THE BLACK-HEADED GULL 201 



coral reef, and the way in which pools led one into 

 another by tunnels was most strange. Then the 

 depths of some were great, as I found by sounding 

 with a long rod, and some were past all sounding 

 and seemed bottomless. It was evening when I 

 got there, and soon became dark night, and it was 

 then that the peculiar beauty of these pools came 

 out, whilst the great flocks of Gulls and some Duck 

 found new delights in them as the receding sea gave 

 them more feeding-ground. Every pool was lighted 

 up by the strange glowing eyes of some cuttle-fish 

 — ever-moving, these jewel-like blue-green lights 

 went passing round and round, sometimes the one 

 becoming two as a turn of its head permitted my 

 seeing both eyes, and then with another curve the 

 two were one. Sometimes these strange lights 

 were very very faint, but as I stood still they came 

 nearer and nearer, and with my eyes riveted on 

 them a most curious illusion followed. Nearer, 

 nearer, stronger, more strong, these strange weird 

 eyes advanced and crept up farther and farther, 

 till time after time it was hard to believe that 

 these glowing orbs had not left the water and were 

 advancing right up to my own face. All the time 

 the quiet of the place was only broken by the 

 curious laughing-like call of the Gulls, and the 



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