238 CRUSOE^S ISLAND. 



don' yo' min' um, 'cause him no 'starb ole niggah lak 

 Thomas Ned. But, me massa, ef you see any sign ob 

 debilfish yo' pull me up quick, quick, 'cause dat a 

 debilfish him mo' pow'ful dan fawty shahks." 



I promised him I would keep a sharp watch, and 

 giving into my hands the end of a line which was 

 fastened around his waist, my black friend dropped 

 quietly into the water. The water of the coral-bot- 

 tomed bay was clear as crystal, and I followed 

 Thomas Ned in his descent until he arrived at a sea 

 garden under the ledges, where the waving leaves of 

 marine plants hid the shell-strewn sands. He had a 

 long, sharp knife in one hand, and I saw him sud- 

 denly stoop and sUde the knife beneath a mass of 

 shells and kelp, and then he signaled me to draw him 

 up. I pulled him up, and when he arrived at the 

 surface he tossed in the mass with one hand, while 

 with the other he clung to the gunwale. His breath 

 was nearly gone, but after a minute or so he had re- 

 covered it and then climbed into the boat. Seizing 

 hold of the shell mass he, with his long, keen knife, 

 dexterously detached the oysters separately. Select- 

 ing the largest oyster, he carefully opened it, reveal- 

 ing its inner surface, shining and nacreous, like a large 

 mother-of-pearl. This he handed to me, and with 

 a smaller knife I removed the fleshy mantle, and there 

 before our wondering eyes lay a pearl of goodly size ! 



Thomas Ned's eyes shone like diamonds, and he 

 nearly fell into the water while executing a caper in 

 honor of our discovery. " Me massa, wha' me done 

 tell yuh ? Dat a puhl, shuah 'nuflE, ain't um ? " 



