82 THE KINGDOM OF THE HELMET 



of my hose tether, Hke the slow motion picture of a cock- 

 chafer on a string. The sand dipped so steeply that I had 

 to pull myself back by the hose. Great piles, here and there, 

 were each topped with a good-sized hole, the home of 

 some unknown creature. Large parrotfish left their grazing 

 to come and look me over, their solidified, green teeth and 

 jaws moving in an absent-minded, adenoidal manner. 

 Angelfish, two feet long, and many other shore forms of 

 unusual size showed the effect of better living conditions 

 on these outer reefs, close to the abyssal shelf. As I stepped 

 over the sand, ghostly white flounders and gobies rose 

 from just beneath my feet, slithering to pigmental sanc- 

 tuary a few inches away. 



On my next descent, my weighted fish pole followed 

 me down, with its little, red, dynamite cap fastened at 

 the top, and the black, insulated wire leading up to the 

 boat. I was especially anxious to get some ripe eggs of 

 a butterflyfish, and to fertilize them, so I directed my 

 attention to a pair of full-grown fish, the four-eyed 

 species. I stunned both with the first shot, netted one of 

 them, and was reaching toward the other when, out of 

 the cloud of roiled water at my elbow, rose the head and 

 neck of one of the largest green morays I have ever seen, 

 also reaching for my fish. A section of the eel, well back 

 along the body, was visible where there was an opening 

 in the reef, close to my knee, and at this I kicked with 

 all my might. It was spontaneous resentment at the danger 

 of losing my specimen, and I gave no thought to the 



