214 



THE OPAL SEA 



The cory- 

 phene. 



Swiftness 

 of the 

 porpoise. 



Speed and 

 power of 

 the sea 

 rovers. 



The surface fishes, both those that flee and 

 those that follow, are all agile enough. The 

 twist and turn of the coryphene (popularly but 

 erroneously called a "dolphin"), the speed of 

 the albicore, the sharp gyration of the mackerel 

 or the herring, the flight of the flying fish are the 

 mere commonplaces of sea life. Even the lum- 

 bering, somewhat-stupid shark, who is more of 

 a scavenger than a killer, will sometimes dart 

 upward with the greatest swiftness, beheading 

 a fish with a single snap as cleanly as a guillo- 

 tine might do it. And as for the porpoises 

 (properly dolphins) they are the embodiment 

 of easy strength as they bowl along the surface 

 like a string of hurdle jumpers, rising and 

 plunging in perfect curves. They seem to move 

 slowly and yet nothing in the sea moves swifter. 

 They can run ahead of a fast-traveling steamer, 

 and have little trouble in outrunning the waves 

 upon the surface, which indicates a speed of, 

 say, thirty miles an hour at least. 



All of the sea rovers are constructed for 

 speed. They are long, thin fish, large at the 

 shoulder, and tapering away toward the tail. 

 They have scales as smooth as mother-of-pearl, 

 or skins like velvet that slip through the water 

 with the least possible friction. The ease with 

 which they glide when at play, the arrow-like 



