les, or the thousands of yellow and
brown and striped snaily fellows that crawled about in company with the
periwinkles and pelican's feet.

Those were not what we wanted, but the prawns, which would be balancing
themselves in the clear water, and then dart backwards with a flip of
their tails right under the sea-weed or ledges.

I remember that day so well because it was marked by a big black stone,
of which more by and by; and everything connected with our doings that
morning seems to stand out quite clear, as the Welsh coast did under the
clear blue sky.

We reached our first pool, and Bob Chowne shouted, "There's one!" while
I was certain I saw two more. Then Bob and Bigley softly thrust in
their nets, and it became my duty to poke about among the sea-weed and
under the ledges where we had seen the prawns take shelter.

At about the second stirring of the overhanging weed on one side, out
darted a big prawn. "I've got him!" cried Bob, and we all shouted
"Hooray!" but when the net was raised, dripping pearls in the bright
sunshine, the prawn was not there, for, preferring open water to nets,
it had shot between the two and taken shelter under the ledges on the
other side.

But there he was, for there was no way out to where the sea sucked and
gurgled among the rocks three or four yards away, and we continued our
hunt, not to dislodge this one, but three more, one being larger, and
two much less.

For a good ten minutes they dodged us about, hiding in all manner of
out-of-the-way corners, till all at once it seemed as if they must have
gone. The water, that had been brilliantly clear when we started, was
now thick with sand and broken sea-weed, and Bigley lifted out his net
to clear it and to let the water settle a little before we started
again.

"I don't know where they've got to," said Bob sourly. "Prawns are not
half so easy to catch as they used to be."

"Hallo! Why, here's one," cried Bigley just then, as he found one of
the biggest kicking about among the sea-weed that he had turned out of
the bottom of his net.

This first capture was soon transferred to the basket, and the fact of
one being taken so encouraged Bob that he set to with renewed energy,
and the result was that we caught two more out of that pool, the biggest
of all--at least Bob Chowne said it was--having to be left behind in the
inaccessible crack where he had hidden himself.

Another pool and another was visited with excellent