"But we saw lots of empty shells, you know," broke in Bandy-legs.
"Yes, looked as if muskrats, or something like that, had been living off mussels right along," Steve admitted.
"And so, while we made camp, our two learned leaders strolled up the river known as the Big Sunflower to see what the chances were for a crop," Bandy-legs went on.
"Now, please make your report, Max, because, you see, we're just burning up with anxiety to know. A whole lot depends on whether we've come up here on a fool's errand or not. Did you find what you expected? Are the full shells here a-plenty?"
And, smiling at the eagerness of Steve, Max drew out several large mussels from his pockets, which he clapped upon the rude table.
"They're here, all right, boys," he said, earnestly, "but as to whether we'll find any pearls in the same, that remains to be proven."
CHAPTER III.
WHAT OWEN KNEW.
"Well, I declare, is that the kind of mussel they've been finding pearls in?" demanded Steve Dowdy, as he took one of the long-shaped bivalves in his eager hands, the better to examine it.
"They agree with the description to a dot," Owen replied, confidently; "and, to my mind, these seem particularly fat and promising."