72 BEACH GRASS 



water, arching his back as he lifted himself up on 

 his front flippers which were bent so that his claws 

 dug deep in the sand as he dragged his body 

 along. His hind flippers were as useless for pro- 

 gression as was his short tail. This three-in-one 

 part of his anatomy swayed gently from side to 

 side with his efforts at walking on his hands. 

 The record of a leisurely walk from the water 

 was shown by little flipper-marks in the sand 

 that were only three inches apart, but in his 

 hasty return his front steps, so to speak, were 

 ten inches apart. A marvelous change came 

 over the method of his departure when he 

 entered the water of an incoming wave. The 

 awkward caterpillar humping ceased, and the 

 back flippers came into action so that the body 

 was driven forward with great speed as by a 

 screw propeller, and the seal at once disappeared 

 under the surface. Later his small dark head 

 bobbed up, but at once plunged like an expert 

 swimmer's under a curling wave that was about 

 to overwhelm him. 



It was a most interesting experience but I have 

 two regrets. I pray for another opportunity to 



