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Six Little Bunkers at Cousin Tom's, a novel by Laura Lee Hope |
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Chapter 12. "They're Loose!" |
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_ CHAPTER XII. "THEY'RE LOOSE!" "All aboard!" cried Russ as he stood on the edge of the little wharf in the inlet, at which the boat was tied. "All aboard." "Does he mean we must all get a piece of board?" asked Violet. "No," answered her mother with a smile. "Russ is saying what the sailors say when they want every one to get on the ship, take their places, and be ready for the start." The rowboat was a large one, and would hold the six little Bunkers, as well as their daddy and mother and Cousin Tom. Cousin Ruth had intended to go, but, at the last minute, the woman living in the next bungalow asked her to help with some sewing; so Cousin Ruth stayed at home. "I'll get all ready to cook the crabs if you catch any," she said with a smile, as Cousin Tom and Daddy Bunker rowed the boat out into the inlet. "Oh, we'll get some!" cried Russ. "Crabs bite, don't they?" asked Violet, who seemed started on her questioning tricks. "Well, they don't exactly bite; it's more of a pinch," said Cousin Tom. "But it hurts, I can tell you." "Then I'm not going to catch any," declared Violet. "I'll just watch you." "Oh, a crab won't pinch you if you catch him in a net; and that's what I'll do," said her cousin. "We'll soon be at the place where there are lots of them, I hope." As Cousin Tom rowed along, he told the six little Bunkers that the crabs swam up the inlet from the sea to get things to eat, and also for the mother crab to lay eggs, so little crabs would hatch out. "And when the big crabs swim up, which they do whenever the tide runs into the inlet, twice a day," said Cousin Tom, "we go out and catch them. Of course you can catch them at other times, but the crabbing is best when the tide is coming in." "But I don't see any hooks on the lines," remarked Laddie, who was looking at the strings in the bottom of the boat. On one end of each string was a short piece of wood, and on the other end a piece of meat, while on a few were some fish heads. "You don't need hooks to catch crabs," explained Cousin Tom. "All you need to do is to tie a piece of meat on the string." "And does the crab bite that?" asked Russ. "No, but he takes it in his strong claws, to hold it so he can tear off little pieces with his smaller claws and put them into his mouth," said Cousin Tom. "A crab's mouth is small, and he has to tear his food into little bits before he can swallow it. He uses his big front claws for grabbing hold of what he wants to eat and holding on to it, and he likes old meat or fish heads best of all. "So, when we get to the place where I think some crabs are, we'll let down the pieces of meat. The crabs, swimming along, or crawling sideways on the bottom of the inlet, as they more often do, will smell the chunk of meat. They will take hold of it in their claws, and then one of us can reach down the net and scoop it under Mr. Crab. That's how we catch them." "But how do you know when one has hold of the piece of meat on the string?" asked Rose. "You can feel him giving it little jerks and tugs," said Cousin Tom. "Or, if the water is clear, you can see him as he takes hold of the chunk of meat. Then you want to pull up on your string, very, very gently, so as not to scare the crab and make him let go. If you know how to do it you can lift your string up with one hand, and scoop the net under the crab with the other. But when you children have a bite, your Daddy or I will use the net for you." "Oh, it's going to be lots of fun," cried Violet. "I like this kind of fishing." "And there aren't any sharp hooks to hurt the crab," added Rose. "No, it doesn't hurt a crab to catch him this way," said Daddy Bunker. "And crabs are very good to eat after they are cooked. I like them better than fish." "Is a crab a fish?" asked Laddie, who was holding a little stick down in the water, watching the ripples it made as the boat was rowed along. "A crab is a sort of fish," said Cousin Tom. "Why did you ask?" "Oh, I am trying to make up a riddle about a crab and a fish," said Laddie. "But I don't guess I can if they are pretty near the same. I guess I'll make up a riddle about a boat. I have one 'most thought up. It goes like this: When a boat goes in the water why doesn't the water go in the boat?" "It does, sometimes, if the boat leaks," replied Cousin Tom with a laugh. "I hope your riddle doesn't come true this trip, Laddie!" "Oh, well, I haven't got the riddle all made up yet," was the answer. "I can't think of a good answer. Maybe I can after I catch some crabs." "Why doesn't our boat sink?" asked Violet. "'Cause it's wood, and that floats," said Russ. "Well, once you made a little wooden boat, and it sunk when we put a lot of stones on it," said Vi. "And my doll--a little one--was on the boat, and she got all wet." "Well, if a boat is made of wood, an' it's big enough, it won't sink, will it, Daddy?" asked Russ. "No, I don't believe it will, if it doesn't get a hole through it so the water can get in. But sit still now, children. I think we are at the place where Cousin Tom is going to let us catch crabs. Aren't we, Tom?" asked Mr. Bunker of his nephew. "Yes," said Cousin Tom, "this is a good place. There is plenty of seaweed on the bottom of the inlet here, and the crabs like to hide in that--especially the soft-shelled crabs." "Are there two kinds?" Russ inquired. "Yes, hard and soft," was his cousin's answer. "Like eggs," said Russ with a laugh. "There are hard and soft boiled eggs. Isn't that so, Cousin Tom? "Yes," said Cousin Tom with a smile. "But the funny part of it is that sometimes the same crab is soft-shelled, and again it is hard-shelled. An egg can't be that way. Once it is boiled