BENEATH TROPIC SEAS 



eyes every night in transforming this host of 

 worms into futile activity, would, if laid end to 

 end — but complete it yourself. Besides, it was 

 far from futile for the worms; it was the most im- 

 portant evening of their whole existence. 



The most abundant form was pink, two to four 

 inches in length, and bears the name of Nereis 

 glandulata. Its numbers sometimes formed a maze 

 of wriggling color about the light. I found that 

 the paler pink individuals were females. Late on 

 the twenty-seventh of April when other forms of 

 life were scarce I picked out an unusally large 

 female worm, and watched her. Up from the 

 depths she came, and then worked in from the 

 outer ring of darkness, forging steadily along, 

 rowed by bunched oars, so small and swift that 

 they seemed like a narrow hazy band down each 

 side of the body. Wlien she reached the light she 

 shot past, then turned and returned, and moved 

 in and out among the mass of fish and worms, small 

 jellies and shrimps. Soon she began to describe 

 large circles several feet across, swimming now 

 fast, now slow, then came close to my seat on the 

 gangway and threw a fit; at least no less vulgar, 

 more accurate term came to mind at the moment. 

 She stopped her headlong course and circled dizzily 

 around and around in her own length. 



At once the water of her little whirlpool became 

 cloudy, then milky, then the worm swam a foot 

 or two farther along, and, lilvc a smoke-writing 

 plane in the sky, established a new zone of pale- 



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