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Richard Haggopian, perhaps the world&039;s greatest authority on ichthyology and oceanography, to say nothing of theto permit himself to be interviewed I was jubilant, elated - I could not believe my luck! At least a dozen journalists before h up in literary circles as to be actually offended by so mundane an occupational description, had opian the Armenian out; but only my application had been accepted Threeof Time had been refused, and before him Mannhausen of Weltzukunft, and therefore my own superiors had seen little hope for me And yet the name of Jeremy Belton was not unknown in journalism; I had been lucky on a number of so-called &039;hopeless&039; cases before Now, it seeopian ay on yet another ocean trip, but I had been asked to wait for hiopian excited such interest a the ranks of the world&039;s foremost journalists; any man with his scientific and literary talents, with a beautiful young wife, with an island-in-the-sun, and (perhaps ative attitude toward even the most beneficial publicity, would certainly have attracted the saopian was a millionaire!

Myself, I had recently finished a job in the desert - the latest Arab-Israeli confrontation - to find myself with time and a little money to spare, and so opian That had been a fortnight ago, and since then I had donean interview Where others had failed ht days I had waited on the Aropiana - his tiny island hideao miles east of Kletnos and midway between Athens and Iraklion, purchased by and named after himself in the early forties - and just when it seemed that opian&039;s great silver hydrofoil, the Echinoidea, cut a thin scar on the incredible blue of the sea to the south-west as it sped in to aWith binoculars from the fiat white roof of my Kletnos -hotel? - I watched the hydrofoil circle the island until, in a blinding flash of reflected sunlight, it disappeared beyond Haggopiana&039;s wedge of white rock Two hours later the Ar me (I hoped) news of ! I was to attend Haggopian at three in the afternoon; a boat would be sent for rey slacks and a white T-shirt - the recoean - and when the sleekfor it at the natural rock wharf On the way out to Haggopiana, as I gazed over the prow of the craft down through the crystal-clear water at the gliding, shadowy groupers and the clusters of black sea-urchins (the Armenian had named his hydrofoil after the latter), I did a mental check-up on what I knew of the elusive owner of the island ahead: Richard Heopian, born in 1919 of an illicit union between his penniless but beautiful half-breed

Polynesian mother and millionaire Armenian-Cypriot father - author of three of thebooks I had ever read, books for the lay of the world&039;s seas and all their e - discoverer of the Taumotu Trench, a previously unsuspected hole in the bed of the South Pacific almost seven thousand fathoms deep; into which, with the celebrated Hans Geisler, he descended in 1955 to a depth of twenty-four thousand feet - benefactor of the world&039;s greatest aquariums and museums in that he had presented at least two hundred and forty rare, often freshly discovered specimens to such authorities in the last fifteen years, etc, etc

Haggopian the e of thirty - apparently an unfortunate man where brides were concerned His first wife (British) died at sea after nine years&039; wedded life,overboard from her husband&039;s yacht in calm seas on the shark-ridden Barrier Reef in 1958; nu disease and was buried at sea; and number three - one Cleanthis Leonides, an Athenian hteenth birthday - had apparently turned recluse in that she had not been seen publicly since her union with Haggopian two years previously

Cleanthis Haggopian-yes! Expecting to et to see her husband, I had checked through dozens of old fashion o in Athens, and now I recalled her face as I had seen it in those pictures - young, naturally, and beautiful in the Classic Greek tradition She had been a &039;honey&039;; would, of course, still be; and again, despite ru with her husband, I found

In no time at all the flat white rocky ramparts of the island loo his fast craft over to the left, passing between two jagged points of salt-incrusted rock standing twenty yards or so out froopiana&039;s most northern point As we rounded the point I saw that the east face of the island looked far less inhospitable; there was a white sand beach, with a pier at which the Echinoidea was ranate, al flat-roofed bungalow

So this was Haggopiana! Hardly, I thought, the &039;island paradise&039; of Weber&039;s article in Neu Weltl It looked as though Weber&039;s story, seven years old now, had been written no closer to Haggopiana than Kletnos; I had always been dubious about the German&039;s exotic superlatives

