THE CEILING OF THE BAY 



After a few weeks the thimbles become mature, 

 rise to the surface and discharge their eggs. This 

 is said to be always at eight o'clock in the morning. 

 When this is accomplished the innumerable host 

 sinks dying into the depths; the great wheel of life 

 has revolved a fraction of its arc; a million living 

 beings have been snuffed out, and billions of new 

 ones launched. 



The day following the first appearance of the 

 thimble jellies, they seemed more abundant than 

 ever. They began a mile from the schooner and 

 formed broad, brown ribbons in all the tidal lanes. 

 While I was diving, the sea-breeze began, and 

 tens of thousands were blown past. A pailful of 

 water contained three solid quarts of them. 

 When I hesitated on the ladder, helmet half 

 under, the brown thimbles piled up in windrows 

 against the glass in front of my face. Looking up 

 from the bottom I could see every detail of their 

 vibrating bodies. 



They were so close together that they were 

 pressed into regular honeycomb patterns hundreds 

 in diameter. In several I could make out the bodies 

 of tiny fish. They seemed to gather about any 

 floating object, and when I began to retrace my 

 path from the extreme length of the hose, I found 

 itscoursemarkedby a solid band, two feet wide, of 

 jellies, undulating and twisting with every wave. 



Two days later, I saw only a single thimble jelly 

 in the three miles of water. All the rest had 

 vanished forever. 



23 



