chever you like," answered the Seal indifferently.

Perhaps the turtle was angry, for it ran on shore with remarkable
swiftness, uttering a shrill cry as it advanced. At once all the
other turtles awoke to life and with upraised heads joined their
comrade in the rush for the seals. Most of Chief Muffruff's band
scrambled hastily down the rocks and plunged into the water of the
sea without waiting for the turtles to reach them; but the chief
himself was slow in escaping. It may be that he was ashamed to run
while the mermaids were watching, but if this was so he made a great
mistake. The turtles snapped at his fins and tail and began biting
round chunks out of them so that Chief Muffruff screamed with pain
and anger and floundered into the water as fast as he could go. The
vengeful turtles were certainly the victors, and now held undisputed
possession of the island.

Trot laughed joyously at the incident, not feeling a bit sorry for
the old seal who had foolishly begun the battle. Even the gentle
queen smiled as she said:

"These quarrels between the turtles and the seals are very frequent,
but they are soon ended. An hour from now they will all be lying
asleep together just as we found them; but we will not wait for
that. Let us go."

She sank slowly beneath the water again, and the others followed
after her.

CHAPTER 11

ZOG THE TERRIBLE AND HIS SEA DEVILS

"The sun must be going under a cloud," said Trot, looking ahead.

They had descended far into the ocean depths again--further, the
girl thought, than they had ever been before.

"No," the Queen answered after a glance ahead of them, "that is a
cuttlefish, and he is dyeing the sea around him with ink so that he
can hide from us. Let us turn a little to the left, for we could see
nothing at all in that inky water."

Following her advice, they made a broad curve to the left, and at
once the water began to darken in that direction.

"Why, there's another of 'em," said Cap'n Bill as the little party
came to a sudden halt.

"So there is," returned the Queen, and Trot thought there was a
little quiver of anxiety in her voice. "We must go far to the right
to escape the ink."

So they again started, this time almost at a right angle to their
former course, the little girl inquired:

"How can the cuttlefish color the water so very black?"

"They carry big sacks in front of them where they conceal the ink,"
Princess Clia answered. "Whenever they ch