At the dry end of the pier htest of burey flannels and a white shirt with the sleeves rolled down His thin nose supported heavy, opaquely-lensed sunglasses This was Haggopian - tall, bald, extreent and very, very rich - his hand already outstretched in greeting

Haggopian was a shock I had seen photographs of him of course, quite a few, and had often wondered at the odd sheen such pictures had seeive his features In fact the only decent pictures I had seen of hi siraphy; his rare appearances in public had always been very short ones and unannounced, so that by the ti an exit Noever, I could see that I had short-changed the photographers He did have a sheen to his skin - a peculiar phosphorescence alhted his features and even partially reflected so wrong with thethinly down from behind the dark lenses He carried in his left hand a square of silk hich, every now and then, he would dab at this tell-tale da the pier, and right froely -yes, repulsive

&039;How do you do, Mr Belton?&039; his voice was a thick, heavily accented rasp that jarred with his polite inquiry and manner of expression &039;I ae in Faht at the start of my trip, but I am afraid I could not put my work off&039;

&039;Not at all, sir, I&039; will more than amply repay h I triedit, and after he turned to lead me up to the house I unobtrusively wiped opian&039;s hand had been daht be expected - rather, or so it seearden snails!

I had noticed from the boat a complex of pipes and valves between the sea and the house, and now, approaching that sprawling yellow building in Haggopian&039;s wake (his stride was clu), I could hear the ush of water Once inside the huge, refreshingly cool bungalow, it becaht have known that this man, so in love with the sea, would surround hi less than a gigantic aquariuth and ceiling high, h froreenish shades that dappled the ave the place an eerie, submarine aspect

There were no printed cards or boards to describe the finny dwellers in the huge tanks, and as he led me from room to rooopian knew each speci cos:

&039;An unusual coelenterate, this one, from three thousand feet Difficult to keep alive - pressure and all that I call it Physalia haggopia - quite deadly If one of those tentacles should even brush youphtttMakes a water-baby of the Portuguese Man-o&039;-War&039; (this of a great purplishhorribly through the water of a tank of huge proportions) Haggopian, as he spoke, deftly plucked a s it up over the lip of the greater tank to his &039;unusual coelenterate&039; The fish hit the water with a splash, swareen wisps - and instantly stiffened! In a matter of seconds the hideous jelly-fish had settled on its prey to coopian gratingly comest room of all - more a hall than a room proper - I paused, literally astonished at the size of the tanks and the expertise which had obviously gone into their construction Here, where sharks swalass of these miniature oceans must have been treive the i submarine vistas

In one of these tanks ha slowly froerous Metal steps led up to this tank&039;s riopian must have seen the puzzled expression on my face for he said: &039;This is where I used to feed my lampreys -they had to be handled carefully I have none now; I returned the last of o&039;

Three years ago? I peered closer into the tank as one of the halass There on the white and silver underside of the fish, between the gill-slits and down the belly, nu clearly defined circles where the close-packed scales had been removed and the suckerlike opian&039;s &039;three years&039; had no doubt been a slip of the tongue - three days, in, and before the Armenian ushered me on I was able to see that at least another two of the ha my host&039;s mistake e passed into yet another rooist to cry out in delight Again tanks lined the walls, smaller than many of the others I had so far seen, but marvellously laid out to duplicate perfectly the natural environs of their inhabitants These inhabitants were the living gereat conches and clams from the South Pacific; the small, beautiful Haliotis excavata and Murex monodon from the Great Barrier Reef; the amphora-like Delphinula formosa from China, and weird uni- and bi-valves of every shape and size in their hundreds Even the ere of shell -great, translucent, pinkly-glowing fan-shells, porcelain thin yet i the roo of the previous rooms The aisles, too, were crammed with trays and show-cases full of dry shells, none of theopian showed off his expertise by casually na their habits and the foreign deeps in which they were indigenous

My tour was interrupted here when Costas, the Greek who had broughtroo of obvious iree a few moments later with half-a-dozen other Greeks who each, in their turn, had a feords with Haggopian before departing Eventually ere alone again

&039;They were my men,&039; he told me, &039;some of them for almost twenty years, but now I have no further need for thees, they have said their farewells, and now they are going away Costas will take them to Kletnos and return later for you By then I should have finished gopian Youinto seclusion here? What you said just then sounded ominously final&039;

