SARGASSO WEEDS AND WAVES 33 



at the surface at night. Oneirodes was a globular 

 little fish, chiefly mouth; from the top of its head 

 sprouted an appendage, the upper half of which 

 bent at right angles to the base, and from the end 

 dangled a tiny light, for all the world like an elec- 

 tric bulb. This hung before the fish as it swam 

 along and presumably attracted the small crea- 

 tures upon which it fed. Approaching to examine 

 the illumination, they would be engulfed by the 

 gaping mouth, so ridiculously disproportionate to 

 the size of the fish behind it. This, however, is at 

 present pure theory. 



A third common source of illumination were the 

 fish belonging to a group known as Myctophum. 

 These too are found at considerable depths, while 

 at night we also took them at the surface, sometimes 

 in large numbers. They are spotted all over with 

 brilliant points of light — the sides exhibiting a 

 pattern that varies according to the species, and 

 the lower surface literally ablaze with a display 

 which presumably attracts edible creatures in the 

 same way that the little baited rod of Oneirodes 

 lures food. 



With every haul of the nets bringing in these 

 and other marvels to be studied, painted, described 

 and classified, it is no wonder that working hours 

 lengthened insensibly, and that the necessity for 

 sleep was but grudgingly admitted. There was 

 too, the ever-present peril of missing something, 

 and Argus himself might have found his equip- 

 ment unequal to the task of having at least one 

 eye always ready for emergencies. There was a 



