osition, in which his shoulder was right underneath, he threw a
dingy-looking little fresh-water lobster into the boat.

Dexter examined it wonderingly, and was favoured with a nip from its
claws for his attention.

"Here's another," said Bob, and he threw one much larger into the boat,
its horny shell rattling on the bottom.

"Are they good to eat?" said Dexter.

"Good to eat? Why, they're lovely. You wait a bit. And, I say, you
look how I do it; I shall make you always catch these here, so you've
got to learn."

Dexter paid attention to the process, and felt that there was not much
to learn: only to find out a hole--the burrow of the cray-fish,--and
then thrust in his hand, and, if the little crustacean were at home,
pull it out. The process was soon learned, but the temptation to begin
was not great.

Bob evidently found the sport exciting, however, for he searched away
with more or less success, and very soon there were a dozen cray-fish of
various sizes crawling about the bottom of the boat.

"There's thousands of them here," cried Bob, as he searched away all
along beneath the steep bank, which was full of holes, some being the
homes of rats, some those of the cray-fish, and others of eels which he
touched twice over--in one case for the slimy fish to back further in,
but in the other, for it to make a rush out into the open water, and
swim rapidly away.

The pursuit of the cray-fish lasted till the row of willows came to an
end, and with them the steep bank, the river spreading out again, and
becoming stony and shallow.

"How many are there?" said Bob, as he climbed out upon the grass, after
washing his clayey arm.

"Twenty-one," said Dexter.

"Ah, just you wait a bit till I'm dressed."

Bob said no more, but indulged in a natural towel. That is to say, he
had a roll on the warm grass, and then rose and ran to and fro in the
glowing sunshine for about five minutes, after which he rapidly slipped
on his things, which were handed to him from the boat.

"Now," he cried, as he stepped in once more and seized an oar, "I'll
show you something."

They rowed on for some distance, till a suitable spot was found at the
edge of a low, scrubby oak wood which ran up a high bank.

The place was extremely solitary. There was plenty of wood, and as soon
as the boat had been moored Dexter was set to work collecting the sticks
in a heap, close up to where there was a steep bare piece of stony bank,
and in