300 A MEDLEY OF SPORT 



" Well, that greatly depends what weight of ballast I 

 lay in afore I start on 'em ; but I bain't so wonderful 

 peckish this morning, and so I reckon four will about do 

 me." 



" The devil it will," muttered Maldoon, looking at me, 

 and holding up first ten and then two fingers, as a signal 

 that there were but a dozen eggs all told in the hamper. 

 Anyhow, Dan had his four eggs, and after we had all made 

 an excellent meal, the net was hauled in board, and some 

 scores of small and useless soft-shell crabs were first 

 drawn on to the deck. Then came the pockets, in one 

 of which was a roker of about 12 lb. weight, and in the 

 other pocket two pairs of soles of J lb. each. 



Next, with a " hauly ho," the purse (extreme length of 

 trawl) was pulled in and was found to contain several 

 pairs of fine soles (the largest 3 J lb., a specimen fish for 

 the Crouch), three fair-sized roker, a score or so of small 

 sand dabs, plaice and flounders, and two small codlings. 



Then came the refuse of the net, in the shape of a 

 hideous little fish of the gurnard species, called by the 

 fisherman a " buUrout," a couple of sea-urchins (Dan 

 called them hedgehogs), and about half-a-dozen strange, 

 hairy -looking creatures known as sea mice. 



" What would you take this to be, sir?" asked Dan, as 

 he handed Maldoon something that might have been 

 taken for a headless green beetle, or the fruit of some 

 kind of seaweed. 



" Seaweed, of course," boldly replied Jimmy. 



" Then you would call it wholly wrong ; for that be the 



