us to a shallow spot, less than a yard deep, within 

 a few feet of the water's edge; here under the 

 strong beam of the motor-boat search-light, which 

 with the battery we had removed to the dinghy, 

 the bottom beneath us was illuminated with a 

 circle of light which almost rivaled the brightness 

 of day. 



Such creatures as certain swimming-crabs and 

 fishes which were usually so timid that they were 

 practically unapproachable in daylight, seemed 

 not to notice our presence, taking no alarm at the 

 sudden illumination of their surroundings or the 

 prolongation of the steady stream of light. In fact, 

 many swimmers were attracted to the spot. 



One of these was that molluscan terror of tiny 

 fishes, Loligo, the common squid. As the spider- 

 crabs, for some unaccountable reason, had not yet 

 made their expected appearance in full force, I 

 had ample time to watch the killing method of this 

 weird brute. There is probably no creature among 

 the larger animals of these shores that is possessed 

 of a more ghoulish and god-forsaken countenance 

 than this second-cousin of the romantic devil-fish, 

 or octopus. And I here use my adjectives literally; 

 for as I shall show in the present paper, as well as 



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