358 I N A G U A 



ning along the crest of the rock ridges flexed and bowed with 

 the pulse of the waves; their glow reflecting against the molten 

 surface above sent soft bands of voiced light running across 

 the sand at the foot of the rocks where it was focused and 

 shot down by the facets of the waves. 



Everything was either colorfully lighted or shrouded in 

 gloom. There were no half tones to break the contrast. The 

 distance between high visibility and complete dark was less 

 than a half inch; only the reflection from the surface softened 

 the shadows, and this accentuated rather than relieved the ob- 

 scurity. The factor, however, that imparted a sense of dif- 

 ference to the locality was not the alteration of the main color 

 scheme, as striking as this was, but the change in the residents. 

 Practically none of the daytime fishes were about. In vain I 

 turned the searchlight over the rocks looking for them. They 

 were nowhere to be found. In their places were other forms 

 which heretofore had been seen only as lurkers in shadowy 

 holes and deep fissures. Chief among these were the squirrel 

 fish, brilliant red, with wide open dark eyes which gave them 

 an over-cosmeticized appearance. These were actively filtering 

 in and out among the rocks and were accompanied with an- 

 other scarlet species, a round-bodied fish, with eyes so big 

 and soulful that it gave the impression that it was about to 

 burst into tears at any moment. The fish's common name, the 

 Deep Big Eye, describes it exactly. I was rather surprised at 

 seeing these, for I had always understood them to be deep 

 water fishes. Yet here they were only a few yards from the 

 surf. It was odd, too, that they should be associated with the 

 squirrel fish, and even more peculiar that the two forms, both 

 apparently nocturnal, should be colored red. I remembered 

 that some of the deep sea fishes and crustaceans which live in 

 regions where night is eternal are also colored in this hue. 



The blue tang were still about but these were not very ac- 



