uld get a good look at it. They were amazed
at the unusual size of the devil-fish, and Mr. Choate declared again
that he had never seen such a large one of its kind. It measured
twenty-two feet across, and must have weighed close to 5,000 pounds.

"Some people call the octopus a devil-fish," said Mr. Choate. "This is
all wrong. They are both large and vicious creatures, but entirely
different in looks. The devil-fish belongs to the ray family, and, as
you see, is a huge bat-like creature which uses its body fins with a
waving, undulating motion, and propels itself through the water at
remarkable speed."

"It is built on the principle of our airplane--in looks," said Tom with
a grin; "and in speed, too."

"So it is," responded Mr. Choate. "It derives its satanic name from
these cephalic fins or lobes which extend outward and upward from each
side of its flat head, like curling horns. When it dashes into a
school of smaller fish, these fins whirl about in every direction, and
as they are often four feet long they easily reach more than one
hapless fish and he is swept into the yardwide mouth of the monster and
devoured with almost lightning speed."

After a rest, the party went out in the motorboat again, this time to
catch foodfish. They had fine luck, and after an appetizing meal
aboard the _L'Apache_, in which their small catch played an important
part, all set out for Miami, tired and happy.

CHAPTER XIII

THE STRANGE AIRPLANE

The first thing the boys did the following morning, after spending the
night at the home of Mr. Choate, was to go down to the beach and see if
their airplane was all right. They found one of the two negroes asleep,
but the other fellow was faithfully on guard, and everything about the
Sky-Bird seemed just as they had left it, although the watchers said that
a considerable number of curious townspeople had come to look at the
machine the day before and they had been very busy keeping venturesome
boys off the craft.

Our friends let the negroes go to get their breakfasts and some sleep,
and engaged two others to take up the watch. Following this, in company
with Mr. Choate, they all retired to the bathhouse, secured bathing suits
and had a fine time disporting themselves in the warm surf for the next
hour. The youths had never experienced Gulf Stream bathing before, and
the water was so enticing that it was hard to drag themselves out of it.

As they were in the act of