THE MARVEL OF A TIDE 317 



spending task. 



Not all of the upstream creatures, however, were as foolish 

 as the snappers. Some of these wiser ones were exceedingly 

 cunning in their method of attaining their end. These were 

 mostly small fishes, like the red, dark-eyed squirrel fish, and 

 the silvery burnished moonfish and lookdowns. They went 

 well out of their paths to avoid the current, circUng in the lee 

 of rocks, catching the back eddies, pushing through narrow 

 holes and crevices, pausing frequently to catch their breaths, 

 as it were. Of all these the lookdowns were the most amazing. 

 They were characterized by the constancy of their numbers. 

 Whereas the other fishes came singly, in vast schools or in 

 isolated groups of six or seven, the lookdowns always appeared 

 in twos. There is magic in numbers. Seven is a favorite numeral 

 in certain folklore, thirteen forebodes evil, and all good things 

 are supposed to come in threes. The number two will always 

 bring to mind the silvery bodies of these fish. When I first saw 

 these peculiar creatures during some diving in Florida, they 

 were swimming in pairs and I have seldom observed them 

 otherwise. Always two by two, side by side, moving as one 

 individual, they are an underwater Damon and Pythias. Their 

 duality is complete. If one dipped downwards, its companion 

 did likewise; when they turned they turned together; moving 

 or quiescent, what one did so did the other. I can think of no 

 logical explanation for this piscine twinning, for these fishes 

 are not known to pair off and build nests in the manner of some 

 fish. 



Even in appearance the pairs were identical. They seemed to 

 have a sad expression, and their name was in keeping with their 

 faces. The forehead sloped steeply downwards and they looked 

 as though they were continually searching for some treasure 

 lost on the bottom. From the tips of their backs long lacy fila- 

 ments went trailing off in graceful arcs. Not the least remark- 



