would look after all the details, such as eating and so forth. If you
are going to be a scarecat I'll drive right back home again, for I don't
like cats of any kind."

"I'm not afraid," said Jimmieboy. "I trust you, Mermy."

"Thank you," said the merboy, dropping one rein to squeeze Jimmieboy's
hand. "Thank you very much. You will find your confidence is well
placed, for as long as you are with me as my guest you can stand on your
head miles deep in water without being in any danger of drowning. Why,
if you couldn't, I never should have thought of bringing you along, for
in a very few minutes we come to a turn in our road and then we shall
drive down under the water three miles and a half, and, what is more,
you won't even know you are under water unless I tell you."

So Jimmieboy was reassured on the one point concerning which he had been
a little timid, and he proceeded at once to enjoy everything he saw. In
silence they drove on and on, and as the ocean was as smooth as glass
they covered a great many miles in a few minutes. Suddenly the merboy
reined in his dolphins with a sharp jerk, which caused the carriage to
stop with such suddenness that Jimmieboy was nearly thrown out of his
seat.

"What's the matter?" cried Jimmieboy, a little alarmed at this sudden
stoppage. "Nothing wrong?"

"No," said the merboy, shortly. "But there might have been. Look ahead
of you there."

Jimmieboy did as he was told, and saw in an instant why the merboy had
stopped short. A great big ocean steamer was ploughing its way through
the waves at a tremendous rate of speed directly across their path.

"Don't you see?" said the merboy, as the steaming monster passed on,
leaving a great strip of white foam behind it; "we were nearly run down
that time. It is dreadful the way these steamers are allowed to ignore
the safety of the rightful occupants of the seas. On land, when a
railroad crosses a driveway, they make the trains go over or under a
road in many places, and where they don't do that, they make them put up
fences or bars and station men to signal people who are driving of the
approach of trains. Out here they are perfectly lawless. They cross our
drives on the level always, and never yet has one of the steamers
whistled or rung a bell to warn a fish to get out of its way."

"It doesn't seem right, does it?" said Jimmieboy.

"No, it doesn't," replied the merboy; "and the meanest part of it all is
the steamship people don't