26 



he would authorise it to be mounted. Surely that was enough, 

 he asked ? 



There will be some who are not impressed by the mere record 

 of these events. But they may be assured to start with that to 

 handle and treat a large smelly fish on a hot day is no pleasant or 

 light task. It is a formidable job, and much more so for any 

 woman. By great good fortune Miss Latimer was no ordinary 

 woman. I know from vast experience just how much she did at 

 this time and under what great difficulties, with no encourage- 

 ment from any source, rather the reverse, driven solely by that 

 inner fire which makes her what she is. I shall always admire and 

 respect her for it. She merits the admiration of every true scientist, 

 and gets it. It was only Miss Latimer's instinct for what is valu- 

 able and her force of character and determination that saved that 

 specimen ; one less determined would have been overwhelmed. 



The morning following the arrival of the fish. Miss Latimer 

 wrote to me, enclosing the rough sketch and notes. Little did 

 she know what she was touching off. Its effects were those of an 

 atomic blast, of two atomic blasts, for twice the Coelacanth sent 

 a wave that went all round the world, and the backwash of the 

 second still goes on. 



