138 THE HALL OF SHELLS. 



waves and the rain " clap tlieir hands together," 

 as Tom expressed it. 



"I should think such hammering waves 

 might break all the shells in the ocean," said 

 Undine, whose heart ever turned to her treas- 

 ures. 



" Many of them will be broken," answered 

 the doctor, " but not unfrequently some of the 

 most fragile are lifted upon the crest of a wave 

 and laid upon tbe sand, far out of danger; 

 some are buried in the sand. You know how 

 the limpets and abalones cling ; more are down 

 in the region of calms below the storm, while 

 others are moored by stout cables of their own 

 spinning." 



At mention of shells buried in the sand, 

 Tom pulled a razor shell from his pocket, say- 

 ing : " When I was wading in the shallows 

 this morning a jet of water struck my foot. I 

 dug this fellow out of the sand." 



" I once saw men searching for razor fishes 

 in the Bay of Naples," said the doctor, "They 

 were finding them with their feet, as you did 

 this one ; but I venture you did not resort to 

 their method of bringing them to the surface. 



"When they discover a 8olen — another 

 name for their razor fish — they bring it up be- 

 tween their toes : and as the shell has a razor- 



