SLUMBERERS OF THE SURGE 313 



The great backbone of my population, the host 

 of "common peepul" was what I called Percolators 

 — although some of them were aristocrats and 

 many did not percolate. As a whole, however, 

 they lived their lives in and out of the coral and 

 rocks, never becoming surface lovers, nor settling 

 down in any special crevice. Still they were local 

 optioners in point of residence, and many a time 

 I recognized the same individuals in the same coral 

 palace grounds. In taste they were omnivorous 

 or carnivorous, seldom wholly vegetarians and 

 never strictly grazers. Like New Yorkers at 

 lunch hour they were victims of idle curiosity, and 

 I shall never see a throng watching with breathless 

 interest the working excavators, or the rhythmical 

 riveters on some new building, without remembering 

 the crowd of small Percolators who always rushed 

 toward me when I first submerged, swimming rap- 

 idly with a My-Word !-see-what's-here expression. 



My percolators belonged to many families and 

 systematic gens, and their diversity of habits within 

 the limits I have set would fill volumes. The most 

 abundant was probably the beautiful blue-lined 

 golden snapper, Evoplites viridis, which is one of 

 the most beautiful of fish. This may be taken as 

 typical of the group. In a dozen stomachs I found 

 that crabs and very tiny fish each occurred five 

 times, shrimp thrice and snails once. They have 

 little social instinct and while a score or two would 

 gather quickly at hint of a repast, yet they were 

 never closely associated in schools. 



They ran or swam with many of the other 



