The men were occupied with their daily task of washing the deck of the steamer; half a dozen were busily scrubbing with old brooms and "swabs," and two were engaged in hoisting water over the ship's side by means of a large bucket. At the last haul the bucket had brought up a snake that was wriggling about on the deck in the hope of getting away, and he kept opening and closing his mouth as though he would like to revenge himself on somebody or something by a bite. Fred observed that the men kept at a respectful distance from the snake, as though they were afraid of him; consequently, he followed their example, and did not venture closely. "Here's a sea-serpent for you," said the officer. "If you want him you're welcome." Neither of the youths cared for the property in its present condition, and so the offer was declined. Frank asked if it was a genuine sea-serpent. "As near as I've ever seen," was the reply; "but it isn't what you commonly understand by the sea-serpent. This is a sea-snake, and he is found only in the Indian Ocean and the waters connected with it. They are generally not far from land, but I've seen 'em one or two hundred miles away from shore, so it's pretty certain they spend most if not all their lives in the water." "His bite is said to be poisonous," he continued, "and for that reason nobody wants to go near him. As soon as you've seen all you want to of him in his live state we'll kill him, and then you can look at him closely." Just then Doctor Bronson came on deck, and after a brief survey of the reptile his curiosity was satisfied. Then the snake was killed by a blow from a handspike, and stretched on the deck. [Illustration: SEA-SNAKE OF THE INDIAN OCEAN AND FOX-SHARK.] Frank measured the reptile, and found him a trifle over three feet in length. The head was quite broad and long, and the neck slender. The body was covered with fine scales, and the tail was formed by a gradual thinning of the body without any reduction of height. The Doctor said the tail was a close resemblance to that of the thrasher, or fox-shark, and he added that the latter had sometimes been mistaken for a sea-serpent. While Frank was measuring the snake, Fred was looking over the side of the ship in the hope of seeing another. Suddenly he shouted, "Here! here! come quick! A snake! a snake!" Doctor Bronson and Frank ran to the side, and looked in the direction where Fred pointed. There, sure enough, was a snake swimming with his head a couple of inches out of the water, and taking things very leisurely. He propelled himself with his tail, which he swung easily from side to side, exactly as we see with the great majority of fishes. He made very little ripple on the water, and it required sharp eyes to discover him. They watched him as he swum away from the side of the ship, and in a very short time he was out of sight.