PEARLS 211 



verge of the lovely Isle was as delusively clear, but 

 was not deceptive. 



It revealed living coral, good to avoid by the bare- 

 footed; clams with patterned mantles of various tints 

 — grey, slate-blue, sea-green, brown, and buff; anemones 

 in many shapes, some like spikes of lavender, and 

 irritant and repellent to the touch; some platter-shaped 

 and cobalt-blue ; some as living vases with the opalescent 

 tints of Venetian glass, which, abhorring the hand of 

 man, retreat into the sand until only an inconspicuous 

 fringe of neutral tint is visible. Sea-slugs in almost 

 endless form and variety of hue, and many other strange 

 sea things, were among the inhabitants of the reef — a 

 closely packed arena of never-ceasing slaughter. 



In the middle of a clump of brown seaweed, which 

 had fallen apart like the neatly dressed hair of a w^oman, 

 was a black streak, signifying the gape of a wedge- 

 shaped mollusc known as a pinna. The gape was about 

 as long as the parting of a woman's hair and about 

 thrice as wide. As I crouched to note the functions of 

 the animal, my shadow intervened and the caution of the 

 creature was roused, the valves closing so that no sign 

 of the presence of the shell was distinguishable among 

 the slightly wavering, minute particles of alga. Chang- 

 ing my position, so that the pinna might not be deprived 

 of its share of the rays of the sun, the valves soon 

 furtively opened. A slight movement on my part and 

 they closed again, without having revealed any hidden 

 charms. 



After a few minutes, a certain confidence being 

 established between us, the pinna emerged from its 

 retirement, in so far as such creatures are permitted by 

 Nature. The mantle of this particular species is shown 

 as a delicate fringe of lace in old gold and black. It 

 ripples along the upper edges of the confining valves, 



