THE MARVEL OF A TIDE 323 



tim with it and I went to try for another porkfish. To my sur- 

 prise they would not permit me to approach. Previously they 

 had swum freely about my legs, but now they kept their dis- 

 tance. Before I had been considered some strange new kind 

 of fish; I was now regarded as a potential enemy. I have ob- 

 served similar behavior among the snappers. 



Most fish, however, are quite unconcerned about the death 

 of their neighbors. Tragedy may strike within a few inches and 

 they will continue feeding or idling or whatever their activity 

 might be, as though nothing had happened. The next fish that 

 I tried to spear exhibited a most surprising reaction. The barbed 

 point scraped along its side, removed several scales and retained 

 a small speck of flesh on the point. The victim, which was a 

 yellow grunt with a flaming scarlet mouth, darted away, then 

 turned, snatched up the floating scales and bit at the flesh on the 

 point of the spear. Even when I jabbed at it again it did not 

 flee but glided to one side and nosed the blades which had be- 

 come buried in the sand! I marveled at the contrast between 

 the two species; one perfectly sure of itself and the other timid 

 and untrusting once danger had been proved. 



Spearing fish is not as easy as it might seem. Although most, 

 fishes appear utterly relaxed, they are ever on the alert for 

 anything that moves with directness. I have jabbed a spear into 

 a school of fish, so densely packed that to miss seemed im- 

 possible, only to find that my barbs did not touch a scale. Yet 

 the school, itself, moved scarcely at all. Usually there is a local- 

 ized flurry which lasts for a brief moment and subsides. 



After my failure at snaring the grunt my attention was 

 attracted to a pair of small dull-colored fish which were cavort- 

 ing between two sponge covered masses of dead coral. They 

 were blennies of the same type that I had found at Lantern 

 Head. They were the most unfish-like creatures I have ever 

 seen. They skittered about the rocks assuming the most unusual 



