on dat fashion. Looker dar! Fuss to one side, den
de todder,--back and for'rad as ef de cudn't be content nowha."

While Snowball was speaking, and before he had commenced, the albacores
had entered upon a peculiar movement. On first joining company with the
_Catamaran_, they swam for a time alongside,--the starboard side,--
keeping pace with the raft, and evidently making no exertion to go ahead
of her, as they might easily have done. On the contrary, they scarce
moved their fins; but floated slowly along at the exact rate of speed at
which the craft was sailing, and not one bit faster. As they swam
parallel to the raft, and also parallel to each other, one might have
fancied them all joined together by some invisible link, that kept them
from changing their relative positions both to the _Catamaran_ and to
one another!

All at once, however, and quick as the change of a kaleidoscope, this
parallelism was terminated,--not as regarded each other, but with
respect to the course of the _Catamaran_ By a single flutter of their
tails, the whole _school_ was seen simultaneously turning head towards
the craft; and then, like a flash of lightning, they passed underneath.

For a moment they were out of sight; but in the next they appeared on
the starboard beam, swimming parallel as before, both to the course of
the _Catamaran_ and to each other. The manoeuvre was executed with such
precision and uniformity, as could not be imitated among men,--even
under the tuition of the ablest drill-sergeant that ever existed. They
swerved from right to left, as if each and all were actuated by the same
impulse, and at the same instant of time. At the same instant their
tails made a movement in the water,--at precisely the same point of time
they turned together,--showing a list of its silvery abdomen, and with
like simultaneous action did they dive under the keel of the
_Catamaran_.

It was this peculiar manoeuvre on the part of the fish,--won after
repeated by their shooting back to the starboard, and again returning to
larboard,--that had elicited from Snowball the assertion, so confidently
put forward, that there was no fear of their leaving the _Catamaran_ so
long as they were going in that fashion.

Of those upon the raft, Ben Brace alone comprehended Snowball's meaning.
To little William it was a matter of some surprise when the ex-sea-cook
spoke so confidently, and acted, moreover, as if he had no fear of
frightening th