She pointed to Teddy, who could be seen standing up in the bow of the craft, which was now far out from shore, heading toward the long, green swells of the ocean. That the taking away of the Curlytop boy in the boat had caused excitement among the fishermen in the craft was plain, for several of the men could be seen talking to Ted.
“Oh, your brother’s in the boat, is he?” asked the man who had been about to take off his boots. “Well, then he’s all right. I guess he asked the captain for a ride and he was taken out. Lots of boys go out to the fish nets.”
“Will he—will he come—back?” faltered Janet, still sobbing.
“Of course he’ll come back!” laughed the fisherman. “He’ll come back when the boat comes back, and that will be in about two hours. I won’t say he’ll come back as clean as when he went out,” he added, “for it’s pretty dirty work filling a boat with slimy, flapping fish. But he may have a lot of fun.”
“Will he see a lobster pinch a shark?” asked William. And every one laughed at him again. Even Janet smiled.
“Yes, he may see a lobster pinch a shark,” said the fisherman. “A lobster will pinch anything that gets near his claws. And if there should be a shark in the net, and the shark should be put in the boat and there was a lobster there, the shark would get pinched.”
“I wish Ted would bring me a shark an’ a lobster,” went on William.
“Maybe he will,” chuckled the fisherman.
“Will he bring a nellifunt, too?” the little boy wanted to know.
“An elephant?” questioned the fisherman. “Well, there is such a thing as a sea elephant. It’s a sort of seal with a long nose like the trunk of an elephant,” he explained. “But I’ve never seen any in these parts. I guess, little boy, if your brother comes back with a shark and a lobster, besides a boat load of fish, he’ll be doing pretty well.”