"I thought of boiling it in the kettle."
"I wouldn't do that," said Mary. "I don't care for fishy tea. It would take ages to get the taste out of the kettle."
"But I don't see how we can fry it without a frying-pan."
"Bake it," said Tommy. "Let's make an oven. I'll show you."
She ran to the beach and collected a number of stones, which she brought back and arranged in the shape of a small circle. Outside this she placed a second circle, and filled the space between the two with dried grasses, brushwood and twigs.
"Now, Bess," she said, "but a portion of the fish in the inner circle. Then we'll set light to the fuel, and cover it all over with stones, and the fish will bake in no time."
"But it will be smoky," protested Mary.
"Not if we wrap it in leaves. Let's try, at any rate; if it doesn't succeed we shan't have spoiled much."
The fish was wrapped in leaves as Tommy suggested, and placed on a stone in the midst of the small circle. Then, having pressed the fuel firmly together so that it should not burn away too quickly, Elizabeth kindled it from the fire, and covered it with stones, leaving a few spaces for the passage of air. They were so much interested in their experiment that they sat idly about the novel oven, waiting until the fish should be cooked. Every now and again Tommy would lift off one of the stones to see how the cooking was proceeding.
"The leaves are turning brown," she would say delightedly. "And what a lovely smell!"