Jerry and Joan are now several hundred feet below the surface of the South Pacific Ocean. After the Gregory Party was comfortably located in their new quarters in the Euclidean city below the sea, Mrs. Gregory and Captain Bradford started out to explore the underwater colony from one side, and the youngsters chose the other. When they stood on a balcony of steel looking out into a natural cave nearly a mile in diameter, where large trees and green grass were growing below them, Jerry and Joan thought they had seen something wonderful. Now, however, they are seeing things even more wonderful as they stand on the floor of the immense undersea room. Hey Joan, listen to that! Listen to what Jerry? Listen, you'll know what to listen to. I hear a variety of strange sounds. What do they mean? Well, if it was back home out in the country, I'd say we're in somebody's barnyard. Sounds like chickens and stuff to me. I have never heard of chickens. Well, you're hearing them now, but I don't believe it. Jerry, you say you can hear something, then you say you do not believe it. What are you thinking about? Well, I know there couldn't be any chickens or ducks or pigs or any of the rest of those things here. We're in a cave 400 feet below the water. But you said you heard those animal sounds. Well, I still don't believe it. Jerry, it is foolish to stand here and discuss something we may easily settle. Well, how can we settle it? If we step around this section of the wall into the main chamber, we will see what is making those noises. Yeah, guess you're right. Okay, come on then, Joan. Hey, Joan. Joan! Listen to the noise our feet make here. What is so strange about that? Well, this is good old dirt we're walking on now. Just plain old ground. Boy, it sounds good after all that noiseless steel we've been walking around on. I can understand how you would feel there. Joan. Joan! Look, it's a regular barnyard. Just like we have back home, any place in the country. What are those lively white things? Those lively white things are chickens, white leghorns. I have eaten of chicken, but I have never seen one before. Did you like that bacon we had for breakfast? It was indeed acceptable food. Well, that old guy over there with a curly tail, that's a pig. And someday he'll be bacon. Will he also be eggs? Will he be what? Will the pig be eggs? We had eggs with the bacon this morning. Look, Joan, you don't get eggs from pigs. You get eggs from chickens. It's about time you started eating some real food instead of that concentrated stuff they give you in those little pills. Huh. Eggs from a pig. I am sorry if you think I am stupid, Jerry, but I had never seen either a chicken or a pig. Oh, okay. But don't ask me a lot of silly questions now if you see a cow. A cow? What is a cow? I know it. Now hold everything. I'll explain a cow when we see a cow. I suppose you think milk comes from those concentrated milk tablets. That is indeed all I know of milk. Well, it strikes me that a lot of these Euclidians know plenty more than you do about a lot of things. Somebody's been living down here and taking care of all these animals and birds and stuff. Jerry, what is stuff? Oh, stuff is, well, when you're talking about something and you mean a whole lot more that's pretty near the same thing, well, that's stuff. A larger quantity of nearly the same things. Hey, look who's coming. He is vaguely familiar to me. I guess you only saw him a time or two when we first came here in your mother's yacht. That's the old skipper who was handling the boat. The old gentleman who speaks only a single word at one utterance? That's the guy. And he's got some funny looking clothes on. Looks like he's working here. That is indeed the Euclidean laboring dress. Back home we'd call him overall. Hey, skipper. Jerry, perhaps you should not speak to him. Why not? Old G-47 said we could do anything we wanted to on the sightseeing tour. He has heard you, Jerry. He is coming toward us. Boy, and does he look glad to see us. Hello, skipper. Hello. How do you do? Hello. Have you been here ever since we escaped from the island? Yep. Have you been working down here? Yep. But you are a sea captain. What did you know of farming? Nothing. Well, you must be doing it all right now. You look like they were treating you pretty good. Aye. Is McCloud the Scotch engineer down here too? Aye. What's he doing? Milking. Milking? Milking. You mean milking cows? An engineer from a yacht milking cows? Aye. Well, I'll bet he doesn't like that any too well. What's your job, skipper? Pigs. Pigs? Hogs. Oh, boy. I can see that engineer handling a bunch of pigs. Jerry, what is a hog? A hog is a pig. Then what is a pig? A pig is a hog. I do not understand that. Well, never mind now. Save all the questions till some other time. Just now I want to try and find out something about what's been going on here. Have they treated you all right, skipper? I mean, plenty to eat and a good place to sleep? Aye. Can we see McCloud pretty soon? Aye. Jerry, would it not be quicker and easier to see these things for yourself than it is to wait for the captain's answers one word at a time? Hey, look here, skipper. Why don't you open up and do some real talking? I mean, put two or three words together and make a book out of them. Nope. Why? What's wrong with talking like other people? Waste. Waste of what? Words. So it's too much of a waste of words to tell us what's happened since we've been gone. Yep. Do you know where McCloud is? I mean, where we can find him right away? Pigs. Yeah, I know. He's with the pigs. But where are the pigs? Gone. The pigs are gone? Aye. Where did they go? If I know blame well, they can't run away from down here in this place. Where are they? Sleep. Oh, the pigs are going to sleep? Aye. Jerry, if they are sleeping, we do not wish to disturb them now. Look, Joan, a pig is something you don't care whether you disturb it or not. A pig can sleep any old time. A pig, well, a pig is just a pig. Possibly, but the skipper says the pigs are asleep, and I believe he means we cannot see Mr. McCloud, who is caring for them at this time. Is that not correct? Aye. Well, of all the blame nonsense I ever heard of, I can't visit the guy who's watching the pigs