"I fear I shall make a mess of it," said Jack. "You will soon get into it," replied Jacob. "It's just like opening a large oyster." "And how do you find the pearls?" asked Jack. "You'll soon find a pearl if there is one in the shell," replied Jacob. "Sometimes they are loose, not often, again you may find them in big blisters, but, as a rule, you can see them embedded in the shell, where they look like pimples on the surface. You must keep an exact account of all we find, so that a proper division can be made." "My friend, Harry Marton, will attend to that," said Jack, "it is more in his line." "It matters very little who does it as long as it is done," replied Jacob. They were all tired out with the day's work, and slept soundly until aroused by Jacob Rank. Each man was provided with a large knife, and Jack admired the dexterity with which Jacob severed the muscle of the mollusc when the shell opened, and with the rapidity of a London oyster opener, he sliced the fish out of the shell. This being done, the next thing was to look for pearls. Jack Redland was clumsy at first, but quickly got into the way of opening and cleaning the shells, and he felt a strange thrill of excitement as he looked for his first pearl. It was an old worm eaten encrusted shell he held in his hand, and in it he saw a blister about the size of a penny piece. He was about to smash it when Jacob called out-- "Don't do that; if there is a pearl inside you'll damage it, perhaps crush it to bits. Leave the shell on one side and try another. I will show you how to tap a blister later on." Jack placed it on one side and forced open another shell, it took him some considerable time, and when his knife slipped, the gaping shell closed sharply and nearly caught his fingers. He forced it again and cut out the fish, as he did so a pearl, the size of a pea, dropped out and he picked it up, at the same time expressing his feelings in a joyful exclamation. The others looked up, and he held it out to Jacob, who examined it carefully. "Straw coloured," he said, "there are plenty of them, but this is well shaped, it is not a bad pearl at all, I daresay it would bring a tenner." "A little thing like that!" said Jack. "Yes, and if it was perfect and a better colour it would be worth a lot more. Try again," said Jacob, as he handed the pearl back to him. There were pearls of different sizes in nearly every shell, and Phil Danks knew Jacob Rank was not far out when he proclaimed this bay the richest pearl fishery in Australia. Danks had opened hundreds of shells in his time, but he had never seen such beautiful mother of pearl, or so many seeds in the same number of shells. They continued opening until the last lot was finished, and as Jacob looked at the shell and the pearls, he said, "That's a good day's work for a start, but we shall find a few gems before we have done. Did you ever see richer shell, or a larger number of pearls out of such a take, Phil?"