The Opelousas courier., 1900-01-27

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 a very welcome
sight to me. In the yacht, which was
not more than Is yards away, we mad
a long, light bamboo, intended for
the shaft of a lance. I told Charley
to get this and lash a very sharp
pointed bait knife on to its end, and
to be sharp about it. This he 500
did, and passed it to me through the
roof; hen taking a steady aim I
stabbed the smaller star-fsh fairly be-
tween the eyes. The instant it felt
the knife it left my foot and clasped
it's ~tentacles round the bamboo, and
a tough job I had to getit loose, I can
tell you. Then I repeated the opera
ton on the other brute, which was
still worse to get off the shaft thai
the first one. Both the repulsive
creatures sank down to the sandy bot
tom of the pool, where they caught
hold OF one another, twisting and
writhing themselves into regular
knot like a 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, I was very thankful to stretch
my cramped limbs in the. bonny,
wholesome, free sunshine.
On my way to the dinghy I heard
Charley, who vas 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 considerablyover an
hour doth Charley aud I calculated it
an hour and a 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. My legs
got certainly very much cramped from
the strained position I was kept in,
and there may have been a slight
numbness from impeded circulation,
with a slight pricking something like
what is called 'tpins and needles" l
cannot describe the feeling of the ten
tacles better than have already done,
as 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 a huge star fish-and, by
Jove, he was a boomer! dart round
the big rock and fasten on to the two
beggars that were squirming about on
the bottom. First he seemed to want
to separate them, then when he found
that was no go, he laid himself fiat on
top of them and seemed like to gather
them together in his feelers. So I
dropped a lump of rock down on him
and made him bolt off for q spell, then
back he came again, and I kept him at
this game for q bit, but each time he
cleared off I could see where he had
been biting bits out of his mates. Ny
word, it's a precious good job for you,
old man, you didn't have that big chap
to deal with; he would have made it
pretty warm for you."
In which statement I cordially
agreed then, and do so still more COR
daily now, when I think the affair
oyer.-The Wide World Magazine.