deway, to assuage their hunger until the grander repast
to which they were invited was ready; while a whole colony of their
kindred, the black, brown, and dusky-coloured gulls, not so fortunate in
being asked out to the festive banquet, were anon floating about in
groups on the water close inshore, anon suddenly taking wing and flying
off, only to settle down again on the surface further out.

Even more impressive, however, than all these evidences of moving life
around, there was the sea, that touched their feet almost, and yet
stretched out in its illimitable expanse away and away--to where?

It was Nellie to whom these thoughts occurred; as for Bob, he was
engaged in chasing little green crabs as they scuttled over the shingle,
busily collecting as many as he could get hold of in a little pond he
had scooped in the sand.

This pond would now be filled as some venturesome wavelet broke over its
brink; and then be drained as the tide fell back, leaving the poor
little crabs left high and dry ashore to repeat their scrambling
attempts at escape, only to tumble over on top of each other as they
tried to climb the precipitous sides of Bob's reservoir.

"Isn't it jolly!" cried that young gentleman, looking up at the Captain,
who, leaning on his stick, stood near, watching his futile endeavours to
restrain the vivacious, side-walking, unwieldy little animals that
seemed gifted with such indomitable energy, and equal perseverance to
that of Bruce's spider. "Isn't it jolly, sir?"

"Not very jolly for the crabs, though," observed the old sailor smiling.
"I don't think they would say so if you asked them the question!"

"I'm not hurting them," said Bob in excuse. "I only want to see them
closely."

"I suppose you think they are all alike and belong to the same species,
eh?" asked the Captain. "Don't you?"

"Well, I don't see much difference in them," replied Bob hesitatingly.
"Do you, Captain Dresser?"

"Humph! yes. I can see in that little pond of yours, now under my eyes,
no less than three distinct varieties of the crab family."

"Never!" exclaimed Bob incredulously. "Why, they all look to me the
same queer little green-backed things, with legs all over them that they
do not know how to use properly."

"While you think, no doubt, that you could teach them better, eh?" said
the Captain chuckling; but, the next moment, raising his hat and a
graver expression stealing over his face as he looked upward towards t