blackness of the mussels covering the bottom. 

 Meanwhile, I made not the slightest move, stand- 

 ing as one transfixed, lest any action on my part 

 would startle it away. I divined immediately from 

 its size — it was less than six inches in length — that 

 it was not yet full-grown. In the clearness of the 

 water every feature was visible, and I could almost 

 count the sucker-cups which were aligned in a 

 double row along the inner side of its triangular, 

 tapering arms. 



It was by observing the details of these latter 

 appendages that I first began to note some pecu- 

 liarities which even my inexperience did not 

 prevent me from interpreting that all was not nor- 

 mal with this squid. Loligo is a decapod; it is sup- 

 posed to have ten arms; my meandering specimen 

 had but eight. Moreover, its hide in places was 

 hanging in shreds — an exfoliation which I knew 

 was not natural to any creature of its kind. But 

 the most significant aberration that struck my 

 naturalistic sense, was that which appeared in the 

 behavior both of the squid and of the minnows 

 near-by which were its natural prey. Neither did 

 the squid take notice of the fishes, nor did the 

 fishes appear to be disturbed by the presence of 



[3^2] 



