybe, if I can. You can, if you will. What are your questions? Where is Captain Bradford? I don't know. Where is Cleostra? Who? Cleostra, the living symbol of the perfect calendar. Oh, you mean Joan Gregory. You will learn that on Euclidia we say precisely what we mean. Precisely? Hmm, that sure sounds familiar. Well, why don't you come out in the light where I can see you? I will ask the questions here. Well, then ask them I can answer. Where is Cleostra? I don't know. Then where is... I don't know. I did not complete my interrogation. Well, you didn't need to. You're going to ask me where Mrs. Gregory is, and I don't know. And I don't know where any of the others are. Do you know where you are? Sure, I'm right here. You are very foolish, Hall. Well, I guess I am. Anybody's foolish that lets themselves get caught by a crazy bunch of guys like you've got on this island. You are not on the island. Well, under the island, then. You are not under the island. Well, maybe I am foolish, but we came down under the island. I'm sure of that. Did you come down a true vertical course? Oh, we came down a true vertical... Oh, say, now look here. When you mean straight down, why don't you say straight down? We of Euclidia do not speak in the jargon of your commonly mutilated variations of the English language. Okay, okay. I know a few big words myself, but I don't show off all the time by using them. Now, I don't know a thing you want to know. So why don't you let me go and find Mrs. Gregory and the rest of our bunch? The word bunch is perhaps an adequate description of your ill-assorted expedition. Well, our expedition was plenty good enough to find this island. That was made very simple for you. Oh, yeah, I know. OG-47 wanted to see the captain and try to get something he's got. But we escaped from this island, didn't we? Are you not here now? Now look here. You haven't asked me a question and you don't know the answer to better than I do. And there's no sense in my trying to answer any more of them. I am thoroughly convinced there would be no intelligence displayed in anything you might be a part of. That is all. Oh, can I go now? I said, can I go now? Okay, I can sit here as long as you can. Hey, don't turn that light out. Well, I'm not afraid of the dark. Why don't you go on talking? I wonder. Yeah, that's it. I'm alone. That guy's gone. Jerry, is that you, Jerry? Yeah, yeah, this is Jerry. Where are you, Tex? I'm right here. Where are you? Well, I'm right here. At least we're in the same room, I think. Well, I don't like to do much moving around in the dark in these places. Well, neither do I, but it can't be helped. Now you stay where you are and keep talking. I'll try to come to your voice. Tell me, what happened to Pat and Joan? Well, the same thing has happened to us, I suppose. Were you suddenly pulled into an open steel panel? I sure was. Just a minute or two after you disappeared. Well, I disappeared the same way. Hey, somebody grab my arm. Let go. Jerry, Jerry, I've got a hold of your arm. Oh, golly whiskers. You never know what lives will happen to you in this place. What about Pat and Joan? Well, I don't know. They were together when I got lifted off my feet and jerked into a little room. Then you were brought in here for questioning. Yeah, that fellow Thaley's a Santa-like, but I couldn't be sure. He talked a lot like old G-47. Yeah, we've heard him talking other ways, too. Well, I've been questioned just as you have, and I was honored by having G-47 himself work on me. Oh, what did he have to say? Nothing. He wanted me to do all the talking and I didn't say any more than he did. Well, that must have been a noisy meeting. Not very. However, there's no use in our trying to hide our purposes from these Euclideans, Jerry. And no use fooling ourselves. They know we've come here to try and do something about this island because we're afraid of what they may do to the world if they're left alone. Well, what do you think they're going to do to us? Nothing, for the time being. I hope Joan and Mrs. Gregory are all right. No, if there were some lights in this place, we'd try to find them. Gee, lights. They came on just as you said lights. We're being watched and overheard, of course. Well, I like the light. I don't care who's looking at it. This room seems to have been designed for just such a purpose as this. Nothing in it but these straight steel chairs. Well, where are we? Do you know exactly? No, except that we're somewhere under the floor of the ocean and not far from the surface location of the island. Is this where we're supposed to stay? No, Talon Kitheim, just as much in the dark as you are. Jerry! Captain Bradford! Hello, Joan. I have been stealing my way along cold steel walls until I felt a panel open before me. And I am so glad to see you. We're glad to see you too, Joan. Where's your mother? I do not know. I was taken from her side as quickly and noiselessly as were you and Jerry. I have not seen her since. Sure a lot of mysterious junk around here. Did one of you Clidians ask you questions, Joan? Yes. I was blinded by a strong light focused directly into my eyes while my interrogator remained in total darkness. But I believe it was Thaley. Ah, the same guy who worked on me. And what was your experience, Captain Bradford? About the same as yours and Jerry's except that I was questioned by G-47. Such things as what were we doing here and why had we