three or four of the rest
of us put together."

"What will be my duties, sir?" asked Colin. "I don't want to trouble
you, but if I am to take charge of the crew I ought to know what I have
to do."

"The trap is to be hauled daily," was the reply, "except when the water
is very rough. You will be given a list of the needs of the laboratory
for experimental purposes, and as far as possible, you will fill those
needs. Sometimes you may have to assist in the collecting trip besides,
as for green sea-urchins and the like; or perhaps you may have to draw a
seine for silversides and small fish. Sometimes you may be needed to
haul some of the lobster pots, because we shall have two men at least
doing research work on lobsters. Again, you may have to get mussels for
some work that is being done on shellfish for food. There will be two
other students working with you in maintaining the supply of specimen
material, under the direction of the head collector."

"Very well, Mr. Prelatt," the boy replied, "I'll see that things are
kept up as far as possible. Am I to come to you for information as to
where to go for special fish and so forth?"

"Mr. Wadreds knows more about that than I do," the director said; "he
can usually tell you just where to find anything you're after. You'll
soon find it easy, because collecting narrows down to a few species. The
M. B. L. boat does collecting, too, and sometimes each party is able to
help the other."

"What is the M. B. L., sir?" asked Colin.

"The Marine Biological Laboratory," was the reply, "which owns all the
land on the other side of the street, just as we do on this. It is a
summer college supported by a number of leading universities, to which
graduate students come for courses in biology and marine life. There is
some research work done also, and at the present moment Professor
Jacques Loeb is doing some wonderful work over there on fish
hybridization. We are entirely distinct organizations, one being a
summer school and the other being a government marine hatchery with a
biological laboratory attached. They have their own boats and we have
ours, but we grant them the privilege of using our wharves, and there is
a great deal of friendly cooperation between the two."

"You spoke of sea-mussels, sir," suggested Colin.

"Well?"

"I was wondering, Mr. Prelatt, whether I would have any time aside from
the fish-traps and the collecting, and if so, if I might work with the
man who