150 THE ARCTURUS ADVENTURE 



five hieroglyphic fish, beautifully patterned with 

 cuneiform inscriptions that seem as though they 

 must be decipherable. 



Now this business of catching large, resentful, 

 powerful fish as fast as the line can be thrown out 

 and pulled in, is excellent exercise and, for the first 

 few thousand fish, great fun. But after a while it 

 does pall upon one. As I dodged the assaults of 

 a hot-tempered grouper that was exhibiting every 

 sign of repugnance for the boat and our society, I 

 glanced above the level of the gunwale for the first 

 time in an hour or two. We were drifting in the 

 shadow of a cliff, and such a cliff ! Sheer from the 

 water it rose, a black rampart to whose most im- 

 possible declivities clung little flowering plants. 

 At the very top, outlined on the cloudless sky, a 

 yellow-blossomed tree lifted thin arms, and the 

 clear whistle of a mockingbird drifted down. 

 Within oar's length a tiny pocket on the face of 

 the rock wall held a scanty nest, and the carnelian 

 eyes of the fork-tailed gull-mother watched us 

 calmly over her lava parapet. Just below, a low, 

 deep cave bored into the base of the cliff, and the 

 slow surge, creeping back, revealed glimpses of 

 rugged walls, softened and colored with the myriad 

 hues of bright sponges, starfish and anemones. 

 Sprawled motionless across the top of the arched 

 entrance, a giant black sea-lizard might have been 

 either a fairy-tale dragon guarding his den, or the 

 sculptured device of an artistic Prospero. 



My lagging interest in angling died altogether 

 and I looked about to orient myself. We were 