&039;Seclusion? Here? No, Mr Belton - but final, yes! I have learned as much of the sea as I can from here, and in any case only one phase in my education remains For that phase I need notuition You will see&039;

He saw the puzzled look on my face and sFew men, if any, have known my circumstances before, of that I am reasonably certain; and that is why I have chosen to speak now You are fortunate in that you caught ht time; I would never have taken it upon myself to tell my story had I not been so persistently pursued - there are horrors best unknown - but perhaps the telling will serve as a warning It gives me pause, the number of students devoted to the lore of the sea that would emulate my works and discoveries But in any case, what you no doubt believed would be a si Tomorrohen the island is deserted, Costas will return and set all the living speciest fishes opiana will be truly empty&039;

&039;But why? To what end - and where do you intend to go?&039; I asked &039;Surely this island is your base, your hohold? It was here that you wrote your wonderful books, and-&039;

&039;My base and stronghold, as you put it, yes!&039; he harshly cut s to me, Mr Belton, but htly treeneral direction of the Cretean Sea and the Mediterranean beyond &039;When your interview is over, I shall walk to the top of the rocks and look once more at Kletnos, the closest landmass of any reasonable size Then I will take h the Kasos Straits on a direct and deliberate course until her fuel runs out There can be no turning back There is a place unsuspected in the Mediterranean - where the sea is so deep and cool, and where-&039;

He broke off and turned his strangely shining face to me: &039;But there - at this rate the tale will never be told Suffice to say that the last trip of the Echinoidea will be to the bottom - and that I shall be with her!&039;

&039;Suicide?&039; I gasped, barely able to keep up with Haggo-pian&039;s rapid revelations &039;You intend to - drown yourself?&039;

At that Haggopian laughed, a rasping cough of a laugh that somehow reminded me of a seal&039;s bark

&039;Drown myself? Can you drown these?&039; he opened his are conches; &039;or these?&039; he waved through a door at a crystal tank of exotic fish

For a few moments I stared at him in dumb amazement and concern, uncertain as to whether I stood in the presence of a sane h the dark lenses of his glasses, and under the scrutiny of those unseen eyes I slowly shook opian - I just&039;

&039;Unpardonable,&039; he rasped as I struggled for words, &039;my behaviour is unpardonable! Come, Mr Belton, perhaps we can be coh a doorway and out on to a patio surrounded by learden table and two cane chairs stood in the shade Haggopian clapped his hands together once, sharply, then offered ain I noticed how all the man&039;s movements seemed oddly aard

An old woman, wrapped around Indian-fashion in white silk and with the lower half of her face veiled in a shawl that fell back over her shoulders, answered the Aruttural yet re a little with her years, to return a short while later with a tray, two glasses, and (alish beer with the chill still on the bottle

I saw that Haggopian&039;s glass was already filled, but with no drink I could readily recognize The liquid was greenly cloudy - sedilass - and yet the Arlasses withdeeply I too, took a deep draught, for I was very dry; but, when I had placed opian was still drinking! He colass and again clapped his hands in su why the lasses After all, ere in the shade, had been evenat the Arain saw those thin trickles of liquid flowing down fromatic lenses And with the re-appearance of this syopian&039;s optical affliction, the peculiar shiny film on his face also returned For so; I had thought it was si used to his looks Now I saw that I had been wrong, his appearance was as odd as ever Againstback on the man&039;s repulsive handshake

&039;These interruptions hts &039;I aenerous intake of liquids!&039;

I was about to ask just what &039;phase&039; he referred to when the old wolass of murky fluid for her master He spoke a few more words to her before she once h, as she bent over the table, how very dehydrated the woman&039;s face looked; with pinched nostrils, deeply wrinkled skin, and dull eyes sunk deep beneath the bony ridges of her eyebrows An island peasant-woman, obviously - and yet, in other circuht almost have seenetis forward towards hi to control an apparent desire to touch him whenever she cao Costas will take care of her&039;

&039;Was I staring?&039; I guiltily started, freshly aware of an odd feeling of unreality and discontinuity &039;I&039;m sorry, I didn&039;t intend to be rude!&039;

