e must be if they use them for bait."

"Yes, sair, zere is plenty of zem hidin' in ze kelp and ozzer seaweed."

"But how do you catch them?" asked the boy. "Isn't it dangerous?"

"Not a bit, sair," answered the boatman. "I t'ink a squid can't do any
harm. In Newfoun'land, so some one tell me, zey run as big as sixty and
seventy feet, but in Santa Cat'lina, four or five feet from ze tail to
ze end of ze arms is as long a one as I have seen, I t'ink."

"I'd like to go catching squid, just to see how it's done," said the
boy. "The squid I've seen on the Atlantic coast don't often grow bigger
than twelve inches."

"Catch plenty of zem, any evening you say," the boatman answered; "ze
easiest way is to spear zem."

"Bully!" the boy answered; "let's go to-night! I'll get leave, when I go
back to lunch."

When Colin proposed a squid-hunt, at first his mother objected, saying
she was sure such ugly-looking creatures must be poisonous, but the
father knew that this was not the case, and having every confidence in
Vincente, who was his regular boatman, he gave the desired permission.
Accordingly, after an early supper, Colin started out with Vincente to a
section of the shore. The tall, sharp cliffs jutted straight out of the
water, and far upon the crest were the characteristic flock of goats
browsing along paths impassable to any other animal. Below the water lay
the forest of giant kelp.

"We s'all find some squid 'round here," the boatman said; "and sometimes
zere are octopus, too, though ze mos' of zem are on ze rocks a little
furzer along."

"We'd better get busy, I think," said Colin, "it won't be so very long
before it begins to get dark."

"We'll see," was the reply, and picking up his gaffing-hook, Vincente
prodded here and there amid the kelp. "T'ought so," he added a minute
later, and pointed at the water.

"I don't see anything," said Colin, looking closely. "The water's too
muddy."

"No mud," said the boatman, "zat's sepia ink ze squid has squirted so as
to hide. Zey always do zat. Zere's probably a lot of zem zere, for zey
always keep togezzer."

"Is that the real sepia ink, do you know, Vincente?" the boy asked.

"Ze squid, no; ze octopus, yes. Zere is two or t'ree people here zat
catch ze octopus an' sen' ze ink bags to Frisco. See, zere's squid!"

As his eyes became a little accustomed to the reflections in the weed,
Colin was able to see ghostlike brown forms that seemed to slide rather
than s