o
give up his act and had advertised his seals for sale.

"I only have this one seal left," he explained to Joe, "but she is the
best of the lot. I hate to part with her."

They went out to the barn, where there was a large tank of water.
Stepping up to it Mr. Blossom, the seal's owner, called loudly:

"Here, Lizzie!"

The water had been calm and placid, but in a moment it was violently
agitated, and a queer snakelike head was thrust up, while there came a
series of loud cries:

"Hook! Hook! Hook!"

"There she is," said Mr. Blossom. He leaned his head over close to the
water, and the seal, swimming to him, seemed to kiss him.

"That's the girl, Lizzie!" Mr. Blossom exclaimed. "And now I suppose
you want your reward."

From a pail near the tank he took up a dead fish. The seal held up her
head high from the water. Mr. Blossom balanced the fish on the animal's
nose, and raised a finger.

"No, no. Not yet, Lizzie!" he cried. "Wait a moment."

Turning to Joe, the trainer said: "Count three, and then snap your
fingers."

Joe did so, and no sooner had the snap come than the seal, which had
fixed its intelligent eyes on Joe, tossed the fish up into the air,
caught it in its mouth as it came down and swallowed it. Then, with
another loud "Hook!" the animal dived and swam rapidly to the far side
of the tank.

CHAPTER XVII

THE NEW ACT

Joe and Babson stood looking in admiration at the swimming seal.
Nothing in the water could be more swift or graceful.

"If I could only swim like that," murmured Joe.

"They tell me you are a sort of human fish," remarked Mr. Blossom. "You
do a tank act, you tell me."

"Yes, and I've been thinking of adding to the novelty of it. That is
why I want your seal. Tell me, do you think I could train him--or, I
suppose, it's a her, since you call her Lizzie."

"Yes, it is a female, and she is very affectionate. I believe you could
train her to work with you, though I have never swum in the tank with
her. I don't know just how she'd take to it. You may try here, if you
like. It is large enough. I used to keep ten seals here when I was not
on the road."

Joe rather liked the idea of giving the seal a practical test before
purchasing her. If the animal objected to being in a tank of water with
a human being she would be useless for his act, and he might as well
know that now as later.

"You saw how quickly she obeyed you about the fish," went on Mr.
Blossom, "and I thin