90 



ALONG THE FLORIDA REEF. 



grasp, suddenly doubled up, and from its open 

 mouth shot out a slender stream of water ; "is 

 it a fish fire-engine, or a living squirt-gun ? And 

 look at that ! " he exclaimed excitedly, as out of 

 the trepang a queer fish-like head appeared, fol- 

 lowed by an eel-like bod}', white and ghostly. 



Harry dropped the fish in some trepidation. 

 "Good gracious ! " he cried, "what is it ?" 



But the doctor quickly picked up this strange 

 visitor and placed it in a glass of water in the 

 boat. 



" It is a messmate-fish — the Fieraxfer" he 

 explained — " one of the boarders of the trepang." 



Fk-rasfcr and young. 



The curious animal was a perfectly formed 

 five-inch fish, so transparent that its internal or- 

 gans could be seen ; but evidently out of its ele- 

 ment, for, even as the doctor spoke, it gave a 



