quil, never was the water more serene. Nature, it 

 would seem, was bent upon closing the day in 

 perfect peace as well as splendor. 



Then with a suddenness that sometimes marks 

 the end of these Long Island midsummer days, 

 darkness came. And the sea awoke with life. Dra- 

 peries of light, which we knew to be jellyfishes, 

 passed by in the depths, while the ripples from 

 our wake ran with living fire. Here and there, 

 around and about the boat, were the splashing 

 struggles of fishes, fighting for some bit of surface- 

 floating food . . . Gone from our minds was the 

 glory of the summer night. Not even could the 

 stars, pulsating in the vast and whispering void, 

 or the moon now rising over the island hills, detain 

 us longer. Their thrill gave way to that greater 

 one which was ours in anticipation of the quest 

 which was now about to be begun. The activity at 

 the surface was a signal telling us that the awaited 

 hour had arrived. The haunters of the depths had 

 left their silent solitudes and many of the innu- 

 merable legion were by now well on their way 

 toward the shore-waters to feed. I immediately set 

 to work preparing the nets and trawl; and with- 

 out further delay my Faithful Assistant took the 



[187] 



