and his hand touched something which he seized in an instant.

It was the short hatchet on the thwart and he had seized it by the helve,
well up toward the top.

With the swiftness of thought itself he realized what had happened.

The octopus had wound one of its tentacles about his arm and body and,
clinging to them with a tenacity which he could not overcome, had pulled
him out of the boat.

Percival gave a scream of fright as Jack went overboard, although he was
usually a very self-contained young fellow and not apt to give way to
hysterical outbreaks.

It was dark in the cave, but he quickly groped for the torch which Jack
had dropped, and cried out:

"Where are you, Jack? What has happened?"

Jack went under water and felt himself being drawn toward the end of the
water cave where he had seen the octopus squatting on the rock.

His thoughts flew like lightning and, being a resourceful boy, he
instantly decided what to do.

He had kept his breath from a natural instinct and now with his free arm
he dealt a swinging blow with the little axe in a direction which would
not cause him to injure himself but might strike the clinging tentacle.