Wild Life in Southern Seas. 
r 5° 
the sea-face of the reef, whose surface was then 
bared and shining in the sun, this long strip of 
sheltered water would lay quiet and undisturbed, 
as clear as crystal and as smooth as a sheet ot 
glass ; but as the tide rose the waves came 
sweeping over the coral barrier and poured 
noisily over its inner ledge till the lagoon 
again became as surf-swept and agitated as the 
sea beyond. This was the favoured spot with 
the people for surf-swimming, for when the 
tide was full the surf broke heavily on the reel, 
and there was a clear run of half-a-mile from 
the starting-point on the inner face of the coral 
table to the soft, white beach. Besides that, 
there was not a single rock or mound of coral 
between the reef and the shore upon which a 
swimmer might strike—with fatal effect if the 
danger were not perceived in time. 
The north point was quite a mile from the 
village, and, the tide being very high, we had 
to follow a path through the coconut groves 
instead of walking along the beach, for the 
swirling waves, although well spent when they 
reached the shore, were washing the butts of the 
coco-palms, whose matted roots protruded from 
the sand at high-water mark. In front of us 