&039;No matter - what I have to tell you makes a nonsense of all matters of sensibility You strike htened, Mr Belton?&039;

&039;I can be surprised, Mr Haggopian, and shocked - but frightened? Well, as I have been a war correspondent for some time, and-&039;

&039;Of course, I understand - but there are worse things than the man-made horrors of war!&039;

&039;That may be, but I&039;m a journalist It&039;s htened&039;

&039;Good! And please put aside any doubts youof my story The proofs, at the end, will be ample&039;

I started to protest but he quickly cut me off: &039;No, no, Mr Belton! You would have to be totally insensible not to have perceived the - strangeness here&039;

He fell silent as for the third ti a pitcher before him on the table This time she almost fawned on hi his chair

He rasped a few harsh words in Greek and I heard the strange, shrivelled creature sob as she turned to stu with the woood tiood ti it froh which I sat for the most part silent, later hypnotized, and eventually horrified to the end

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&039;My first ten years of life were spent in the Cook Islands, and the next five in Cyprus,&039;

Haggopian began, &039;alithin shouting distance of the sea My father died when I was sixteen, and though he had never acknowledged me in his lifetime he willed to me the equivalent of two-and-one-half ! When I enty-one I came into this money and found that I could now devote myself utterly to the ocean - my one real love in life By that I mean all oceans I love the warm Mediterranean and the South Pacific, but no less the chill Arctic Ocean and the tee North Sea Even now I love theopiana and began to build my collection here I wrote about my work and enty-nine years old when I finished The Cradle Sea Of course it was a labour of love I paid for the publication of the first edition h money did not really matter, subsequent reprints repaid me more than adequately It was my success with that book - I used to enjoy success - and with The Sea: A New Frontier, which prompted me to commence work upon Denizens of the Deep I had been married to h manuscript of my work ready, and I could have had the book published there and then but for the fact that I had beco and es in the manuscript, whole chapters on certain species, hich I was not satisfied

&039;One of these chapters was devoted to the sirenians The dugong and thetime in respect of their undeniable connections with the ends of old renown; from which, of course, their order takes its name

However, it was more than merely this initially that took es, though at that tiuessed at the importance of my quest As it happened, my inquiries were to lead htful hint of nized it as such&039; He paused

&039;Destination?&039; I felt obliged to fill the silence &039;Literary or scientific?&039;

&039;My ultimate destination!&039;

&039;Oh!&039;

I sat and waited, not quite knohat to say, an odd position for a journalist! In a opian continued, and as he spoke I could feel his eyes staring at h the opaque lenses of his spectacles:

&039;You are aware perhaps of the theories of continental drift - those concepts outlined initially by Wegener and Lintz, modified by Vine, Matthews and others - which have it that the continents are gradually &039;floating&039; apart and that they were once much closer to one another? Such theories are sound, I assure you; priaea did exist, and was trodden by feet other than those of reat continent knew life beforedown from the trees and up from the apes!

&039;But at any rate, it was partly to further the work of Wegener and the others that I decided upon my "Manatee Survey" - a coal and the Gulf of Guinea with those of the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico You see, Mr Belton, of all the shores of Earth these two are the only coastal stretches within which ree that this is excellent zoological evidence for continental drift?

&039;Well, with these scientific interests of mine very much at heart, I eventually found myself in Jacksonville on the East Coast of North America; which is just as far north as the manatee may be found in any nue stones taken out of the sea - stones bearing weathered hieroglyphs of fantastic antiquity, presumably washed ashore by the back-currents of the Gulf Stream Such was my interest in these stones and their possible source - you may recall that Mu, Atlantis and otherbeen favourite themes of mine - that I quickly concluded my "Manatee Survey" to sail to Boston, Massachusetts, where I had heard that a collector of such oddities kept a private museum He, too, it turned out, was a lover of oceans, and his collection was full of the lore of the sea; particularly the North Atlantic which was, as it were, on his doorstep I found him most erudite in all aspects of the East Coast, and he told land It was the saland coastline, he assuredevidence of prience I had seen traces of in places as far apart as the Ivory Coast and the islands of Polynesia?