44 ALONG THE FLORIDA REEF. 



" I reckon if he knew he had such a handle 

 as that to his name he'd be so mad he'd kill 

 every fish in the place," said Long John, with a 

 chuckle, as he threw the vicious fellow back. 



Other fish swam in mid-water delicate jelly- 

 fishes coming to the surface now and then with 

 a graceful sweep of their waving tentacles, sev- 

 eral small green turtles, and here and there a 

 good-sized hawk's-bill or tortoise-shell turtle, the 

 kind furnishing the shell from which combs and 

 other articles are made. 



" Keep still ! " whispered Long John, with 

 warning finger. " Keep still, and you'll see a 

 game of leap-frog." 



And, surely enough, they did, but the " frogs " 

 were a turtle and the fish. The hawk's-bill was 

 floating with its back several inches out of 

 water, when suddenly a gar-fish leaped com- 

 pletely over it. Another made the attempt, 

 half turning in the air ; two more followed suit 

 one turning a somersault while still another, 

 not quite so dexterous, failed in his act of lofty 

 tumbling, and landed plump on the turtle's back, 

 startling it so that it dived out of sight. 



