pair of strong sharp scissors brought into play soon 

 reveals the nature of the angler's last meal. This 

 repast, it would seem, consists entirely of a single 

 species of fish, such as had previously escaped from 

 its maw, until by removing the contents to the 

 extent of a dish-pan-full, one fish, lodged well up 

 in the gullet, is brought to view that is totally 

 dissimilar. 



Here, in fact, is a find as potentially promising 

 as was its larger captor. It is a flat-fish, or flounder, 

 but of a type seldom seen near the shore ; it inhab- 

 its only those darker depths where the oozy bottom 

 on which it rests invests it with a somber guise and 

 characteristic markings of its own. And it, too, like 

 the angler-fish, is predatory. We must investigate. 



It is axiomatic that to live one must eat. But in 

 the salt-water world, to live one must continually 

 be on the alert to keep from being eaten. Except- 

 ing perhaps the starfishes, certain sponges, and a 

 very few other low forms, the great majority of 

 marine animals are constantly waging a defensive 

 warfare. Hardly a creature is without some enemy 

 that seeks its life in order to sustain itself. Nor is 

 it entirely a matter of one kind preying upon an- 

 other. With a great part of the population, can- 



[23] 



