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Chapter 3. A Pearl Worth Ten Million

           IrecognizedtheJavanese,arealserpenttwoandahalffeetlong,ofalividcolourunderneath,andwhichmighteasilybemistakenforacongereelifitwerenotforthegoldenstripesonitsside.Inthegenusstromateus,whosebodiesareveryflatandoval,Isawsomeofthemostbrilliantcolours,carryingtheirdorsalfinlikeascythe;anexcellenteatingfish,which,driedandpickled,isknownbythenameofKarawade;thensometranquebars,belongingtothegenusapsiphoroides,whosebodyiscoveredwithashellcuirassofeightlongitudinalplates.

           Theheighteningsunlitthemassofwatersmoreandmore.Thesoilchangedbydegrees.Tothefinesandsucceededaperfectcausewayofboulders,coveredwithacarpetofmolluscsandzoophytes.AmongstthespecimensofthesebranchesInoticedsomeplacenae,withthinunequalshells,akindofostracionpeculiartotheRedSeaandtheIndianOcean;someorangelucinaewithroundedshells;rockfishthreefeetandahalflong,whichraisedthemselvesunderthewaveslikehandsreadytoseizeone.Therewerealsosomepanopyres,slightlyluminous;andlastly,someoculines,likemagnificentfans,formingoneoftherichestvegetationsoftheseseas.

           Inthemidstoftheselivingplants,andunderthearboursofthehydrophytes,werelayersofclumsyarticulates,particularlysomeraninae,whosecarapaceformedaslightlyroundedtriangle;andsomehorriblelookingparthenopes.

           Ataboutseveno’clockwefoundourselvesatlastsurveyingtheoyster-banksonwhichthepearl-oystersarereproducedbymillions.

           CaptainNemopointedwithhishandtotheenormousheapofoysters;andIcouldwellunderstandthatthisminewasinexhaustible,forNature’screativepowerisfarbeyondman’sinstinctofdestruction.

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