BENEATH TROPIC SEAS 



life came, at one time or another, to my light, yet 

 as I look back on the whole experience, there were 

 three which dominated in numbers and conspicu- 

 ousness, — ^jellies, worms and fish. 



Whenever the slowly vibrating hosts of pale, 

 blue-white Aurelias were about, more delicate 

 jellies came lightward, little quadrangular oblong 

 boxes trailing four medusa tentacles behind. The 

 first time I saw them, a trio came surging toward 

 me. The water was clear and very little life had 

 collected. They moved with sudden vigorous 

 jerks more fitting bone and muscle than flabby 

 jelly and they bumped against the wire mesh of 

 the guard of the searchlight. Suddenly a trick 

 was performed. No fish had swum within sight 

 and yet there were two fish before me. I swung 

 my net at them and both might have dissolved 

 into the transparent liquid as far as results and my 

 vision were concerned. I thought that the glare 

 had overstrained my eyes and then I caught a 

 momentary glimpse of a jellyfish in silhouette 

 against the. light, — ^I saw a small, curled-up object 

 in the heart of its body and there stared out at 

 me, dimly through the filmy tissues, an open sil- 

 very eye. I had resolved the trick and with one 

 dip of a big glass jar I gently maelstromed the 

 jelly into my possession. In the laboratory light 

 I saw plainly the two fish within, — one pressed 

 tightly against the wall of its padded compartment, 

 the other turning slowly on its own axis. 



How such a habit could ever have been inaugu- 



84 



