his head, the crushing encumbrance about his body,
were too much for him, and bore him slowly downward. Suddenly two
tentacles, which had been trailing for an anchorage, got grip upon the
bottom--and the dolphin's frantic flight came to a stop abruptly. He
lashed, plunged, whirled in a circle, but all to no purpose. His
struggles grew weaker. He was drawn down, inexorably, till he lay
quivering on the sand. Then the great beak of the octopus made an end
of the matter, and the prey was dragged back to the lair beneath the
weed-covered rock.

A long time after this, a shadow bigger and blacker than that of any
albacore--bigger than that of any shark or saw-fish--drifted over the
cove. There was a splash, and a heavy object came down upon the
bottom, spreading the swift stillness of terror for yards about. The
shadow ceased drifting, for the boat had come to anchor. Then in a
very few minutes, because the creatures of the sea seem unable to fear
what does not move, the life of the sea-floor again bestirred itself,
and small, misshapen forms that did not love the sunlight began to
convene in the shadow of the boat.

Presently, from over the side of the boat descended a dark tube, with
a bright tip that seemed like a kind of eye. The tube moved very
slowly this way and that, as if to let the eye scan every hiding-place
on the many-colored bottom. As it swept over the rock that sheltered
the octopus, it came to a stop. Those inert, sprawling things that
looked like weeds appeared to interest it. Then it was softly
withdrawn.

A few moments later, a large and tempting fish appeared at the surface
of the water, and began slowly sinking straight downward in a most
curious fashion. The still eyes of the octopus took note at once. They
had never seen a fish behave that way before; but it plainly was a
fish. A quiver of eagerness passed through the sprawling tentacles,
for their owner was already hungry again. But the prize was still too
far away, and the tentacles did not move. The curious fish, however,
seemed determined to come no nearer, and at last the waiting tentacles
came stealthily to life. Almost imperceptibly they drew themselves
forward, writhing over the bottom as casually as weeds adrift in a
light current. And behind them those two great, inky, impassive eyes,
and then the fat, mottled, sac-like body, emerged furtively from under
the rock.

The bottom, just at this point, was covered with a close brown weed,
a