"Snuck up on me, eh, pal?" he thought with a chuckle. "Okay, Tom old
boy, here's where the undersea terror strikes back!"
Swooping around to return the compliment, Bud gulped in surprise.
Instead of his chum, he found himself face to face with a bottle-nosed
dolphin!
"Good night!" Bud thought. "A porpoise! So you're the joker who nudged
me!"
With a playful toss of its comical-looking snout, the porpoise swam off,
as if inviting Bud to join in the fun and games. A whole school of the
creatures cavorted into view.
"Okay! If you want to play!" Chuckling, Bud darted in pursuit, whacked
the porpoise that had nudged him, and jetted off again. The porpoise
gave chase, whistling and grunting audibly.
Tom joined in the fun, and soon a rollicking game of underwater tag was
in full swing. The dolphins seemed as playful and mischievous as small
children.
Twenty minutes later the boys surfaced and hauled themselves aboard.
Both tore off their masks and flopped into the boat, shaking with
laughter, surfacing and diving.
"What was so funny down there?" Zimby asked.
When Tom told him about the dolphins, he too burst into laughter. The
porpoises rose into view and convoyed the launch all the way back to the
island.
The boys were so jubilant over the performance of the new hydrolung gear
that Tom decided to press his search for the Brungarian sea-prowlers
immediately.
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