41 ALONG THE FLORIDA REEF. 



" I reckon if he knew lie had such a handle 

 as tha't 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 coining 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. 



