a ponderary system

The night was considerably clearer than anybody on board her desired when the schooner Ventura headed for the land. It rose in places, black and sharp against the velvety indigo, over her dipping bow, though most of the low littoral was wrapped in obscurity.

Vicuña hide was so precious that by the early 1930s, these animals—wild relatives of the llama and alpaca—were threatened with extinction, according to Tschiffely […] .

Joe brought his A game to the match.