By this time Miki had become accustomed to travelling under water, and the full horror of the new cataclysm into which they were plunged was mercifully lost to him.

His paws had almost ceased their motion.

He was still conscious of the roar in his ears, but the affair was less unpleasant than it was at the beginning.

In fact, he was drowning.

To Neewa the pleasant sensations of a painless death were denied.