296 I N A G U A 



It always seemed irritated at my presence. Its nervousness 

 may have been caused by fear, for it certainly made no pretense 

 of belligerency, and it constantly underwent a series of pig- 

 ment alterations that were little short of marvelous. Blushing 

 was its specialty. No schoolgirl with her first love was ever 

 subjected to a more rapid or recurring course of excited flushes 

 than this particular octopus. The most common colors were 

 creamy white, mottled Van Dyke brown, maroon, bluish gray, 

 and finally light ultramarine nearly the color of the water. 

 When most agitated it turned livid white, which is I believe 

 the reaction of fear. During some of the changes it became 

 streaked, at times in wide bands of maroon and cream, and once 

 or twice in wavy lines of lavender and deep rose. Even red 

 spots and irregular purplish polka dots were included in its 

 repertoire, though these gaudy variations seldom lasted for 

 long. 



I had heard that a light touch on the skin would leave a vivid 

 impression of color and I was anxious to see if this were the 

 case. From the boatman I borrowed a long stick and dropped 

 down to the sea floor again. The octopus was still in place and 

 I walked over to it with the pole in my hand. At first I was 

 hesitant about the experiment. The creature had behaved so 

 nicely that I almost decided to give it up. But the old curiosity 

 prevailed and with my pole I slowly reached out and stroked it 

 along the side of its body. 



Then things began to happen. The stick was snatched from 

 my fingers and went floating to the surface. The octopus flashed 

 out of the fissure and ejected an immense cloud of purplish ink. 

 For a brief moment I saw it swimming away, long and sleek in 

 shape, and then I was surrounded by the haze. The fog was 

 not opaque but imparted much the same quality of non-vision 

 as thick smoke in dry air, except that I did not notice much 

 in the way of wreaths. In fact, I was so confused and startled, 



