124 I N A G U A 



designed. It seemed they must be devoid of all sensitivity to 

 endure such extremes and to prove it I reached out and gently 

 touched one. Instantly it snapped shut, the graceful tentacles 

 contracted and disappeared, the anemone once more became a 

 shapeless blob of dark flesh. Interested, I let it alone and settled 

 in the water to watch. For a long time it did not stir, but, then 

 when my patience was about exhausted, it began to pulsate and 

 quiver. The top unfolded slowly reveaHng a radially sym- 

 metrical surface, the color lightened perceptibly, light began to 

 penetrate the loosening tissue, the tentacles emerged, remind- 

 ing one of the slow motion pictures of the opening of a blos- 

 som, the flesh became translucent and filmy. Relaxed, the animal 

 once again swirled and flowed with the current. 



At that moment my attention was attracted by the frantic 

 rowing of a small crustacean which was darting across the pool 

 apparently trying to reach some haven of safety before one of 

 the gaudy fishes became aware of its efforts and gobbled it up. 

 I turned to inspect it and my shadow cut across its path causing 

 it to turn violently to one side. This action was its undoing, 

 for it blundered squarely into the expanded tentacles of a neigh- 

 bor of the anemone I had just been watching. Then, in a small 

 sort of way, I saw a very horrible thing happen. The creature 

 ceased its motion as if it had been hit by a miniature bolt of 

 lightning, as indeed it was, for the tentacles at the moment of 

 contact shot hundreds of poisoned nematocysts into its flesh. 

 The paralysis that seized it was complete. Other than a spas- 

 modic jerk or two it did not so much as quiver; the creature 

 never knew what happened. The long sinuous tentacles folded 

 Medusa-like about its helpless body, then slowly curled inwards 

 toward the mouth at the center of the anemone. Through the 

 transparent flesh I could see the crumpled corpse of the victim 

 as it began to dissolve under the strong digestive juices that 

 poured on to it from all sides. 



