ng in his face not often noticed in persons of his race. The
coast of Florida, south of the entrance to Tampa Bay, as in many other
portions, is fringed with keys, or cays as they are called in the West
Indies, which are small islands, though many of them are ten miles in
length. This fringe of keys extended up Tampa Bay for over twenty
miles; and it was from behind one of them that the punt had put out
when Christy's boat approached. The negro had been obliged to paddle
at least half a mile to come within speaking-distance of the cutter.

"You done broke my boat in two pieces!" exclaimed the boatman, gazing at
the two parts of the floating wreck. "Don't t'ink you is a frien' ob de
colored man widin no limits at all, or you don't smash his boat like
dat."

"That was an accident, my friend," replied Christy. "How much was the
punt worth?"

"Dat boat wan't no punk, massa, and it was wuf two dollars in good
money," replied the colored man, his eyes brightening, and his
expression of cunning becoming more intense, when he realized the
possibility of being paid for his loss.

"If you give me the information I desire, I will pay for the boat,"
added Christy, who proposed to do so out of his own pocket, for his
father was a millionaire of several degrees, and the son had very nearly
made a fortune out of the prizes, from which he had received an
officer's share.

"Tank you, massa; I'm a poor man, and I git my livin' gwine fishin' in
dat boat you done stove."

"What is your name, my man?"

"Quimp, sar; and dat's de short for Quimple," replied the colored person
of this name.

"Where do you live?"

"Ober on de shor dar, in de woods."

"How deep is the water inside of these keys, Quimp?" asked Christy,
pointing to the long, narrow islands which lined the south-easterly side
of the bay.

"Not much water inside dem keys dar, sar," replied the boatman, looking
off in the other direction.

"But there are deep places in there, I am very sure."

"Yes, sar; ten feet in some places," replied Quimp, suddenly becoming
more communicative. "When de wind blow from de west or de norf-west,
dar's twelve foot inside de long key."

"Do you know of any vessels, any schooners, or steamers, inside the bay,
Quimp?" asked Christy, pushing his inquiries a point farther.

"Couldn't told you, massa," replied the boatman, shaking his head.

"Do you mean that you don't know, my man?"

"Dis nigger done got but one head, and it's wuf m