The Children s Corner

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 150, 22 December 1922, Page 16

The Children s Corner

Jack, Finny and Silas

r~~~~ By A. H. Messenger Immimmirrm

„ ' FOR THE "POST" It was the low "tide that took Jack, right out to the end of the long reef. He tad. fossicked along, stirring up the crabs in the little pools with a stick, pok-;, ing his finger into the heart of th 6 anemones to make them dose up, and disturbing all the little creatures of the sea that linger of the reef when the tide goes out. At the very end of the reef there is • sort of rock channel about, a hundred yards long with water about up to one's knees in it. It is a mo3t. delightful place this, as the tide seems to be always pouring in and then drawing . out again (just 'as though tho sea were breathing. ■All along the sides beautiful coloured seaweeds float, swaying gently back and fflrtli and....beneath „their_ fronds, little, tuinruy-cods and herrings dart in and out ■like silver needles through diiniji^ silk. 'Jack viks delighted when ho found this little natural harbour, i It seemed to him that all sorts of mysterious things wero hiding down beneath the shadow of the veeaweed. There might be Octopuses or lOdtopi, he- wasn't quite sure what was the.correct thing to call them, or sharks, or little whales, cr even mermaids. He /peered closely into the water and' caw rnly shining stones and .crup'iy. pa'.Va ■ shells that. gleamed with all. sorts of 'beautiful tints, and littl;. srab3 thai scurried about in a most nervous manner,' as though they could see - all , the terrible 'Lings that he imagined ■ were hiding there. ■ . . ..- The wise old black-backed gulls that ,skini and circle, up and down the bay "all day saying "Ita-kaka-knka'! I.' .which means, "Watch the tide edge, brothers." for that, as all sea-birds know, is the Proper thing to do unless you wish to go hungry, hovei'cd over the small boy sitiing all alone at the furthermost edge of the tide and sang out as loudly as (hey Could, ''Kn.lo ! Kalq-o! ! Kalo-O'o-e ! ! ! fl •which meant, "Look-out! Look-out!" ."for, : they knew that presently the tidewould turn and-flow back over all "the unVcovered'rocks. -■ ■'.','; Jack was too interested .0 take -much notice of them, though. He saw their; • shadows drift back and forth over, the . (Sunlit rocks and the mirrored depths of the .little pools, and he noticed, too, that • every time a shadow^.fell on the watei 1 . all the tiny fish and crabs scurried under the. stones and seaweed.-, You see, the HiEall folk of the ocean know that. abovt> that shadow floats a hungry'bird, and that to linger means that they will besurely ; grabbed find cairied off to be eaten, which is not a'nice thing to happen to one when all the world is bright •• and'pleasant. '." Sotnehow it seemed to Jack, sitting there all alone, that something was going . 'to happen in that rock channel, and suddenly: it did, sure enough. ... A ;boy's Head, at least* it looked just like it for a nidment, bobbed Up ail •at Oiice out at the sea-end of the little . tidal, creek, and two big roifhd eyee • stared cdmically at Jack. Big drops of ■water ran. down over a little stub of a. , nose and dripped from bristly ■ at; each side. _ _ ■■:< ':. ■.? -. ; "Hullo!" said this apparition cheerily^ "Jiisfc chuck.-a.stone.'.into the .creek-therei.. -.will you?" :'.■;;; _)..;;■.:. ( ;y . ; ; ■. Jack was ioOvastonished'to move or

speak for a moment, and the comical•.loqking stranged grinned.broadly. „.. „, v- "Come on! Wajce lip !■ • there's a food; chap !" it urged. "Young Silas will _. c' here m a jiffy, and he's had nothing -46-" eai since we left Pout Underwood .'Tifejirlj'*this morning." • "Well," thought Jack to himself, /'here's a rum go, right enough; but I 'B'pose I rnignt as well chuck that •stone to oblige him," so he threw a piece of rock into the centre of the pool, and.as he did so the head of the stranger vanished, and something very like a flipper fkfehed in the air for a moment before following the head out of sight. When that rock hit the water there 'was_a great old acatteration amongst the little pool-dwellers. Big and.little,crabs 'scurried for their iivesv.and a whole shoal of herrings'fled for the channel entrance. As they reached it there came a violent swirling of the water, and two or three of the herrings leapt into the air in a terrible panic while several more dashed .back into the channel. '. In- a moment or two up popped that funny-looking head again, grinning more broadly than ever • For an instant Jack "thought he could see a. herring's tail '.sticking out of one corner of its mouth, but it vanished immediately. \ "Good shot!" said the stranger approvingly. "You made 'em skip properly, and not many of 'em got away, let me tell you. Would you mind- just . routing the one or two' that dodged me. My', mouth was so full I couldn't take 'em-all in." " '■ ; By this time Jack's: eyes were, nearly .'as' round as the stranger's. . "He's & 'mighty greedy sort of chap," he thought, though he didn't like to say so. . Anyway, he threw in another stone, and after/ a tremendous splashing and swirling at the entrance, tip popped two lieadß almost exactly alike, excepting that one was; a bit smaller than the other. '"' "Here's Silas!" said Jack's'" first acquaintance, nodding his grinning lieatl at ■ the smaller one. "He was just in time 'for' that last run. How many did you collar,, Silas?" "Five !" grunted the one addressed as Silas, h> rathrr a,. sulky tone. "It's a Wonder you left me any !'! "Well, you shouldn't 'have wasted so much timo trying'to catch that old crab !out at Horn's rdek. I told you he. was too cunning to be nabbed; that way." ■"'The smallest of • .the 'two..- strangers gave a sort of disgusted'snort and rolling over on one side commenced kicking the water into the air like a small boy in a bath. ~" Jack was getting tremendously interested: If they were not Mermen or Merhoys. ho didn't knov; what to make of it at all. Here was something startling to tell them about at home'and no' mistake,, i • '•■ The bigl head that seemed to be wearing a. perpetual grin, v/inked one eye at Jack in finch a, funny /vray ,^hat he felt encouraged to speak. ■■' • "Scuso me, 'won't you?", he eaid, "buf are you'a merman?" ' : "Why bless your heart, no!" answer-_ ■ed the stranger. "Silas and I are fur seals." .■ "Ever hear of fur seals? If you ware a, man now I. woulda't be talking to you,, not by any chance, becauso you'd be itching to get hold of my skin. : 1Ifnow! I've seen your men killing our old folk, and little pups too.. Knocking !sm on . the head with big clubs, the brute?." "Why Silas and I, and Skinny and Flic, and one or two others, were * Jibout {So only ones to escape from the Snares .islands cno season." For a moment, tie grin fftdeoVirom tlis round faco and it took on quite a, savago expression. "I say! I'm awfully soTry about it said Jaclc. "I didn't know anybody trilled such jolly nice things as seals!" Ths round faoe grinned again. "Of Eourss you jKdnHJ'?: i* J!#.. !*iisßs%h

