Gard stood and watched. He saw a tiny pale worm-like thing come creeping
up the black rock on which the cormorant squatted. The cormorant saw it
too, and he was hungry, as all cormorants always are, even after a full
meal. So presently he made a jab at it with his curved beak, and in a
moment the pale worm had twisted itself tightly round his silly neck,
and dragged him screaming and fluttering under the water.
Another day, when he was coming down by the break in the cliff, where
some great winter wave had bitten out such a slice that the top had come
tumbling down, he saw the monster sunning itself on the flat rock by the
side of its pool, like a huge nightmare spider.
The moment he appeared its great eyes settled on his as though it had
been waiting only for him. And when he stopped, with a feeling of
shuddering discomfort at its hugeness--for its body seemed considerably
over a foot in width, while its arms lounging over the rocks were each
at least six feet long, and looked horribly muscular--he could have
sworn that one of the great devil-eyes winked familiarly at him, as
though the beast would say, "Come on, come on! Nice day for a bathe!
Just waiting for you!"
He could see the loathsome body move as it breathed, swinging
comfortably in the support of its arms.
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