The Duel 



fish that stood out, a marine bas-relief, against the 

 azure background and then as suddenly disappeared 

 as the wave came on, leaving it in the valley beyond 

 to again appear as another ground swell came sweep- 

 ing in with its messages from the outer sea. 



Big fishes are so common here that this might well 

 have been passed by, but it was different from the 

 ordinary passer; it was long and slim, yet robust, and 

 from its head extended a poniard-like object of dun 

 color. As the wave turned, or threw it up, the 

 lower surface of the fish was seen to be white, the 

 upper a delicate mauve or French gray. It was 

 directly on the surface, ten or twelve feet long, and 

 cutting the water like a knife was a slender dorsal 

 fin an expressive organ to the looker on, and fol- 

 lowed by the upper lobe of the powerful crescent-like 

 tail. 



The swordfish was an ocean wanderer. Men had 

 named him Xiphias years ago. He did not know it, 

 but he knew men and their boats, as he had more 

 than once tried conclusions with them. He was born 

 on the high seas, at first a strange little creature with 

 equal jaws or bills, enormous eyes, like an infant 

 Ichthyosaurus, bearing little or no resemblance to its 

 parent, and from stage to stage it had passed, like 

 some strange insect, only gradually assuming the 

 typical shape, form and figure of the adult swordsman 

 of the sea. 



At times, and in winter, it took to the open waters 

 235 



