BOBBING FOR EELS. GLOW-WORMS. 135 



"And I at mine." said Jimmy. 



" And I too,'' said Dick. 



" Then wait five minutes, and haul on board." 



At the end of five minutes they each hauled their lines 

 quietly on board, and on Frank's were no less than six eels, 

 their teeth entangled in the worsted. On Jimmy's there were 

 two, and on Dick's three. They shook the eels on to the deck. 

 Jimmy's two at once wriggled themselves off back into the 

 water, and Frank and Dick had hard work to keep theirs from 

 doing the same, until Jimmy got out the bucket they used for 

 washing the deck, and in this they safely deposited their captives, 



" This is not bad fun," said Dick, as he brought up three 

 more eels, one of them a large one. 



" No, is it ? " answered Jimmy, as he followed Dick's example. 



So they went on laughing and talking and pulling in eels 

 until two o'clock in the morning, when their bucket was so 

 full of eels that it would not hold any more. 



" Now it is time to turn in," said Frank ; " take up the bucket, 

 Jimmy, and put it by the foremast with something over it to 

 keep the eels from crawling out, while I do up the lines." 



Jimmy took up the bucket, and was walking aft with it, 

 when his foot slipped on an eel that had made its escape, and 

 was wriggling about the deck. In an instant, Jimmy, the bucket, 

 and the eels all went into the water. Jimmy rose to the 

 surface and swam to the yacht, and climbed on board, with the 

 bucket still in his hands, but all the eels had of course dis- 

 appeared. 



" What an extraordinary thing ! " spluttered Jimmy, as he rose 

 to the surface. 



" Very," said Frank, as soon as he could speak for laughing; 

 " but hadn't you better dive after the eels ? " 



" Do you mind my losing them, Frank ? " said Jimmy, rather 

 ruefully. 



" Not at all, old man. We don't want the eels, and a good 

 laugh is better for us." 



While they were undressing, Dick was peering through one 

 of the side lights and at length said, 



" I suppose it is impossible for any one to have been 

 smoking here lately, yet there are two or three things which are 

 like cigar-ends gleaming on the bank. Is it possible that they 

 are glow-worms 1 " 



