There's an old saying that there's strength in numbers, and this is possibly as true on the Magic Island or in Euclidia as it is anywhere else. The Gregory party of four has now grown to five with the addition of the Euclidean girl submarine commander. The girl whom we have known only as the commander has been sent to live with our party as a punishment for aiding them to escape from the Magic Island. She's a very lovely and clever young person and will be known from this time on as Elaine Raleigh. In the living quarters set aside for Mrs. Gregory and her loyal friends, Joan and her mother are fitting one of Mrs. Gregory's dresses on Elaine, while Jerry and the captain are out trying to get a little more information on their position. I know I'm right, Captain Bradford. Well, I hope you are, Jerry, but this doesn't look much like it. Oh, just the same. I think we should keep walking along this narrow little hallway. At least it was built here for some purpose, and the more we learn of this place, the more chance we have of escaping from it. I know one thing for sure. What's that? Nobody can hear us talking in this tunnel. How are you so sure of that? Well, the commander told me so. Elaine? Yep, that's right. I've called her the commander so long that it's hard to remember to call her anything else. Elaine is sure a swell name. It is a pretty name, Jerry, and Elaine is a very attractive girl. You bet she is. I think she's mighty nice. Well, I'll agree with you, son, but if you don't mind, I'd like to give you a little advice about her. About Elaine? Mm-hmm. Elaine and all the rest of the ladies. Yeah? What is it? Well, Jerry, just as one man to another, I'd say that it might be just as well if you didn't say too much about how nice you think Elaine is, especially when Joan is around. Oh, sure. I figured that out for myself. Joan gets all steamed up every time I say something nice about the girl. Yes, you may find that such things will happen to you from time to time. Yeah, I know that. Women are all alike. But I guess they can't help acting out like that. And they're pretty nice. Not bad, Jerry. And if you understand them that well, I'll let you alone to work out your own problems with it. Yeah, but Elaine is mighty smart about things in this crazy place. And when she says nobody can hear us in this tunnel, I know it's right. Well, at least it's worth taking a chance on. But why do you think she was so insistent that we explore this passageway? Well, you started it all by what you said at dinner last night. What was that? Well, when you said you thought there must be some easier way to get out of this underwater city than taking a submarine out through those locks. Well, I naturally figured that anyone as clever as these Euclidians are would have more than one exit. There would always be an emergency outlet someplace. That's the idea. And Elaine says there is. And she thinks this steel shaft is the answer? That's right. I wonder. Well, we're going back away from the city now and climbing at the same time. I'd say this was very near that elevator shaft we came down from the island to the underwater city. What will I think? I've got an idea, Tex. Well, it may be crazy, but I wish you'd listen to it. Well, right ahead, Jerry. Ideas aren't so plentiful that we can afford to waste any of them. Well, that universal solvent of yours, that's the only thing we've got that's better than anything the Euclidians have, isn't it? Yes, I expect that's right. And the only way you can use that is to have it where you can turn it loose or pour it out or spill it or let it run down on something? That's right. Our only real hope to use my solvent as a threat when we try to capture this place is to find the highest point in the city, suspend a quantity of the solvent there and threaten to release it and destroy the city. That is, unless the Euclidians surrender at our terms. Okay, that's swell. And that fits right in with what the commander, I mean Elaine, said. Yes, go on. Well, she figures that this tunnel we're walking in comes out inside that mountain that the crater of the volcano is in. Only this thing goes right up inside one of the little peaks around the crater and that the opening at the top is only 30 or 40 feet below the water. Well, if that's true, say we're as good as off this place right now. We'll have to be sure that nobody else knows what we know. Oh, what could they do about it? Provide our coming up here for one thing and close this off for another. Yeah, they'd do that all right. Hey Tex, listen to our steps. Yeah, we're off that noiseless deal and walking on rock. Good solid rock too. It begins to look as if your girlfriend is correct. Boy, it sure does. But it looks like there's something here she didn't know about. What? Oh, a steel door, eh? Mm-hmm. And a mighty heavy door from the looks of things. Well, now if we can get this open, give me a hand here, Jerry. Aye, aye, sir. I'll say, this isn't going to be any too easy. No, must be some way to get it open though. I don't like to make too much noise or stay up here too long. We might get caught at it and that would spoil all our plans. Sure, but we may not get many chances to come up here either. I think we ought to try getting through there right now. Well, your guess is as good as mine and you're cliving it, Jerry. Come on, we'll try some more. This is, mm, it sure funny. The door looks like it was stuck to the sides all the way around. Yes, except on the bottom. Here, put your hands flat against the door and we'll try pushing down on it. Down? Down. Okay, Skipper, here we go. Hey, it's moving, Tex. It's, it's moving. It sure is, son. Look, it's going down. That's the best thing in the world for us. Why? Why is it? Well, I'd say there's only one reason for a door to open down. There isn't room for it to open up. And that can mean only one thing. There isn't room for it to open up because we're too near the top of this mountain. Or whatever we're inside of. Gee, Tex, look into that room. Yes, not only into the room, but look through the room. Come on. Wait, wait, hold it, Jerry. Wait until this door is all the way down into the floor. You might get hurt if you start in there now. Okay. Boy, that's something to see, isn't it? Hmm, it certainly is. Look, that room is made of transparent steel. And it's mighty near the surface of the water. Why, it must be. Yep. Well, the water's light's enough that you can see all around in the room. How deep could the water be in letting that much light? Well, I don't know exactly, but I'd say, oh, not over four or five fathoms. Not more than 30 feet? Oh, something