from the terrifying bright monster. When they came to
the surface again, they were far out of range. But the restless old
male, their leader, was not among them. The white yacht was steaming
away into the distance, with its so-called sportsmen congratulating
themselves that they had almost certainly killed something. The little
band of seals waited about the spot for an hour or two, expecting the
return of their chief; and then, puzzled and apprehensive, swam away
toward the green-crested shore-line of Maine.

Here, lacking a leader, their migration came to an end. There seemed
no reason to go farther, since here was everything they wanted. The
Pup, by this time an expert pursuer of all but the swiftest fish, was
less careful now to keep always within his mother's reach, though the
affection between the two was still ardent. One day, while he was
swimming some little distance apart from the herd, he noticed a
black-hulled boat rocking idly on the swells near by. It was too near
for his comfort, so he dived at once, intending to seek a safer
neighborhood. But as luck would have it, he had hardly plunged below
the surface when he encountered an enormous school of young herring.
What throngs of them there were! And how crowded together! Never had
he seen anything like it. They were darting this way and that in
terrific excitement. He himself went wild at once, dashing hither and
thither among them with snapping jaws, destroying many more than he
could eat. And still they seemed to throng about him ever the more
closely. At last he got tired of it, and dashed straight ahead to
clear the shoal. The next moment, to his immeasurable astonishment, he
was checked and flung back by a fine, invisible barrier. No, it was
not quite invisible. He could see a network of meshes before him.
Puzzled and alarmed, he shot up to the surface to reconnoitre.

As his head rose above the water, his heart fairly stopped for a
second with dismay. The black side of the fishing boat was just above
him, and the terrifying eyes of men looked straight down into his.
Instantly he dived again, through the ever thickening masses of the
herring. But straightway again he met the fine, invincible barrier of
the net. Frantically he struggled to break through it, but only
succeeded in coiling it about him till he could not move a flipper.
And while he wriggled there impotently, under the squirming myriads of
the fish, he was lifted out into the air and drag