ON THE OUTER REEF. 59 



the boatswain ; " it won't hurt you ; it's only a 

 sucker." 



But this was by no means easy, for the cu- 

 rious object clung so fast that only by a violent 

 wrench could Dick and Tom tear it from the 

 shark. 



" It is a remora, and a very interesting fish," 

 said the doctor. " It follows the larger fishes 

 and attaches itself to them by this disk, refusing 

 to leave them even when they are dead, as you 

 see." 



" That's why we call 'em ' suckers,' " put in 

 Busby. 



" They are sometimes called ' ship-stayers,' " 

 continued the doctor, " and one of them is said 

 to have changed the history of the world and 

 given the Roman Empire to Augustus Caesar." 



Doubly interested by so historic and impor- 

 tant a fish, the boys gathered around this curious 

 specimen and examined it minutely. 



The disk, which was the principal object of 

 curiosity about the remora, was oval in shape, 

 and on the very top of the head. It resembled 

 in construction a Venetian blind, for it was com- 