because the pigs are sleeping. Fine thing this is, that the one with the chickens aren't taking a little nap. Feeding. Oh, you're feeding them now? Aye. I should like to see that, Jerry. I have never seen a chicken eating. No. No what? You mean we can't watch you feed the chickens? No. What is the objection? Orders. Orders? Regulations. Regulations. Boy, I pretty nearly had you there. That word's long enough to count for two. May we see them closely at some other time? Aye. Hey, skipper, come back here. Busy. Oh, I like that. He's the old skipper, one of your mother's and Captain Bradford's best friend, so stuck on his job feeding Euclidean chickens that he can't even stop to talk to it. Perhaps he's only executing orders, as he said. Well, maybe, but it wouldn't hurt his old chickens any if we watched him feed them. Have you thought that G-47 may have some secret regarding the feeding that you may not see? Oh, I suppose so. Well, come on. The old skipper's closing that gate, so we might as well walk around the edge of this place and, well, see if we can get a look at a cow without splitting a leg. A cow without splitting her game of checkers or whatever they have the cows doing here. Jerry. Yeah? Do you not see how very final all this is? Final? What do you mean? That old gentleman you call the skipper, he is of your world, a good and loyal friend of my mother's. Oh, sure he is. Why? Yet his appearance is that of a man who is very happy, quite content with his lot, satisfied with his life. Yeah? Well, I guess he didn't seem very excited about seeing us, but then he never gets excited about anything. He meant more than that, Jerry. He is intelligent, has seen much of the world, and knows what various things are worth. Yet he is content to remain in Euclidia. What are you trying to say? I am afraid that may happen to all of us, Jerry. Is it not entirely possible that we may all find life here so pleasant that we will not want to leave it? Mother and the captain and yourself may be quite willing to give up the world you have always known. And I will have to be content with the brief glimpse I had of that world. Oh, don't worry about that, Joan. I'll never like this place so well that I won't want to get back home. I wish I could believe that, Jerry. Well, I mean it. I know you mean it at the moment, but we do not know what wonders we may see here, what comforts may be provided for us. Will we ever go back to your world, Jerry? Now, quit worrying about things like that, and let's find out more about these big caves. This one looks like it's the farm, the country part of Euclidia. Where are the rest of the caves the girl commander told us about? When we were up on the balcony, I could see the opening into one of the other rooms. But from our position on the floor, I can see nothing but trees. Trees, 200 feet high. Boy, what a place. And on this side of us, the artificial steel wall of the chamber. And now we're back on that noiseless steel again. And I suppose a lot of this spooky Euclidian stuff will start happening. Oh, I knew we couldn't have pigs and chickens all the time. Must you walk so rapidly, Jerry? Well, why not? There's nothing to see around here, and I'm in a hurry to get where I can see something. You will see a great deal. Gee whiz. Gee 47, where did you come from? That is not important. You will follow me. Oh, okay. Come on, Jones. No. Cleostra will remain where she now stands. You mean I'm to go with you alone? Precisely. What shall I do? Remain in your present position. Mrs. Gregory and the captain will join you in an instant. Oh, but look here. Why can't Joan come with me? You said we could look at anything we wanted to on this island or under it. I will show you something far more interesting than anything you might discover for yourself. But where are mother and the captain? Silence, scum whore. I won't be long, Joan. I have spoken. That is all. Yes, that is all. And I am alone. Alone in the same world from which mother and the captain and Jerry have tried so bravely to remove me. Joan, dear. Mother. Where's Jerry? And are you all right, Joan? Oh, I am perfectly safe, mother. But where did you come from? Through this steel slide right behind you. Why, it's invisible now. Why, sure it is. Once you pass through a door in this place, there's no chance to find it again. But where's Jerry? G-47 just stepped through another of those noiseless steel panels and ordered Jerry to accompany him. What was he going to do with Jerry? That I do not know. Oh, probably ask him a lot of questions. Jerry doesn't know the answer to the only question old G-47 cares about. I hope he can make that scientist believe him. I suppose we are quite helpless to do anything for Jerry. Naturally, mother. And any attempt on our part to move in Jerry's behalf would only anger G-47. Well, we might as well take it as calmly as we can and wait around near here for him to come out. What have you two been seeing? We saw the old captain of your yacht, mother. The skipper? How was he? He seemed in the best of health and spirits, so obviously so that Jerry could not understand it. What was he doing? He was caring for the chickens. Chickens? Yes. I had never seen one before, and we did not view these from a good point. But Jerry said they were chickens that gave us the bacon, which we used with the eggs, which came from the pigs to make our breakfast. Well, Joan dear, that's the first time I've ever heard you so completely mixed up. But I believe we understand. You mean that they have chickens and pigs here? Just beyond this soundproof wall. Jerry and I saw and heard them from a distance. And the old skipper is caring for the chickens. What a task for an able seaman. But you say he seemed to enjoy it, Joan. He did indeed. Of course, it is difficult to question him, as he will only speak a single word at one time. But he excused himself and left us very calmly to attend his chickens. Tex, can you imagine such a thing? I can't, unless it would be McCloud milking cows. As to that, I could not say. But he is attending the pigs. Tex, McCloud and the pigs. A marine engineer and his skipper playing nursemaid to the pigs and chickens. No wonder Jerry looked surprised when he heard that.
