TALES OF FISHES 



rap at my bait with his bill until he knocked the 

 bait off. 



I think the feature of the day was the sight of 

 two flying-fish that just missed boarding the boat. 

 They came out to the left of us and sailed ahead 

 together. Then they must have been turned by 

 the wind, for they made a beautiful, graceful curve 

 until they came around so that I was sure they would 

 fly into the boat. Their motion was indescribably 

 airy and feathery, buoyant and swift, with not the 

 slightest quiver of fins or wings as they passed 

 within five feet of me. I could see through the 

 crystal wings. Their bodies were white and silvery, 

 and they had staring black eyes. They were not 

 so large as the California flying-flsh, nor did they 

 have any blue color. They resembled the Cali- 

 fornia species, however, in that same strange, hunted 

 look which always struck me. To see these flying- 

 fish this way was provocative of thought. They 

 had been pursued by some hungry devil of a fish, 

 and with a birdlike swiftness with which nature had 

 marvelously endowed them they had escaped the 

 enemy. Here I had at once the wonder and beauty 

 and terror of the sea. These fish were not leaping 

 with joy. I have not often seen fish in the salt 

 water perform antics for anything except flight or 

 pursuit. Sometimes kingfish appear to be playing 

 when they leap so wonderfully at sunset hour, but 

 as a rule salt-water fish do not seem to be playful. 



At Long Key the Gulf Stream is offshore five 

 miles. The water shoals gradually anywhere from 

 two feet near the beach to twenty feet five miles 



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