"Now the Water Babies, I must tell you, had two nests--one in the
waterhouse, a few yards out from shore, and one at the end of the
burrow leading up into the dry bank. Their favorite amusement, as a
rule, was playing tag in the quiet water around the house, sometimes on
the surface, sometimes beneath it. They would catch and nip each other
by the tails or the hind legs, and sometimes grapple and drag each
other down, for all the world like a lot of boys in swimming--but how
they could swim! You'd give your eye teeth to swim like they could."
"Bet your boots, Uncle Andy," agreed the Babe enthusiastically.
"Specially _these_ teeth, 'cause they're my first, and I'll lose 'em
soon, anyway."
"Huh!" grunted Uncle Andy, looking at him suspiciously. "But, as I was
saying, the Water Babies _could swim_. They were no match for Dagger
Bill, however, who was quicker than a fish. And when Dagger Bill took
to hunting Water Babies, it was no longer safe for them to play far
from home. They would get themselves well nipped by their relations, I
can tell you, whenever they went outside the little patch of shallow
water between the house and the bank.
"Now the sharpness of Dagger Bill's eyes was something terrible.
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