“Well, you’d better—or—I could come.”
“A dog,” said Peggy, sententiously, “is often better than a boy. A dog is quieter, and a dog can bite.”
“Come, and we’ll fish some more, Peggy, and look at things among the pools of the rock.”
Peggy sat down and extended her bare legs in front of her.
“Take my sandals off.”
Johnnie did as he was told, and slung them over his shoulder.
Then hand in hand away they went sight-seeing over the rocks and across the pools. Ralph was in the water, splashing about and having great fun with the jelly-fishes. Sometimes he took a big mouthful of water and seemed to wonder it was so salt. Had it been fresh, he would have swallowed some; as it was, he only let it run out of his red jowls again.
But what a world of marine life was to be found among the weeds and in the little, sandy-bottomed pools! Shell-fish of every shape and colour, crimson medusa, and wee, wicked-looking crabs, like big spiders that walked sideways and had their eyes on stalks handy for looking round corners; brown crabs, blue crabs, gray and yellow crabs.
The seaweeds themselves were most beautiful to behold, specially the tiny, fern-like ones, that floated pink and sienna in the clear pools. Sometimes, when Peggy put her foot on one of the bladders which float the very large algæ, it gave a crack like a small pistol, and quite startled her.
They spent quite an hour at the seaside; but Peggy couldn’t find a mermaid, though she felt sure there were little fairy ones, and that they dwelt deep down in just such pools as these, and didn’t wear much clothes, except bits of fringy seaweed around their waists to hide their fishy tails.