Now to work! For two hours we fished unceasingly, but without bringing up any rarities.

The drag was filled with midas-ears, harps, melames, and particularly the most beautiful hammers I have ever seen.

We also brought up some sea-slugs, pearl-oysters, and a dozen little turtles that were reserved for the pantry on board.
But just when I expected it least, I put my hand on a wonder, I might say a natural deformity, very rarely met with.

Conseil was just dragging, and his net came up filled with divers ordinary shells, when, all at once, he saw me plunge my arm quickly into the net, to draw out a shell, and heard me utter a cry.
"What is the matter, sir ?" he asked in surprise.

"Has master been bitten ?" "No, my boy; but I would willingly have given a finger for my discovery." "What discovery ?" "This shell," I said, holding up the object of my triumph.
"It is simply an olive porphyry, genus olive, order of the pectinibranchidae, class of gasteropods, sub-class mollusca." "Yes, Conseil; but, instead of being rolled from right to left, this olive turns from left to right." "Is it possible ?" "Yes, my boy; it is a left shell." Shells are all right-handed, with rare exceptions; and, when by chance their spiral is left, amateurs are ready to pay their weight in gold.
Conseil and I were absorbed in the contemplation of our treasure, and I was promising myself to enrich the museum with it, when a stone unfortunately thrown by a native struck against, and broke, the precious object in Conseil's hand.