.

"Yo' all keep de boat dere a li'l while," he said to Colin, and the lad
took the oars.

Then very deftly the boatman pushed the long unwieldy pole into the
water and nicked a sponge from the bed, bringing it up intact. On
reaching the surface it was seen to be slimy and with a milky fluid
dripping from the bottom.

"That's a ripe sponge, you see, Mr. Murren," the boy said, pointing to
the milky fluid; "the slimy stuff that's dropping is full of germs of
young sponges all ready to grow and swim and fix to something and then
become proper sponges."

"That may be a sponge," said the prospective buyer, "but it looks more
like a piece of liver."

"Fine sponge, sah,--good yellow sponge," the boatman said, and Colin
did not know enough either to affirm or deny.

"Now, Ah show yo' sheepswool sponge, quite diff'nt," the boatman said,
and taking up his water glass he leaned over the edge.

Just as he did so, both Colin and his companion gave a cry.

"Sharks!"

The boatman looked around contemptuously.

"Nu'sing shahks," he said, "sleep all de time." He splashed his hand in
the water and the sharks fled in all directions.

"You wouldn't feel that way if you had been in the water," hazarded the
capitalist.

"Ah done ride on 'em," was the reply. "Lots o' boys 'round dese hyeh
reefs think it fun to steal up ove' a lot o' nu'sing shahks, an' den
dive down an' take a ride. Dey wouldn't bite nothin' biggeh than a
sahdine."

"But you have got dangerous sharks here?"

"Yes, sah, you bet," the boatman answered; "dey was one ol' white shahk
was a holy terror; he use' to show up hyeh reg'lah once a monf. Folks do
say he eat up fo' men at diff'rent times."

"I thought Mr. Collier told us that those shark stories were
exaggerated," said Paul, turning to Colin. "I didn't think so, now you
see, they weren't."

"Oh, I guess the white shark is the real thing, all right," Colin
answered. "Some fishermen found a fair-sized young sea lion almost whole
in a shark's stomach about three years ago."

"That must have been the fish that swallowed Jonah," suggested Paul.

"He could have done it all right," the other boy agreed, "and he is
about the only fish that could."

"There might be some in the bottom of the sea!"

"I don't think so, Paul. Mr. Collier told me on the steamer that in the
very deepest parts of the ocean there were no fish, only worms and
sea-cucumbers and things like that."

"If you'll listen a minute, sah,