Big Game at Sea 



sandy slope and came into a region of delights, his 

 home or ranging ground for many a day. 



He felt the water moving over him in waves. He 

 could see that it was now and then breaking, form- 

 ing a foam that was hurled downward with such 

 force that the water all about him was filled with 

 minute globules or particles which, when he breathed, 

 seemed to fill him with new life and vigor. His gills 

 opened and shut rapidly, and with difficulty he 

 restrained the desire to surge ahead at full speed and 

 test his powers. He was now moving over great 

 coral heads tinted with olive and dotted and spangled 

 over their surfaces with brilliant flowerlike objects. 

 On every side were gorgeous plumes waving to and 

 fro, some in brown, some in yellow, while clumps of 

 reticulated fans of vivid yellow and lavender added 

 to the brilliancy of the scene. Amid these objects 

 were countless small fishes, all in radiant colors. 

 Lying on the sand were long brown shapes, like 

 worms, and blooming from every crevice were flower- 

 like anemones, their petals moving gracefully in tidal 

 measure. The sea floor over which the young man- 

 eater swam was set with a mosaic of algae : masses of 

 scarlet, blocks of tender green, bits of blue, yellow 

 and white; every dead coral rock, every vantage 

 ground being painted in splendid hues. 



But the man-eater saw none of these. He swam 

 heavily on until, exhausted, he fell into the friendly 

 vase-like shape of a huge head of coral and lay pant- 

 So 



