Indian red to spread out from the region of my 

 touch. 



From the appearance of its tentacular arms I 

 ascertain that the specimen is a female; and I am 

 reminded for the moment of how almost on this 

 very spot I previously came upon the eggs of this 

 creature in my trawl — but now the Hippocampus 

 had drifted well out of the harbor. Also it had been 

 in this locality that I liberated the young. What 

 was their fate*? Some, no doubt, early became the 

 prey of larger creatures ; some escaped for a while 

 only later to succumb; others more fortunate at- 

 tained to maturity. Only a small minority, how- 

 ever, were lucky enough to live out their allotted 

 span. 



As I drop the now nearly exhausted squid over 

 the side, I try to follow it with my flash-light, but 

 it darts swiftly out of sight into the blackness out 

 of the reach of its rays. The searching beam, how- 

 ever, picks up other forms which despite their in- 

 distinctness, I recognize as creatures of the same 

 kind. Scores of squids resolve out of the dark 

 depths, then specter-like dissolve into the noth- 

 ingness of the watery background. But hold — one 



[347] 



