in a later chapter devoted to the life of this cepha- 

 lopod, it is, besides being a killer, also an eater of 

 corpses. 



At first I was aware of the squid's presence only 

 by the shadow it cast upon the floor. Then came 

 the recognition of that fixed, stony stare. This 

 latter detail could not have deceived me, even 

 though the ghost-like form remained invisible; no 

 other creature in the world has the hardness, the 

 horror-inspiring look, that are in the eyes of the 

 squid. Some silver-fishes swimming into the 

 lighted area, in the close-bunched formation pecul- 

 iar to their species, seemed to be unaware of the 

 presence of their larger enemy, owing, no doubt, 

 to the fact that that animal was in the meanwhile 

 itself as invisible to them because of its well- 

 known but peculiar color changes. The cause of 

 these concealing changes lay in its power to con- 

 trol the chromatophores which covered its body: 

 by the expansion or retraction of the freckle-like 

 pigment spots, it was capable of altering its hue in 

 parts or in whole, thus oftentimes simulating the 

 general tone of its surroundings. 



It was evident, however, that the squid saw the 

 fishes, for it started to stalk them somewhat as a 



[192] 



