THE INCREDIBLE SHARKS 331 



examined it frond by frond. Like so many sargassum patches, 

 this clump contained none of the fantastic sea horses or yellow 

 crabs which frequently make it their home. Disappointed, I 

 released it and turned to wait for the next mass. 



As I turned I saw floating about twenty feet away the sleek 

 torso of a blue shark. It was approximately eight or nine feet 

 long, fully adult, and it was watching me, not moving a muscle. 

 My first reaction was the usual one; I was a little startled. But 

 this was followed by a second and opposite sensation. This 

 shark was the most exquisite and rhythmically formed animal 

 of its size I had ever seen. It was a symphony in blue. From the 

 tip of its smoothly rounded dorsal fin to the curve of its pure 

 white belly it was deep radiant blue, an indefinable shade that 

 was neither azure nor indigo; Gulf Stream blue is the closest 

 comparison of which I can think. The rays of the sun break- 

 ing through the top of the water caused the rounded skin to 

 glow with an unearthly Hght, a phenomenon seen only under- 

 water. The belly also carried a delicate sheen, at times pale yel- 

 low, at others pink and even light mauve, which ran in evanes- 

 cent waves over the tissue, glowing and fading, sweeping in 

 soft bands across the white. This creature blended perfectly 

 with the sphere in which it lived; it was a blue shadow in a blue 

 world. 



Its color was only one feature of its beauty; grace was its 

 crowning accomplishment. The fish hung motionless for per- 

 haps sixty seconds and then flowed into action. There is no 

 other way of describing it. It did not merely move; it flowed 

 from its pointed nose to the tip of its attenuated tail. Progres- 

 sion was effected by an inexpressible curvature of the caudal 

 portion of the body, a long arc that swept to a perihelion, 

 paused for an infinitesimal fraction of a second and then ele- 

 gantly curved in the opposite direction. The motion was very 

 gentle and the shark pulsed ahead until it was almost out of 