like that, I think. Gee, Tex, if we're only 30 feet below the surface of the water, we could swim out if we had to without getting hurt. Yeah, we could do just that, son. Well, everything seems to be stationary. Come on, let's go on in. Gee, this place isn't very big. Only big enough for an escape chamber, and that's just what it was designed for. Well, how do you get out of here? I'm trying to figure that out. I think I have. How? Now, look, see that valve down there on the corner? Huh? Oh, yeah. I get it. Air pressure. Right, boy. Either air pressure to bring the pressure of this room up to that outside or to flood this lock with water. Be hard to get out of here and into the water at that. That's a long time to hold your breath. I don't have any idea that you're supposed to hold your breath while you're getting out of here. Well, how else can it be done? Looks more to me as if this whole room was a lock. Yeah, a floating lock. It can be forced up to the surface of the water. Looks like the locks they used to get that rocket plane out of that underwater city. Exactly. I think when our time comes to escape from Euclidia, this is the way we do it. And you can leave some of your solvent out in that hallway, so we'll eat down through into the city and let the ocean flood in and destroy everything. That's it. Except that we'll give the Euclideans a chance to surrender and become good citizens of the world. You know, after all, Jerry, we're here to stop those scientists before they do a lot of harm in our world with their inventions and discoveries. Our business isn't to hurt anyone. Well, I guess not. But they wouldn't worry about hurting anyone else. Well, do you know of anyone they've hurt? No. Yeah. How about that old sailor who got the first radio message off to us? He wasn't hurt. He's alive and well, a prisoner like the rest of us. Maybe you're right. But will these Euclideans behave if we do capture them and take them home? We'll put them where they'll have to. In jail, you mean? No, I don't think so. You know, I doubt very much if it's possible to prove anything criminal against them. At least nothing serious enough to keep them in a prison for life. You know, after all, Jerry, all they've done is to be just a little too brilliant for the present order of society. While that may be dangerous, well, certainly isn't criminal. Well, if we can't put them in prison, where can we put them? Well, Mrs. Gregory has money, Jerry. Almost unlimited money. Many of her friends are equally fortunate. I'm sure Pat would lead a movement to form a syndicate, establish a scientific foundation for these people. There they would be allowed to carry on their work, but they'd also be watched to see that anything they develop would only be used for good. Sounds okay, but it sure cost a lot of money and plenty of trouble. It's the only answer I can think of. Well, I hope they refuse to surrender, and we can turn this water in on the whole bunch of them. Now, Jerry, you wouldn't do that. Well, maybe I wouldn't want to do that to the animals they've got down there, but I don't feel very bad about anything happening to the Euclidians. Why, Jerry, they're human, just the same as we are. They're entitled to fair treatment. Yeah, only... Hey, Tax, look. Yeah, I see it, Jerry. A shadow on the water above us. Looks like the shadow of a submarine. No, it's one of those rocket planes shaped like a submarine. How can you tell? Well, see the shadows, those little bumps on the sides, where the wings don't quite fold into the ship? Say, you're right. It is one of the Euclidean rocket planes. It's just drifting on the surface of the water. Well, it's going to be right over us in a minute. The shape of that shadow is changing. There's a bulge on one side of it. Looks almost like somebody was getting out of it and into the water. That's just what's happening. Now, look, that fellow's feet are touching the water. Yep, and we're mighty close to the surface. I'll bet it is over 20 feet. Near 30, I think, but the water's perfectly clear. Jerry, that man is coming down into the water, and he's coming right for this transparent steel lock. Hey, let's get out of here. Wait, wait, we can step outside the door into the hallway and still see him. I want to watch how this is done. But if he sees us in here, then our chance of using this place for an escape are all gone. Oh, now look, we'll step back to the door and start to shut it. When it's nearly up to the top, we can safely watch over it and close it quickly when he's near enough to see us. Okay, but we'd better get busy. Look, Jerry, the man has on heavy shoes, like a diver, but no diving suit. Well, he's got a little thing like a helmet on, though. Right, just something to allow him to breathe for the few seconds it takes him to get into this lock. He's right beside the lock now, but he's turned sideways, so I guess he can't see us. Look, he's reaching down to turn something. It's a valve, just what I thought. This is a lock, and he'll fill it with water before coming into it. But how can he get the water out of it when he wants to come through this door? Probably pump it out with that valve we saw in here. Hey, he's letting him in the water. Will you allow me to turn around a minute? Here, give me a hand here, Jerry, and we'll shut this door quick. Aye, aye, sir. Now, come on, Sam, let's get away from here quick. I'll say, oh, boy, what we know about this place now. Sure looks encouraging, Jerry, but we'll have to be mighty careful about discussing with the others. But we'll have to tell Joan, their mother, and the girl commander, I mean, Lane. We'll tell them all right, but let's be careful. We're as good as out of Euclidio right now. That's what you think. What's up, kid? Well, look behind you, through the transparent wall of that steel lock we just came out of. Huh? That's a funny one. Yes, that fellow took off his helmet and stored away in that little cabinet, but he isn't coming out this door. Well, he's sure not going to try going back up through that water without a helmet. Get out of here quick, Joe. He's coming this way. Playing these transparent steel walls, you can't tell when you're through something. He's coming now, and there's no doubt of it. And I'm not sure we can find our way out of here. There aren't any turns in this corridor. You mean there weren't any turns in it when we came up here. No telling what's happened to it since then. Come on, step on it, Jerry. That door's opening behind us. And if we can't get around the turn in this tunnel before that fellow sees us, we'll never get a chance to see this place where it escaped.
