"But I'm gettin' too old for such scrapes now," went on the old sea-fighter. "I'm going to turn 'Hayseed!' You mayn't believe it, but I am!" glowering at the laughing, incredulous scouts. "I'm about buying a piece o' land that's only half cleared o' timber yet, up Exmouth way; going to start a farm. But, great sailor! how'll I ever get along with a cow. That's what stumps me." "We'll come out an' milk her for you, Captain Andy," volunteered with one breath the boy scouts, their merry voices ringing out over the mother-of-pearl plains of water, bounded on one side by the headlands of a bold shore, on the other by green peninsulas of salt-marsh, insulated at high water by the winding creeks that burrowed among them, and farther on by the radiant dunes. "I'll t'ink he no lak' for be tie to cow, me!" Toiney nodded mischievously at the sea-captain. Then, all of a sudden, his voice exploded gutturally like a bomb: "_Gard' donc! Gard' donc_, de gros seal! _Sapré tonnere!_ _deux_ gros seal. Two beeg seal! _V'là V'là!_ shes jomp right out o' reever--engh!" The excited Canadian's gesticulating hands drew every eye in the direction he indicated, which was a little to the left of the central tidal channel, between them and the straying creeks. And the scouts' excitement fairly fizzed like a burning fuse as, mingled with Toiney's cry, sounded a hoarse bark, wafted across the plains of water, the harsh "Beow!" or "Weow!" according as the semi-distant ear might translate it, of an angry bull-seal. Each boy's heart leaped into his distended throat at the sound, but not so high as leaped the bull-seal, to whom the other term significant of his male gender--that of dog-seal--hardly applied, for he outweighed half a dozen good-sized dogs. Breathlessly gazing, the scouts saw him jump clear out of the water not quarter of a mile from them, his sleek, dark bulk sheathed in crystal armor, wrought of brine and sunbeams--his flippers dripping rainbows! Down he came again with a wrathful splash that sent the foam flying, and struck his companion, an apparently smaller animal whose head alone was visible, a furious blow on that sleek head with one of his clawed flippers. "_Gard' donc!_ _Gard' donc_, les gros seal _qui se battent_! De beeg seal dat fights--dat strike heem oder, engh?" exploded Toiney again. "So they are--fighting! Goodness! that big fellow is pitching into the one in the water. Going for him like fury, for some reason!" broke from the excited boys, as they stared, open-mouthed, while this belligerent performance was repeated, accompanied once or twice by the grunting bark of the larger seal.