ASHORE AT THE WRONG TIME 215 



they came from, how long they had been in coming, 

 no one knew; but they were starving, of that there 

 was httle doubt, as they rushed at bait of any sort, 

 and entirely lacked the diplomacy, indeed marvellous 

 cunning, which seems to be a common attribute of 

 the yellow-fin of "return." The school was mainly of 

 the yellow-fin variety {T. maculata), but on the out- 

 skirts, and doubtless deeper down, were hordes of 

 long-finned tuna {Thunnus alalonga), their purple and 

 vivid turquoise vestments presenting a marked, indeed 

 striking, contrast to the green and gold of the yellow- 

 fins which were at least twice as large. The long-fins 

 averaged seventeen pounds, running up to forty; while 

 the yellow-fins were all over forty, and big fellows of 

 seventy and eighty pounds were common. 



These tunas were hunting food, and when they 

 struck a school of sardines or flying-fishes they charged 

 them en masse. The scene was a marvellous one; the 

 sea being beaten into foam, and the air filled with the 

 forms of leaping and flying fishes. One might suppose 

 from watching the school that the tunas were masters 

 of the situation, but the deep blue water concealed 

 other tragedies. Hanging on the outer edge of the 

 great school, and lurking beneath it, was a band of 

 desperate hulking villains, — sharks of several varie- 

 ties, — hammerheads, white-firmed man-eaters, lance- 

 toothed bonito sharks, and others, lurching along, 

 like wolves preying upon sheep. These sharks were a 

 constant menace to the school. They picked up the 

 stragglers, kept the main body in rigid lines, and when 

 particularly hungry dashed madly into it, seizing 

 everything that came in their way. 



The peculiar nature of the appetite of these hunters 