come and what would we attempt to do now that we were here. The interviews must have been practically identical then. Joan dear. Hey, it's Mrs. Gregory. We are all safe, Mother. I'm so glad, Joan dear, and Jerry, and Tex. What happened to you? Same as happened to you, I expect. A dark room, questions, then silence, and you were alone. Yes, Tex. How did you know? Well, it's just happened to all of us. Oh, thank heavens we're together again. And I hope we can stay together. The lights! They're going out. Now what's coming? Now take it easy till we find out. Everyone stand still. Hold each other's hands. Give me your hand, Jerry. Right, Tex. There it is. Mother, give me your hand. Well, when I can find yours in the dark. There, dear. Now, Pat, your hand. That's right. And whatever you do, don't let go. Any of you. Well, what do you expect? Anything. But whatever happens, let's keep from being separated as long as we can. Ah, so. We are all together. Chief 47. Precisely. What's the idea of the black magic, G-47? You can do just about as you wish with us here. Why put on this cheap show? Ah, my dear Captain, you will learn to entertain a greater respect for me before you see the outside world again. Just where are we now? You are in Euclidia. That might mean anything. It might indeed. Now, you will answer some questions. What again? Mrs. Gregory, what do you hope to gain by this visit to Euclidia? Hey, that's not G-47. It is sailies, I believe. Where is your formula, Captain Bradford? My formula is safe from you. What were the materials you brought on your boat? What experiments did you hope to conduct here? The compounding of that formula by anyone except a scientist of Euclidia will seal your fate. Tex, just what I thought. We're only safe until they can force you to give up that formula. They'll never do that. Never is a longer period of time than any human is allowed to hold a secret. We will never give this up, G-47. You are very foolish to ally yourself with this hopeless cause, Gleostra. Now, wait a minute, you two. I'm not a bit frightened by these third degree methods. I can talk and reason as well in the dark as you can. I'm the only one of this group who knows my formula, the only one in the world, and the only written copy of the formula I destroyed when we were in Los Angeles. You can't browbeat any secrets out of the others and you'll never get them from me. Good for you, Tex. We all feel the same way. Ah, very heroic. However, your sweeping gestures have the weakness of all heroics. They have no value in the face of fact. But the formula is a fact in my having it a fact. And is it not a fact that you would surrender the formula before you would allow harm to come to any of these others? Well... No, Captain. We are able to undertake anything with you. Yes, Joan, dear. But the four of us mean very little when the safety of the world is at stake. Do you think you four weak fools are of any value in the world? Well, as long as we can keep guys like you from running wild and upsetting all our countries, we're plenty of good to the world, and that's more than you are. We of Euclidia have knowledge that is priceless to your elementary world. That depends on your senses of values. We're going to do everything within our power to see that your vast scientific knowledge is not used to harm the world. No, never mind, Pat. We're only wasting our breath. Let's just let them talk, and when the time comes, we'll find a way to do the right things. Does anyone in your world ever do the right things? Hey, listen! That's the signal to submerge the island! That means we will not see the daylight for some time. The island is being submerged completely and will remain so until we have that formula. Well, we can stand it down here if you can. And in the meantime, there are warships from every nation in the world ready to come to this position and attack the island if we do not return within a specified time. Ah, that is interesting indeed. For those warships, we'll find only the crater of an extinct volcano. A volcano? Under the water? So that's where you got the foundation of the island. Precisely. The island was built in the crater of a volcano, and that made your excavations easy. Gives you plenty of space under the ocean floor. Several millions of cubic feet. Millions of cubic feet? In what? In Euclidia, where this room is located, where you are now more than 200 feet below the surface of the water. And this is the highest level of the city. City? I told you, Mother, I thought there was a city here. When will you let us see this place? You will be free to explore it at your pleasure tomorrow. It is not necessary to warn you that escape is hopeless. No, we can see that for ourselves. Anyway, we didn't come here this time to try and escape. You may go to your quarters when you so desire. And I suppose we've got to walk around here in the dark and fall over a lot of steel chairs trying to find a door. Hey! You're wrong, Jerry. There's plenty of light now. G-47. They are gone. Golly, gone without a sound. And they were both right here in front of us. Don't let that bother you. We're going to have a lot of things more serious and disappearing tricks to contend with. Yes, our position is serious now, Tex. We cannot escape as we did from the island. No, they're not kidding about that. We're 200 feet below the ocean. 200 feet under the water. It might as well be 200 miles.
