e apparition which had made its sudden appearance in their midst; and
the shouts of astonishment and dismay evoked by that sudden appearance
were distinctly audible to the occupants of the _Flying Fish's_ pilot-
house. The hurried way in which the crew of the large ship immediately
ahead of them sprang to their feet and scrambled in over the bulwarks
from the stages on which they were working, or slid down the freshly-
tarred backstays to the deck as they saw the immense object rushing
directly toward them, was particularly amusing, and drew a hearty laugh
from the beholders on board the _Flying Fish_. Another moment, and the
cause of all this commotion was plunging fathoms deep beneath the keel
of the last-mentioned ship, to reappear on the surface a minute later,
beyond the farthest outskirts of the fleet. A judicious manipulation of
the helm kept the _Flying Fish_ this time on the surface for perhaps a
quarter of a minute, just long enough, in fact, to satisfy the wondering
beholders that their eyes had not deceived them, when she once more
disappeared, this time finally, from the view of the fleet.

"That escapade of ours will produce a tremendously sensational paragraph
for the newspapers, and we must keep a look-out for it," said the
colonel. "I wonder what they will make of it!"

Sure enough, the paragraph appeared in due course, to the following
effect, as copied from a cutting which is still preserved in the
professor's scrap-book:--

Appearance Of A Gigantic Sea Monster In The English Channel.

Extraordinary Story.

"On Wednesday morning last, the 27th instant, a fleet of some hundred
and fifty sail of vessels was off the Start and about in mid-channel,
making its way to the eastward before a light westerly air, the weather
at the time being fine, the water smooth, and the atmosphere perfectly
clear. A portion of the crews belonging to several of the craft in
question were at work in the rigging when their attention was attracted
by a curious commotion which suddenly appeared on the surface of the
water at a considerable distance to the eastward. The disturbance was
in the form of a long wedge-like ripple, the appearance being very
pronounced and distinct at its forward or pointed extremity, but less so
at its rear end, where it spread widely out and became gradually merged
and lost in the gentle ripple caused by the wind. It was travelling
directly towards the fleet at a speed far exceeding that of