There were thirty poems in the collection, and he was to receive a dollar apiece for them.
The first month four were published, and he promptly received a cheek for four dollars; but when he looked over the magazine, he was appalled at the slaughter.

In some cases the titles had been altered: "Finis," for instance, being changed to "The Finish," and "The Song of the Outer Reef" to "The Song of the Coral Reef." In one case, an absolutely different title, a misappropriate title, was substituted.

In place of his own, "Medusa Lights," the editor had printed, "The Backward Track." But the slaughter in the body of the poems was terrifying.

Martin groaned and sweated and thrust his hands through his hair.

Phrases, lines, and stanzas were cut out, interchanged, or juggled about in the most incomprehensible manner.