"And into which," Terry interrupted, "a sailing ship does not sink but drops out of sight as if there were a hole in the sea." Davis turned sharply toward him. "There were some photographs and a newspaper clipping on the cabin table," explained Terry. "I suspected they might have been put there for me to see." "Deirdre, perhaps," said Davis. "She's resolved to involve you in this. You've got scruples, so she suspects you of having brains. Yes. You'll add those things up. You'll include the remarkable success of a fishing boat named _La Rubia_ and the fact that she sometimes brings in very strange fish ... And then you'll add ..." His eyes flickered aloft. A shooting star streaked across one-third of the sky leaving a trail of light behind it. Then it went out. "You'll even be tempted," said Davis, "to include something like that in your guesses! And then you'll try to come up with a total for the lot. Then you'll be as troubled as I am." He paused a moment. "You said you wanted to be put ashore as soon as the gadget you made today was tested. I hope you've changed your mind, or will. That tape-recording may mean something to somebody. We wouldn't have heard that very singular noise but for you." "I withdraw the business of going ashore," said Terry uncomfortably. "I'm going to ask another question. What are those little spheres that I saw in the photographs on the cabin table? Were they found fastened to the fish?" "So I'm told," said Davis. "They are made of plastic. One was on a fish caught by a chief petty officer of the United States Navy. Four have been found on fish brought into the market by _La Rubia_. They could conceivably be a joke, but it's very elaborate! Somebody tried to cut one open and it burst to hell-and-gone. Terrific pressure inside. The metal parts inside were iridium. The others haven't been cut open. They're--" Davis' tone was dry. "They're being studied." A figure came out of the forecastle and walked aft. It was Nick. He stopped to say, "I called Manila and got a loran fix on us. We're right at the place _La Rubia_ heads for every time she sneaks away from the rest of the fishing fleet. It seems that she hauls her nets yonder." He nodded toward the circular area of luminosity on the sea. "It looks smaller than when I went below deck." Davis stared. He seemed to stiffen. "It does. We'll make sure." He went aft. Deirdre came up with sandwiches. Terry took the tray from her and followed her toward the others. "Cigars, cigarettes, candy, sandwiches?" she asked cheerfully. Davis was back at the task of measuring the angle subtended by the patch of shining sea, and then closely estimating its distance from the _Esperance_. He said, "It _is_ smaller. Eleven hundred yards, now." "When _La Rubia_ was here today," said Terry, "it might have been a couple of miles across. Even that would be a terrific concentration of fish! They're not all at the surface."