136 



THE OPAL SEA 



The white- 

 ridged 

 ocean. 



The sea- 

 gray color- 

 ing. 



by the roek-bases; but this only shunts power 

 upward into the crest which is shot into the 

 air and blown to pieces over the upper cliffs 

 with a long drawn Swissssssshhh ! 



What a sight it is, this white-ridged ocean 

 rolling and clamoring toward the shore, this 

 beaded water dashing high in air ! What fresh 

 fury seems added by each new-coming wave, 

 what slashing blows are dealt left and right, 

 what convulsive twist and writhe and strain of 

 the waters ! And riding down this chaos, bury- 

 ing it out of sight at times, comes again that 

 monster comber — the " gray-back " of the seas 

 — swinging far up the rocks with a deafening 

 thundering crash, its shattered crest flung high 

 in air and carried landward like a cloud of 

 steam. 



As the night shuts down perhaps the wind 

 rises higher and higher, the mingling of spray 

 and rain makes an atmosphere that can be felt, 

 the meeting places of the elements are blurred, 

 and the hue over all is a neutral gray, a sea- 

 gray — the residuum of wrecked color. Far 

 down along the coast the feeble flash of a light- 

 house appears at intervals and out from the 

 reef is heard in momentary gurglings the half- 

 human sob of a bell-buoy rising, rolling, and 

 sinking in the waves. Ghost-like in the dim 



