be satisfied wit'
zis one. Shall I take it or will you?"

There was just a hint of irony in the boatman's tone, and remembering
the timidity he had shown when clutched by the squid, Colin felt that
this was the chance to redeem himself.

"I don't mind taking it," he said. "You say these things are quite
harmless."

"Quite, sair, I t'ink," the boatman replied.

"All right," was the boy's rejoinder, and he walked forward boldly
toward the octopus. The green eyes regarded him steadily, and just as
the boy stooped to grasp the slimy body, it seemed to gather itself in a
heap and started for the sea.

This was an unexpected move, but Colin, having stated that he wanted
that octopus, did not propose to be cheated out of it. He was surprised
that the cuttlefish could move so fast, and his repugnance gave way to
excitement as he started running after the writhing eight-armed
creature. He was just about to grab it when he tripped on a rock,
covered with slippery seaweed, and fell headlong, the fall throwing him
immediately upon the octopus. For a moment the boy was staggered, and
he never knew whether he had grabbed the cephalopod or whether it had
grasped him, all he knew was that he was lying on the ground with six of
the eight arms of the octopus around him.

The boy was just in time to throw up his hands to protect his eyes, as a
torrent of the inky fluid deluged him from head to foot. He struggled to
get up, but the two tentacles of the cuttlefish held fast to adjacent
rocks, and Colin might have found difficulty in freeing himself, owing
to the awkward attitude in which he had been caught, but for Vincente,
who wrenched the tentacles away from their hold.

"Are you all right, sair?" the boatman asked.

"All right," said Colin stoutly, as he got up.

Seldom had he been such a sight! He was black from head to foot with the
sepia fluid, his clothes were torn where he had fallen on the rocks, and
he was smothered in the nauseous embrace of the uncanny and diabolical
eight-armed creature clinging to his shoulder. Once, on the way to the
boat, the cuttlefish seemed ready to drop off, but, at Vincente's
warning, Colin made believe to force apart the other tentacles, and the
octopus renewed its hold. As soon as they reached the boat and the boy
stood still a moment, the cuttlefish let go, and fell to the bottom of
the boat.

Colin looked down at himself and laughed, then jumped overboard in all
his clothes, threshing