leean that all natives eat them."

The boulders were encrusted with great, grey, open-mouthed barnacles.
Periwinkles, like tiny purple snails, clustered on the weeds. These
were so numerous that the sisters could not step without crushing them.
The crunching sound at first filled Ellen with repugnance for her task,
but necessity forced her on and before she had filled her pail with
them she had become accustomed to it.

As they moved farther out to where the waves of the ebb tide were
creaming against the rocks, the dark seamed sides were painted a
delicate sea-pink by a lichen-like growth. Above their heads these
boulders rose and all about them was the soft, seeping sound that sea
things make when the tide is low.

Kayak Bill had often described what he called a "gumboot," remarking
that the name was bestowed locally because of the toughness of this
aquatic animal when cooked. From the old man's description Ellen had
thought they might be limpets. Since there were no clams on the beach
of Kon Klayu she had concluded to try them.

Now, suddenly, she came upon them, their cone-shaped shells adhering to
the rocks. When she and Jean tried to pick the small creatures from
their abiding places, the least touch or sound caused them to tighten
to the boulders. It was impossible then to dislodge them without
smashing the shell.

"We'll have to sneak up on them, El," whispered Jean, suiting her
actions to her words, and with a sudden, swift movement sweeping half a
dozen from their support. It was then that the sisters began to
experience the thrill of anticipation, the fascination of uncertainty,
that comes to those forced to hunt their food in wild places.

The tide came in flooding the pools in which they were standing and
warning them that it was time to leave. With full pails they hastened
to the cabin eager to try their new food.

Periwinkles, boiled, had not an unpleasant taste, but because of their
likeness to worms, neither of the women could eat them. It fell to
little Loll to extract them from their small shells by means of a pin.
This was a slow process and after the novelty wore off, the youngster
gave utterance to loud lamentations over Kayak Bill's fondness for
periwinkles.

The "gumboots" were also boiled, and found to be as rubbery as the name
implied. Chopping them fine Ellen made a hash of bread crumbs and
fried the mixture in bear fat. Afterward she sometimes added a small
bit of chopped