"Yes," said Smith, after a startled look around, "but some were like that to begin with, and his record suggests it all the way." He asked Johnson to get a description of the place where Harris found himself. The answer was, in a fashion, conclusive. "Like any other part of the sea bottom," reported Johnson. "And, furthermore, he's tired of thinking and wants to rest." "Who does?" demanded Smith. "They won't tell me," said Johnson, sadly. Smith choked off a curse, noticing Simonetta standing there. He combed his hair furiously with both hands. No one suggested any other questions, so he thanked Johnson and told Joe to break off. "At least, we know it's all real," he sighed. "He was actually taken, and he's still alive." "You put a lot of faith in a couple of fish," said Lydman. Smith hesitated. "Well ... now ... they aren't really fish," he said. "Let's not build up a mental misconception, just because we've been kidding about 'swishy the thinking fishy.' Actually, they probably wouldn't even suggest fish to an ichthyologist, and they may be a pretty high form of life." "They may be as high as this Harris," commented Parrish, and earned a cold stare from Lydman. "I think I'll look around the lab," said the latter, as the others made motions toward breaking up the gathering. Westervelt promptly headed for the door. He saw that Lydman was walking around the corner of the wire mesh partition that enclosed the special apparatus of the communications room, doubtless bent upon taking a short-cut into the lab. _I want to go sit down a while before they pin me on him again_, thought the youth. _I need fifteen minutes, then I'll relieve whoever has him, if Smitty wants me to._ TWELVE The light, impotent after penetrating fifty fathoms of Tridentian sea, was murky and green-tinted; but Tom Harris had become more or less used to that. It rankled, nevertheless, that the sea-people continued to ignore his demands for a lamp. He knew that they used such devices. Through the clear walls of his tank, he had seen night parties swimming out to hunt small varieties of fish. The water craft they piloted on longer trips and up to the surface were also equipped with lights powered by some sort of battery. It infuriated Harris to be forced arbitrarily to exist isolated in the dimness of the ocean bottom day or the complete blackness of night. He rose from the spot where he had been squatting on his heels. So smooth was the glassy footing that he slipped and almost fell headlong. He regained his balance and looked about. The tank was about ten by ten feet and twice as long, with metal angles which he assumed to be aluminum securing all edges. These formed the outer corners, so that he could see the gaskets inside them that made the tank water-tight. The sea-people, he had to admit, were quite capable of coping with their environment and understanding his.