hard it never can be boiled soft again." "What makes soft crabs?" Rose wanted to know. "A soft-shelled crab is a hard-shelled crab with its old, hard shell off, and it is only soft while it is waiting for its new shell to harden in the salty sea water," explained Cousin Tom. "You see a crab grows, but its shell, or its house that it lives in, doesn't grow. So it has to shed that, or wiggle out of it, to let a larger one grow in its place. When it does that it is a soft-shelled crab for a time, and very good to eat. But you can't catch soft-shelled crabs on a string and a chunk of meat. You have to go along and scoop them out of the seaweed with a net. But now we will fish for hard-shelled crabs." Cousin Tom and Daddy Bunker had rowed the boat about a mile up the inlet, and now the anchor was tossed over the side, to keep the craft from drifting with the tide. "Now each one of you take a string, and toss the meat-end of it over the side," said Cousin Tom. "Keep hold of the stick-end, or tie that end to the boat. If you lose that you can't pull in your crab. Each one of you keep watch of his or her string. When you see it beginning to be pulled, or when you feel a little tug or jerk on it, as if a fish were nibbling, then pull up very slowly and carefully. And look as you pull. Don't pull it all the way to the top, or the crab, if there is one on it, will see you, let go, and swim away." The six little Bunkers did as they were told. Of course Margy and Mun Bun were too little to know how to catch crabs, but they each had a line, and Mother Bunker said she would catch them for the small tots. "Oh, I think I have one!" suddenly exclaimed Russ in a whisper. "Look at my line move!" "Yes, you may have a crab on there," returned Cousin Tom. "Pull up very gently." Russ did so, while his cousin reached forward with the long-handled net ready to scoop it under the crab, if it should happen to be one. Up and up Russ pulled his line. Every one was eagerly watching, for they wanted to see the first crab caught. And then, as the chunk of meat on Russ's string came near the top of the water, Rose, from the other end of the boat, cried: "Oh, it's only a piece of seaweed!" And so it was! How disappointed Russ was! The bit of green seaweed, catching on his line, had wiggled and tugged, as the tide swayed it, just as a crab would have done. "Oh, I have one! I have one!" suddenly called Laddie, from his end of the boat. "He's a big one! He's pulling like anything!" "Well, don't get excited and fall overboard," said Daddy Bunker. "Keep still, pull up slowly, and I'll get him in the net for you." Slowly Laddie pulled up. Every one was watching. Would his "bite," too, prove to be only seaweed? "Yes, you have one!" said Mother Bunker in a low voice, so as not to frighten the crab. I don't really know whether loud noises frighten crabs or not, but generally every one keeps quiet when fishing. "Yes, Laddie has a crab," said Daddy Bunker. "Wait, now, I'll get it in the net!" [Illustration: THE CRAB HAD HOLD OF LADDIE'S BAIT IN BOTH CLAWS. _Six Little Bunkers at Cousin Tom's._--_Page 120_] Laddie's father dipped the net down into the water, shoved it under the crab, chunk of meat and all, and lifted it suddenly out of the water. The crab had hold of Laddie's bait in both claws, and before the creature could let go it had been caught. "Oh, look at him wriggle!" cried Rose. "Now I'll dump him into the basket," said Daddy Bunker. He turned the net upside down over the peach basket. Out dropped Mr. Crab, letting go of the chunk of meat, which Laddie pulled out by the string. The crab crawled about sideways on the bottom of the basket, raising its claws into the air and clashing them together, at the same time opening and shutting the pinching part. "That's the way a crab fights," said Cousin Tom. "And sometimes two big crabs will fight so hard that one pulls a claw off the other. You have caught a fine, big one, Laddie." "A dandy," agreed Laddie. "And I've got one, too!" cried Vi. "Oh, he's pulling like anything!" She really had a crab on her line. Cousin Tom netted it for her, and it turned out to be larger than Laddie's. "I think the crab fishing will be good to-day," said Daddy Bunker. And so it turned out. From then on each one began to catch the pinching creatures, the older folks using the net when the children had bites. Once Russ tried to use the net himself, but he was not quick enough with it, and the crab let go of the chunk of meat and swam quickly away. "He was a dandy big one, too!" said Russ regretfully. Mun Bun and Margy each one caught a crab, with the help of their mother, and Rose, Violet and Laddie had good luck, also. Cousin Tom and Daddy Bunker, of course, caught the most. Mother Bunker helped the children land theirs in the net. And, after about an hour of fishing, the peach basket was full of the big-clawed crabs. "I think we have enough," said Cousin Tom. "We will take them home and cook them. Then we can eat them cold-boiled with lemon juice on them, or they can be made into a salad." "Catching crabs is lots of fun," said Russ. "Eating them is good, too," said his father. They rowed back home, and found Cousin Ruth waiting for them at the bungalow. "Oh, you did have good luck," said Cousin Tom's wife. "A whole basketful! Well, I'll soon have the water boiling and we'll cook them." The basket full of live crabs was set in the kitchen, and the six little Bunkers and the others went out on the porch to rest and wait for the water to boil. Russ, a little later, wanted a drink, and, going into the kitchen, he turned to go to the sink. He was barefooted, and suddenly he felt a sharp pain on one toe. "Oh, I'm bit! I'm bit!" he cried. "Something pinched me!" And then, as he looked at the kitchen floor, he cried: "Oh, come quick! Come quick! They're loose! They're all loose!" _ |
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