am on the
waves seemed on fire, and my arms struck sparks, as it were from
the water, as the sparks fly from the anvil. Only these were palest
blue, not red, and I wondered at them, thinking at first that they
were fancy, or from the shine of the bright stars above.

And all of a sudden, ahead of me, moved swiftly in the sea and
across my way a sheet of dazzling blue brightness, and it
frightened me. Often as I had seen the sea and swum in it, I had
never seen the like of this, nor had heard of it. The sheet of
silver fire turned and drew toward me, and I ceased swimming, and
stood, treading water, watching it. Out of its midmost fires darted
long streaks of light, everywhere, lightning swift, coming and
going ceaselessly.

Into the midst of that brightness rushed five bolts of flame, and
scattered it. The water boiled, alive with the darting fires around
me and under my feet, and my heart stood still with terror. Yet I
was not harmed. And then I saw one of those great white-hot silver
bolts hurl itself from sea to air in a wide arch, and fall back
again into the water with a mighty splash; and all the flying water
seemed to burn as it fled.

Truly it was but a school of mackerel, and the porpoises which fed
on the silver fish, all made wonderful by the eerie fires of a
summer sea; but I could not tell that all at once. I think that I
knew what it was when the great sea pig leaped, for his shape was
plain to me. The shoal went its way, and after it the harmless
porpoises. But the sea was fairly alight now; all round me it shone
with its soft glow, and my body was wondrous with it, and I seemed
to float in naught but light.

Then I think that I wandered in my mind, what with the fright and
weariness; for I had been five or six hours in the water, and it
was long since I had tasted food. It came to me that I was dead at
last, and that I was far in the sky, floating on bright air, with
stars above me and stars below. And that seemed good to me. I
rested, paddling just enough to keep myself upright and forget my
troubles in wonderment.

Surely that was a voice singing! There was a strange melody I had
never heard the like of, and it came from the brightness not far
from me. I came back to knowledge of where I was with a start,
trying to make out from which direction it sounded.

"This is a nixie trying to lure me to the depth," I thought.
"Truly, he need not take the trouble; for thither I must go
shortly, without