," said Mike. "I daresay there's plenty of sand down
below."

"Well, it is a flat fish, and a heavy one too," said Vince, as he hauled
in cautiously, full of excitement, drawing in foot after foot of his
line; and then he cried, with a laugh, "Why, it's a big crab!"

"Then you'll lose it, for certain. 'Tisn't hooked."

"Shall I lose him!" said Vince, with another laugh, as he lifted out his
prize for it to come on to the rock with a bang. "Why, he has got the
line twisted all round his claw, and--Ah! would you bite! I've got him
safe this time, Mike."

Safe enough; for, after the huge claws of the monstrous crab had been
carefully tied with a couple of bits of fishing line, it was quite a
task to disentangle the creature, which, in its eagerness to seize the
bait, had passed the line round and under its curious armoured joints,
and in its struggles to escape, made matters worse.

"This is about the finest we've seen, Mike," said Vince. "Well, I'm
sorry for him, and we'll try and kill him first; but his fate is to be
cooked in his own shell, and delicious he'll be."

"I should like to take him home," said Mike, as he wound up his line.

"So should I; but if either of us did we should be bothered with
questions as to where we got it, and we couldn't say. We shall have to
cook it and eat it ourselves, Ladle. Come on; we don't want any more
fish to-day."

They stepped back over the rocks, and while Mike hung up the lines Vince
thrust his prize into the big creel they had close to the place they
used for their fire, and then hurried towards the inner cave to fetch
the tinder-box and a portion of the wood they had stored up there for
firing, as well as the extra provisions they had brought with them that
day.

"It strikes me, Mikey, that we're going to have a regular feast," said
Vince. "Lucky I caught that fellow!--if I hadn't we should have come
short off."

"Hark at him bragging! I say, why didn't you catch a lobster instead?"

_Phew_! came a soft whistle from the opening into the passage--a whistle
softened by its journey through the subterranean place; but sounding
pretty loudly in their ears, and as if it had been given by some one
half-way through.

"Lobster!" ejaculated Vince excitedly. "Why, there he is coming down."

"Oh, Vince!" cried Mike, "that spoils all. I felt sure he would, after
falling in as he did. He saw the hole, and he is searching it."

"Yes, and he'll come right on, feelin