Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1900-01-03
THos. ). ADAMS PROPRIETOR.

stand he was TO climb on top of the
rocks, and I can assure you that his
face looking down through one of the
gaps In the roof was yery welcome
sight to me. Iii the yacht, which was
not more than Is yards away, we had
d long, light bamboo, intended for
the shaft of lance: 7 told Charley
to get this and lash d vers sharp
pointed bait knife on to it's end, and
to be sharp about it. This he soon
did, and passed it to me through the
roof; then taking steady, aim I
stabbed the smaller star-fsh fairly be-
tween. the eyes, The instant it felt
the knife it left ttay foot and claspe9l
Its tentacles rottnd the bamboo, and
o tough job I had to getit loose, I cau
tell you. Then 7 repeated the opera
tion on the other brute, which was
still worse to get off the shaft than
the first one. Both the repulsive
cfsatures sahk down to the sandy bot
tom of the pool, where they caught
hold OF one another, twisting and
writhing themselves into regular
knot like bunch of snakes.
I only just managed to get out Of
this horrid den without diving, and
you may believe that, though far from
realizing the mortal danger I had
been in, was very thankful to stretch
ny cramped limbs in the bonny,
wholesome, free. sunshine.
On my way to the dinghy I heard
Charley, who was still perched on the
rocks, calling to me to come back and
see some jolly lark or other, but I was
not.so inclined, having other views,
and getting aboard the yacht as quick
ly as possible, I rubbed my ankles
with some medicine. I wish to say
here, distinctly, that although I had
been in the grasp of first one and then
two octopuses for considerably over an
hour (both Charley and I calculated it
an hour and half from the tide rise),
with their tentacles round my ankles
and stuck on to my naked skin, I
never felt any agonizing pains from
the contact of their suckers. Ny legs
got certainly very much cramped from
the strained position I was kept in,
and there may have been slight
numbness from impeded circulation,
with slight pricking something like
what is called ''pins and needles" 1
cannot describe the feeling OF the ten
tacles better tliau I have already done,
rs a tight, adhesive clasp. Where the
suckers had been were little round
red marks.
When Charley. came aboard he de-
scribed the clark" he had wished me
to come back and see.
''Jnst as you got out of that beastly
hole, I saw huge start tish-and, by
Jove, he was boomer! dart round
the big rock and fasten on to the two
beggars that were souirming about on
the bottom. First he seemed to want
to separate them, then when he found
that was no go, he laid himself fat on
top of them and seemed like to gather
them together in his feelers.. So I
dropped O lump Of rock down on him
and made him bolt off for O spell, then
6E0s he mn, ana Kept RfTmEtr
this game for o bit, but each time he
cleared off I could see where he had
been biting bits out of his mates. My
word, it's precious good job for you,
old man, you didn't have that big chap
to deal with; he would have made it
..,a,x, -
In which statement I cordially
agreed then, aud do so still more cor
daily now, when think the affair
over.-The Wide World Magazine.