BREYDON GULLS AND BREYDON CRABS 193 



my landing-stage at the edge of the rond. The swirl of 

 the gentle eddy evidently carried with it the " flavour " of 

 the fishes that gleamed in the clear current or darkened the 

 brown-grey mud with spots of a deeper brown. Presently 

 one crab and then another peered out from the pendent 

 seaweed and began scrambling out into the open. Two 

 meeting as they converged upon a smelt halted, seemed to 

 judge of each other's pluck, or want of it, threatened and 

 sparred, then backed a few paces, still with pincer-claws 

 extended, daring each other to " come on ! " But others 

 slyly passing them aroused the devil of greed, and dropping 

 differences from very selfishness, the two seized a smelt 

 between them and commenced a tug-of-war. They were 

 well matched for size and courage, but how the rivalry 

 would have ended I cannot say, for one of them, either 

 more discreet or more selfish than the other, scenting as 

 well as seeing another dead fish a few inches off, dashed at 

 it and bore it away. The other, taking good care to profit 

 by the fortunate circumstance, bolted into hiding with its 

 prize. The smaller ones, hardly so daring, seized here and 

 there a fish, but gave way when a more powerful fellow came 

 upon the scene, returning to the tasty viands in a surrepti- 

 tious sort of way when the bully was observed stuffing and 

 cramming the torn-off fragments into its scissor-like- working 

 "jaws." Any movement that hinted aggression was instantly 

 challenged, but only in a half-threatening manner, with one 

 extended, upraised pincer-claw, while the other was still 

 busily and rapidly at work wrenching and cramming. It 

 looked odd to see a little green crab dragging sideways to 

 its retreat a flounder four times its own size ! It was a 

 display of gluttony that was interesting, if unedifying. It 

 was rare to see two crabs actually fighting, for all their 

 skirmishing and menace. They took infinite pains to 

 approach each other under cover, and then indulged more 

 in a spiritless spar than an actual tussle, and their quaint, 

 grotesque pretences at duelling ended without harm to 

 either individual. In a quarter of an hour all the fish had 

 been taken to their hiding-places, and the arena was once 

 more clear, until some rather disappointed crab, eager for 

 more, would make a sudden dash into the open to inspect a 

 fragment of floating weed or stick, to retire again disgusted, 



