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By this time, in their swift voyage through the air, they had come
within sight of the great ocean, and were soon flying over it. Far
beneath them, the waves tossed themselves tumultuously in mid-sea, or
rolled a white surf-line upon the long beaches, or foamed against the
rocky cliffs, with a roar that was thunderous, in the lower world;
although it became a gentle murmur, like the voice of a baby half
asleep, before it reached the ears of Perseus. Just then a voice spoke
in the air close by him. It seemed to be a woman’s voice, and was
melodious, though not exactly what might be called sweet, but grave and
mild.

“Perseus,” said the voice, “there are the Gorgons.”

“Where?” exclaimed Perseus. “I cannot see them.”

“On the shore of that island beneath you,” replied the voice. “A
pebble, dropped from your hand, would strike in the midst of them.”

“I told you she would be the first to discover them,” said Quicksilver
to Perseus. “And there they are!”

Straight downward, two or three thousand feet below him, Perseus
perceived a small island, with the sea breaking into white foam all
around its rocky shore, except on one side, where there was a beach of
snowy sand. He descended towards it, and, looking earnestly at a
cluster or heap of brightness, at the foot of a precipice of black
rocks, behold, there were the terrible Gorgons! They lay fast asleep,
soothed by the thunder of the sea; for it required a tumult that would
have deafened everybody else to lull such fierce creatures into slumber.
The moonlight glistened on their steely scales, and on their golden
wings, which drooped idly over the sand. Their brazen claws, horrible
to look at, were thrust out, and clutched the wave-beaten fragments of
rock, while the sleeping Gorgons dreamed of tearing some poor mortal all
to pieces. The snakes that served them instead of hair seemed likewise
to be asleep; although, now and then, one would writhe, and lift its
head, and thrust out its forked tongue, emitting a drowsy hiss, and then
let itself subside among its sister snakes.

The Gorgons were more like an awful, gigantic kind of insect,–immense,
golden-winged beetles, or dragon-flies, or things of that sort,–at once
ugly and beautiful,–than like anything else; only that they were a
thousand and a million times as big. And, with all this, there was
something partly human about them, too. Luckily for Perseus, their
faces were completely hidden from him by the posture in which they lay;
for, had he but looked one instant at them, he would have fallen heavily
out of the air, an image of senseless stone.

“Now,” whispered Quicksilver, as he hovered by the side of Perseus,–
“now is your time to do the deed! Be quick; for, if one of the Gorgons
should awake, you are too late!”

“Which shall I strike at?” asked Perseus, drawing his sword and
descending a little lower. “They all three look alike. All three have
snaky locks. Which of the three is Medusa?”

It must be understood that Medusa was the only one of these dragon-
monsters whose head Perseus could possibly cut off. As for the other
two, let him have the sharpest sword that ever was forged, and he might
have hacked away by the hour together, without doing there the least
harm.

“Be cautious,” said the calm voice which had before spoken to him. “One
of the Gorgons is stirring in her sleep, and is just about to turn over.
That is Medusa. Do not look at her! The sight would turn you to stone!
Look at the reflection of her face and figure in the bright mirror of
your shield.”