It moved toward the beach, only a few yards distant, and whenever it was submerged discolored the water almost to inky blackness.

At last, harrassed on all sides, it put its slimy tentacles on the gravelly beach.

Its round, pudgy body was no sooner out of the water, than an expert, in the person of a half naked fisherman, rushed in and struck it a blow on the head with a heavy club dexterously leaping away in time to avoid the waving tentacles.

At every blow, all the colors of the rainbow could be seen glowing through the body of the octopus.

Once it lifted its powerful tentacles, clinging to the suckers of which were stones and gravel and either in pain or anger, hurled them in all directions.
Nearly every one in the party was hit.