"Why, Tommy Blimken and Harry Hustle were both captured once by
humans and put in an aquarium," answered the mermaid. "But one day
they climbed out and escaped, finally making their way back to the
sea and home again. So they are quite traveled, you see, and great
favorites among the crabs. While they were on land they saw a great
many curious things, and so I suppose they saw automobiles."

"We did, we did!" cried Harry Hustle, an awkward crab with one big
claw and one little one. "And we saw earth people with legs, awfully
funny they were; and animals called horses, with legs; and other
creatures with legs; and the people cover themselves with the
queerest things--they even wear feathers and flowers on their heads,
and--"

"Oh, we know all about that," said Trot. "We live on the earth
ourselves."

"Well, you're lucky to get off from it and into the good water,"
said the Crab. "I nearly died on the earth; it was so stupid, dry
and airy. But the circus was great. They held the performance right
in front of the aquarium where we lived, and Tommy and I learned all
the tricks of the tumblers. Hi! Come on, fellows, and show the earth
people what you can do!"

At this the crabs began performing their antics again, but they did
the same things over and over, so Cap'n Bill and Trot soon tired, as
Merla said they would, and decided they had seen enough of the crab
circus. So they proceeded to swim farther up the rocky canyon, and
near its upper end they came to a lot of conch shells lying upon the