you were a decent kid a3 soon as I clapped eyes on you. It was mighty friendly <ji you to drop that stone in when I asked' you, too." Before Jack could there was a sudden whirlpool sort of motion in the little channel, just below him and up popped the found close-cropped head of Silas. Jack thought that Silas was quite •the funniest looking chap he had ever seen. His eyes were round and solemn and when he shook his head a shower of glittering drops flew in all directions. ""Come in and . have a swim!" he said> rolling over on his side and waving one flipper in the air. "I'll give' you a race over to Barrett's reef and 'back, the prize to be three herrings and. a crab.". "I'm sorry!" answered Jack wistfully, "but mother said it'was much too cold yet to go swimming." "Too cold!" Young Silas gave a anort of dorfsion. "Why, believe me! this is hot compared to the Campbell's and Macquaries and Snare's." "Where were you brought up, anyway?" ' .'• . > "Up at Brooklyn" said Jack, "where the tramway goes." . . , "Never heard of it!" Silas proppedhimself up on his fina and looked thoughtful. "Are there many herrings Tound there?" , L ; \. ' . "Lots and lots in the fish;shops in town. Then there's crayfish, and flounders too." --.-!,■ "Hey! Finny!" shouted Silas suddenly, "let's/swim up to this town place, our voting friend's talking about. Seems a lolly fine place for fishinc;." Finny gave a sort of barking chuckle. "No time to-day.Si', we'd do better round Palliser when the tide makes. Hop in and come round to Palliser with us," he said addressing Jack. "We can land on the beach there for a snooze afterwards*" . ■ ."Jack looked longingly out' over.-, the gently hea-viiig blue of the ocean and wished like anything that he was a fur seal and could go swimming whenever he wanted to. It would be just jolly toslip in with these two merry swimmers and make off out to Sea though ■ lie wondered what he would do when he wnniod a rest arid there was no rock handy to hang on to. . : .. •Before lie could ■ answer there came a,barking grunt from Finny. "Come on Si' !" he called, "look at those gulls following up the kahawai shoal. . Look alive now! Here's a.rare chance!" • ."See you again!" said Silas with a wink and. a grin. "You irateh us shake ■the. scales, off those ■kahawai." With one powerful sweep of his ..flippers he., was.round and off like'a flash. Finny too had vanishcdV but about a mile oilt from shore a. noisy'flock of gulls rose and dipped, and. rose again, their whitewings flashing in the sunlight. Ail at once as the.small boy watched, the whole flock swung high up abovb the water with a shrill clamcur and the surface of the sea became violently agitated. White spray leapt and flew as though a fierce whirlpool had suddenly sprung to life ahd swiffc jets of silver seemed to spread out ( all round-it. The.gttlls cirded arid cried tit due another in harsh inquiring tones, then all in a. flash'the cbfljimotion ceased, and the birds /cdiiiineiieed. stringing, off in different directions; ; ' "Well! 1' thought Jack, "I s'spose that's the end of it, and I won't see those two any more. He rose reluctantly to his feet; but just as he turned togo be 'lieiird a shout from the end of the reef. •:■:.:' -„. \- "".'. : •" ' .''"' "Eight .for me and six -for Silas'!" ■came a .cheery voice, and there: were the -two round heads bobbing, about just putfiida the breakers. .''.:.

"Did you eat f>hem all?" questioned Jack. . /■■"Every single fin of 'em! answered Finny grinning broadly, "and Silas here got some scales stuck in his throat."

"Got 'em out again anyway," snorted Silas.' us he turned a neat flip.qn top ofa little wave. "Are'nt you coming to Pnlliuer with us?" ■ ; ;'

"['"raid, Lcitn't to-day" said Jack, and he felt very sorry for himself. ■'.'. Finny rose half out of the water and drew ;i long breath. "You're the beat man-thing I've ever mat," ho said, "and I'm sorry you're not coming. We'd show hint some.-sport wouldn't wo Si?"

"You bet !" said Silas coughing up a mouthful-of scales., "This is the life for pie !'* and he •rollc'd over and over Sacking tip /bowers of spray. Tlie two seals, dived neatly and rose again some little distance out. They, snorted and bleu titiy clouds of spray into the air as they turned to face, the shore. : ■

"Cbesry-oh !" came their farewell call over the-Vat-er, "don't tell anyone you saw us or they'd be p.ftcr our skins."

The last thing Jack saw was Finny hitting. Silas over the head with his flipper as they plunged under the blue surface of the sea making in the direction of far-off Pallisor,