Page 241 - Adventures in shadow-land

womanly is this modest reserve and silence than
the chatter and laughing of our mermaids!”

It grew lighter and lighter; sounds of life were

heard from the shore; a boat put out on the bay;
presently the workmen began. to come on board
the brig.

fi Any of those human beings can speak to her/’
thought the merman. He was frantically jealous

of an old ship carpenter with a wooden leg.
One of the workmen caught a glimpse of him,

“ H o !1* said he,. “ there’s an odd fish! Who’s
got a harpoon?’1

The merman had just sense enough left to see
that if he was harpooned in the morning he

couldn’t court the goddess at night* He dived
and swam away* for mermen, although they are

warm-blooded animals, are not obliged to come
up to the top of the water to breathe.
He hid all day long under the timbers of an old

wharf, and when it was still at night he came out

again and swam toward The Sea-nymph* Some
one had covered, up the figure with an old sheet
to keep the dust off. The merman thought she

had put on a veil.