A DESCENT INTO PERPETUAL NIGHT 217 



has taken place before our eyes, but which, Hke a subli- 

 mated trick of some master fakir, evades understanding. 



This came to me on this last deep dive at 1680 feet, 

 and it explained much that had been a complete puzzle. 

 I saw some creature, several inches long, dart toward the 

 window, turn sideways and — explode. This time my eyes 

 were focused and my mind ready, and at the flash, which 

 was so strong that it illumined my face and the inner sill 

 of the window, I saw the great red shrimp and the out- 

 pouring fluid of flame. This was a real Fourth Moment, 

 for many "dim gray fish" as I had reported them, now 

 resolved into distant clouds of light, and all the previous 

 "explosions" against the glass became intelligible. At the 

 next occurrence the shrimp showed plainly before and 

 during the phenomenon, illustrating the value in observa- 

 tion of knowing what to look for. The fact that a num- 

 ber of the deep-sea shrimps had this power of defense is 

 well known, and I have had an aquarium aglow with the 

 emanation. It is the abyssal complement of the sepia 

 smoke screen of a squid at the surface. 



Before this dive was completed, I had made a still greater 

 refinement in discernment, perceiving that there were two 

 very distinct types of defense clouds emitted, one which 

 instantly diffused into a glowing mist or cloud, and the 

 other which exploded in a burst of individual sparks, for 

 all the world like a diminutive roman candle. Both oc- 

 curred at the window or near it a number of times, but 

 it was the latter which was the more startling. 



