Some Friends in Armor 97 



movements and making it difficult — in fact, impossible 

 — successfully to cope with the vicissitudes of a life that 

 is hazardous at best. The result of this neglect is evi- 

 dent in the case of old crabs, many of whom, no longer 

 retaining the suppleness of youth, have tufts of seaweed 

 growing in those areas inaccessible to their chelipeds. 



Hello! Who is this? Another hermit crab, at- 

 tracted by the feast that our friend just left, has come 

 within several inches of the primper. He is a great 

 hulk of a fellow; and his shell is covered with a downy 

 growth, for he carries with him a colony of coelenterates 

 {Clava leptostyla), which makes him look for all the 

 world like a giant clad in furs. 



Each catches sight of the other at the same instant. 

 A momentary pause ensues. Then each, with his great 

 claw extended, makes a sudden and furious rush for the 

 other. The clash and rattle of their shells on the 

 pebbles can be heard distinctly through the water as 

 they come to grips and wildly seek an advantageous 

 hold. Jabbing, cuffing, wrestling, they display an aston- 

 ishing agility, encumbered as they are with their heavy 

 shells, and the rapidity of their movements behooves 

 one to watch sharply if he is to observe every detail. 

 Now one is uppermost, now the other. Separating, 

 they encircle one another with a sidewise movement, all 

 the while keeping their big pincers thrust forward. 

 Again they come together. They part. This time, 

 however, the newcomer betrays a craven spirit; he pre- 

 cipitately leaves the field with a. backward run. It were 

 better, perhaps, to say he attempts to leave, for in his 

 rapid retreat a stone obstructs his way, and the impact 

 sends him topsy-turvy, causing him from fright or sur- 



