74 OLD BLACK BASS 



left. But of these nineteen Old Black Bass 

 is undisputed ruler. His is a body of iron, 

 black and tremendously strong. And of 

 disposition he is indescribably bold. 



To the contemplative eye he would sug- 

 gest the weight of seven pounds. His thick- 

 ness, being one third of his length, gave him 

 an unwieldy appearance that deceived the 

 eye as to his real agility. Up on his flat 

 back the nine spines of his dorsal flared like 

 sharp bayonets, tapered by the thirteen rays 

 behind. 



His great body was marked by a delicate 

 lateral line, the fish's sense for locating the 

 direction of shocks and for gauging the 

 depth of water by its pressure. From gill 

 to tail along this line were twenty-three 

 rows of scales, seven above and sixteen be- 

 low, and in each row were sixty-eight scales 

 dark scales glossy from an internal oint- 

 ment, scales that flashed and glistened, an 

 exoskeleton of protection. 



His head was the head of a fighter: cheek 

 armored by ten rows of glistening scales; 

 maxillary cleaving the head ; mouth gleam- 

 ing with cruel teeth ; and cold, lidless eyes 

 filled with brooding eyes through which 



