With Fish-Lines and Nets 109 



one day wanted to take a few fine specimens 

 to New York. I packed them carefully in a 

 basket, with sea-weed below and on top, and 

 over all I tied a newspaper. It was dark when 

 my friend and his wife reached the railway. 

 He put the basket under the seat in the car and 

 went to sleep. Just as he was dreaming that 

 he had landed a crab as big as a porpoise, his 

 wife awoke him with a tragic whisper : "Harry, 

 the crabs are out one has just walked over my 

 foot!" 



The situation was a critical one. The wet 

 sea-weed had weakened the paper covering of 

 the basket, and the crabs were coming forth 

 in a solemn procession ; by the looks of the 

 basket, at least twenty must have gone some- 

 where. My friend jammed a heavy shawl into 

 the basket over what remained, and awaited 

 developments in fear and trembling. They 

 were not long in coming. A shriek from a 

 lady at the other end of the car announced 

 that one crab had made his presence felt. All 

 was excitement in a moment. "She 's got 

 heart disease," said one old gentleman; "stop 

 the train and get a doctor." "Catch it, catch 



