we won't meet him."

"Don't you like him?" inquired Trot.

"Oh, he complains so bitterly of everything that he bores us," Merla
answered. "Mummercubble is never contented or happy for a single
minute."

"I've seen people like that," said Cap'n Bill with a nod of his
head. "An' they has a way of upsettin' the happiest folks they
meet."

"Look out!" suddenly cried the mermaid. "Look out for your fingers!
Here are the snapping eels."

"Who? Where?" asked Trot anxiously.

And now they were in the midst of a cluster of wriggling, darting
eels which sported all around them in the water with marvelous
activity. "Yes, look out for your fingers and your noses!" said one
of the eels, making a dash for Cap'n Bill. At first the sailor was
tempted to put out a hand and push the creature away, but
remembering that his fingers would thus be exposed, he remained
quiet, and the eel snapped harmlessly just before his face and then
darted away.

"Stop it!" said Merla. "Stop it this minute, or I'll report your
impudence to Aquareine."

"Oh, who cares?" shouted the Eels. "We're not afraid of the