“Where does the meleagrina live?”
“In the seas that wash the shores of Arabia.”
Meleagrina (avicula) margaritifera
“Is Arabia very far away?” inquired Emile.
“Very far, my dear. Why do you ask?”
“Because I should like to pick up a lot of these beautiful shells.”
“Don’t dream of such a thing. It is too far away, and, besides, they are not to be gathered by every one that wants them. To get the meleagrina men have to dive to the bottom of the sea, and some of them never come up again.”
“And there are people who dare to dive to the bottom of the sea just to get shells?” asked Claire.
“Plenty. So profitable, too, is the trade that we should be badly received by the first-comers if we took a notion to go and fish with them.”