a rest now, and he'll quit sighing after the same. But they look fine and
dandy, too."

The boys did not wonder so much now at the size of the hooks they had
found in Cousin Archie's assortment of war material, each of them
fastened on a heavy but pliable brass snell, and with copper wire instead
of thread. Florida sea fishing requires such heavy tackle, because one is
never certain whether he may hook a forty-pound channel bass or a shark,
and an ordinary hook would be quickly torn loose.

The oyster stew turned out well. Every one was loud in praise of its
splendid qualities, and Bluff was given to understand that they did not
care how often he supplied the larder with a pail of fresh bivalves.

He did not seem just quite so eager to promise, and Frank suspected that
those nasty little cuts on his fingers were beginning to be painful.

The supper over, the boys sat around, taking it easy, and looking out
upon the open space where they knew the mysterious gulf lay, about which
they had read so much in the past.

Once they saw lights moving along, which must certainly have belonged
to some sort of craft, either a steamer bound for New Orleans, or else
some private steam yacht, the owner of which was cruising in these
sub-tropical waters for pleasure.

Jerry had cast out a line from the bow and a second one from the stern.
As the depth of water was good, it did not much matter how far from shore
the bait lay.