CHAPTER III. 



ON THE OUTER REEF. 



Wonders of the ocean garden The angel-fish Living sponges 

 Cigars afloat The growth of a coral key The shark and sting- 

 ray Gigantic coral heads The remora The malthea Living 

 sleeve-buttons Drifting over the reef The box-crab The 

 black squall Making the five-foot A narrow escape. 



HE sun rose upon a glorious 

 day. There was not a cloud 

 in the sky; the water was as 

 smooth as glass, save where the 

 flapping tail of some big fish 

 splashed the surface. The sub- 

 dued roar on the outer reef 

 sounded like far-off music, the 

 white keys and the azure of the 



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bright sky were reflected again 

 and again in the water, the whole 

 scene seeming to the boys a dream of enchant- 

 ment. 



Old Busby led the way in the dinghy, with 



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