Page 8 - Three Adventures

Voyage of the Pomeranian

slightest interest in what a ship might offer in the way of sustenance.
I felt a fool going on at length in this fashion, but I must keep the
crew on my side, willing to welcome aboard my prize and keep it
nurtured in the tank! I’m certain there will be but one chance of
success.

May 7, 1884. Lat. 8º 23’ S. Long. 14º 43’ W.

Again the net came up empty. To occupy my mind I began a more
systematic study of the captive octopi. A sailor handy with the needle
has rigged me a pair of oilskin coveralls, and another has used his
carpentry skills to construct a sort of floating desk. I tried these out
this morning in the tank and found them quite satisfactory. Knowing
the cephalopods’ need for security, I also lowered several ballast bags
into one corner, forming a rude sort of sanctuary for the creatures.
The one who is healthy has ventured forth twice to grab one of the
mollusks I am now quite insistent in keeping stocked in this artificial
environment. The other remains hidden, either unable to eat or being
provided with sustenance by its ambulatory comrade.

It was my immediate desire to attend to the ailing octopus despite
Oleg Lamb’s denial of its worth. I approached its lair cautiously.
Presumably the animals could not perceive more than that portion of
me which was below the surface, a pair of legs and the beginnings of
a torso. Aware that such a sight could be frightening I stopped short
of the pile of sand-filled burlap sacks and waited. A pair of eyes
peeped out at me. I took a crab from the morning’s trawl and bent
down to push it toward the enclosure. I saw the creature’s mantle,
which had been bright red as I neared, turn a dark shade of brown.
Then it whipped out one long arm and seized the crab. In an instant
its catch was behind the barrier, being dismembered and cracked
open by a powerful beak. I waited. A minute later an empty shell was
ejected, sinking a few feet from the den near the refuse of its earlier
meals.

I realized I could not advance my studies until my guests were more
comfortable in their lodgings and therefore more apt to go about
their business in a more natural fashion. Thus I left them until the

7