the waves had spilled aboard.

Everything went smoothly and there was no more excitement on the
trip until in the afternoon, when Dick was working the sculling oar.
He was swinging it slowly, as he looked down into the water, when
there appeared suddenly, just under the dingy, a great black
creature, broader than the boat was long. As it rose nearer to the
surface, almost touching the craft, he saw a great open mouth, three
feet across, with a heavy black horn on each side of it, which
looked quite equal to disposing of Dick and his boat at a single
bite. The sight was so frightful that Dick impulsively thrust his
oar against the creature, and was instantly thrown from his feet as
the stern of the dingy was tossed in the air and a column of water
fell upon and around him. When the commotion was over and Johnny had
crawled back into the submerged boat and was rocking it dry, Dick
said to Captain Tom, who was swimming beside him:

"I believe I'll swim the rest of the way. I'm getting tired of being
pitched overboard every few minutes."

After they were all aboard and Dick had resumed his work with the
oar, he asked the captain:

"What was that thing that looked like a devil, that I hit and that
hit back?"

"That was a devil-fish. They are perfectly harmless," said the
captain, adding, reflectively, "unless you punch 'em."

The tide favored the castaways at Sand-Fly Pass and they reached