"Oh, you mean the elvers. Ay, and more's the pity! the people catch tons of them to feed the pigs with. If they would let them alone, they would be worth a good many pounds to some one in the autumn," answered the man.
Eels.
"If the eels breed in the sea, Frank," said Dick, "what do the eels do which cannot get to the sea,—those which live in ponds?"
"Make the best of it, I suppose, like sensible beings," answered Frank.
"Do you often have such a good night as this?" asked Jimmy.
"No, not very often. You see, we want so many things together—wind, rain, rising water, and no moon."
After the morning dawned the nets were taken up for the day. Besides eels they contained a quantity of miscellaneous matter, such as a dead dog, sticks, weeds, old boots, a bottle or two, and various other refuse which the stream had brought down.
The eels had been put overnight in the well of the boat, and now the men proceeded to sort them, separating the big ones (for which they received a larger price) from the small ones.