luded to try and
capture it alive. He made his way down the incline as rapidly as
possible in order to cut the nina off from the water, knowing that it
would not make its exit from the cave by the upper opening. When he
reached the bottom, a wonderful scene unfolded. He could easily imagine
that he had unconsciously stumbled into the playhouse of Neptune's
rollicking subjects. The water formed a great pool surrounded by an
amphitheatre of towering crags of most fantastic shapes, which reached
far up toward the sky, there being no roof to its vast extent. The waves
beat in from the sea; but as no opening was visible, a
subterranean passage surely formed the entrance. Hundreds of grey ducks
were startled and circled around him or flew back and forth to their
nests as if fearful the intruder intended to do them damage. These
nests were built unlike those of any other duck he had ever seen, or in
fact, those of any aquatic fowl, being hung in the cracks and crevices
of the rocks precisely like the nests of the common barn swallow. The
sight was so strange and unexpected, that for a time he forgot all
about the nina; but recovering himself, he started back, watching
closely to prevent the queer creature from slipping past-him. With all
his care he could discover no trace of it and had made up his mind it
had escaped through some hidden passage, when he heard the cry again.
By close examination in the direction of the sound he found a little
pocket in the rocks and instead of one, two children of the sea were
hiding in it. He was so anxious to capture them, that without thinking
of the consequences, he ran his hand into the pocket and caught one by
the neck. After a struggle he got it out and threw his arms around it,
holding it to his breast. With one vicious kick of its claws and
flippers, it stripped his clothes off almost from chin to waist and
scratched his body considerably. He soon learned that though small, it
was very powerful. Having secured it, however, he left his gun and
carried it to the mouth of the cavern and called for the Peruvian to
throw him a line. With the line he tied the nina's mouth, lashed its
legs securely and as the boat was backed under, dropped it in the stern.
He returned for his gun and was surprised to see the other nina sitting
stupidly where he had left it, having made no attempt to escape. He
captured it easily, but took the precaution to put his s