s of
many varieties, nearly a thousand fish living near the surface or in its
depths. Underground channels connected it with the Sound, that great
inland sea of Bermuda, and the water in the pool ebbed and flowed with
the tide, changing in level, however, but a couple of inches. A tiny
bridge spanned the water.

The old keeper of the place greeted Colin and proceeded to deliver
himself of a humorous rigmarole, designed for the benefit of tourists.
It was pure 'nature-faking,' since it ascribed human characteristics to
some of the fish in the pool, the various specimens being called the
"bride" and "groom" and so forth. The screed was rather wearisome to
Colin, but when he tried to interrupt, the old keeper seemed so hurt and
so confused that the boy let him go on to the end.

The feeding of the fish was a matter of more interest, and it was
striking to observe that the angel-fish and groupers were able to
recognize their respective summons to food, for when the keeper tapped
one portion of the bridge it gave a sharp cracking sound to which the
angel-fish came flocking, while in calling the groupers and other fish,
he hit another portion of the bridge, which reverberated in a different
tone, and the larger fish dashed through the water to the appointed
places. After this performance was over the keeper was willing to talk
less idly, and showed a very considerable knowledge of the species found
in Bermuda waters.

"I noticed," Colin said, "that you fed the angel-fish with sea-urchin. I
don't see how they can eat it with their tiny mouths, I should think the
spines would get in the way."

"I crushes the spines before I throws 'em in," the keeper answered; "but
they eats 'em in the nateral state. I don't know how they gets at 'em.
They has lots of savvy, sir, angel-fish has, and for a small fish they
can 'old their own. Why, even the big groupers lets 'em alone."

"Are the groupers fierce?" the boy asked, with his arms on the rail,
looking over at the fish.

"Fierce enough, sir," said the old man. "I was tellin' a party once,
just what I was tellin' you a while ago about the fish----"

"Yes," said Colin wearily, realizing that the same nonsense about the
bride fish and the bridegroom fish and the "old bachelor" and all the
rest of it had probably been given as a dose to every visitor for
twenty years back, "and what then?"

[Illustration: THE POOL WHERE THE DOG WAS DEVOURED.

Angel-fish and groupers in the Devil'