And at first Ned did run them all away 

 without making- any captures ; for you 

 have to practice awhile before you can 

 manage your net quickly enough to catch 

 crabs. But by and by he could dip them 

 up nearly every time, and would usually 

 carry up half a dozen fine fellows in his 

 pail to show to Uncle Robert. 



In a short time, too, Julie became bet- 

 ter acquainted with the crabs, and they 

 no longer frightened her. She learned, 

 then, to slip down to the beach as softly 

 as Ned himself, and never to squeal out 

 when he landed them; so her brother 

 enjoyed having her close to him, to 

 admire his skill in scooping the big fel- 

 lows into his basket-net before they could 

 glide out of reach in the deeper water. 

 But one morning when the pair ran down 

 to this favorite play-place, they saw a 

 lovely little sailing vessel at anchor a 

 short distance away and a light skiff 

 putting out from it. In the skiff sat 

 Uncle Robert and a big fellow who han- 

 dled the oars. As soon as the boat was 

 near enough, their uncle called out : 



''Run and tell your Mama and Aunt 

 Bella to put on their hats and jackets 

 and come quickly. I am going to take 

 all of you to Pelican Reef out in the 

 Gulf." 



A day of delights and wonders it was 

 for all of Ihem. The waters of the Gulf 

 were calm and lovely, only a little rippled 

 by the breeze that carried their boat 

 smoothly on. In color, they were deep- 

 est blue, and Julie's eyes, big and won- 

 dering, looked like little bits of the same 

 wide Gulf. The sea-birds flew past in 

 great numbers, and kept both children in 

 a constant state of excitement. The sail- 

 ors cast anchor near Pelican Reef, and, 

 as it was low tide when they reached 

 here, Uncle Robert took the children 

 ashore in the skiff. There was nothing 

 wonderful about the Reef itself; it was 

 only a long, narrow stretch of lime rock 

 and broken shells, barren of any Sort of 

 vegetation. But it seemed very curious 

 to Ned and Julie to watch the long line 

 of pelicans, osprey, gulls, and cormor- 

 ants, hundreds and hundreds, that fairly 

 covered the Reef ; to see them fly up, as 

 if by one movement, at the approach of 

 the boat, soon scattering and sweeping 

 out of sight. Then it interested them, 



too, to stand on the stretch of rock which 

 was half the time above the water, and 

 half the time hidden by it, half the time 

 a station for sea-birds and half the time 

 a menace to the careless boatsman or 

 pilot who might strand his vessel on it. 

 But the most interesting and exciting 

 thing they saw during the whole day 

 was a group of porpoises playing in the 

 water not far from their boat. How the 

 great creatures sported, — running, glid- 

 ing, leaping into the air, plunging down, 

 down to the very bottom of the Gulf, 

 rising again spouting and blowing in the 

 most amusing way, frolicsome as little 

 children just let loose from lessons. 



**0, isn't it funny?" exclaimed Ned. 

 "And what a crowd of them. Uncle Rob- 

 ert!" . 



''Yes," said he. "But they are spoken 

 of as a 'school', Ned, not a crowd." 



"A school," cried Julie. "Why, aren't 

 they too big to go to school. Uncle Rob- 

 ert?" 



But he answered laughingly that por- 

 poises never got too big to go to school, 

 which was very funny to both the chil- 

 dren. When the little trip was over, they 

 both agreed that they could never forget 

 any part of their delightful day, but would 

 especially remember the porpoise school, 

 and should tell Papa all about it when 

 they got back home. 



It was a few days after this that Julie 

 came flying up the garden walk after 

 Ned, who had started to the house for 

 his toy boat. 



"Come back, Ned," she cried, "come 

 back quick, I've found a school, and it's 

 a kindergarten !" 



Ned ran back with her, making the 

 least possible noise, and was as much 

 pleased and excited as she was to see 

 what appeared to his dazzled eyes a mil- 

 lion tiny fish, all of precisely the same 

 size, which was little larger than a pin, 

 all sporting very near the water's edge. 

 They darted about, little grey-green 

 things, often whirling over and flashing 

 the light from their silver sides, slid- 

 ing, gliding, here, there, everywhere. 

 O, what fun it was to watch them ! When 

 finally the wee creatures all trooped off 

 together, moved by a common impulse, 

 the children ran away to tell their 

 mother. Uncle Robert, too, had to hear 



42 



