So to the Mewstone he went , and for lobsters he looked . And when he came to a certain crack in the rocks he was so excited that , instead of putting in his hook , he put in his hand ; and Mr. Lobster was at home , and caught him by the finger , and held on . `` Yah ! '' said the mayor , and pulled as hard as he dared : but the more he pulled , the more the lobster pinched , till he was forced to be quiet . Then he tried to get his hook in with his other hand ; but the hole was too narrow . Then he pulled again ; but he could not stand the pain . Then he shouted and bawled for help : but there was no one nearer him than the men-of-war inside the breakwater . Then he began to turn a little pale ; for the tide flowed , and still the lobster held on . Then he turned quite white ; for the tide was up to his knees , and still the lobster held on . Then he thought of cutting off his finger ; but he wanted two things to do it with -- courage and a knife ; and he had got neither . Then he turned quite yellow ; for the tide was up to his waist , and still the lobster held on . Then he thought over all the naughty things he ever had done ; all the sand which he had put in the sugar , and the sloe-leaves in the tea , and the water in the treacle , and the salt in the tobacco -LRB- because his brother was a brewer , and a man must help his own kin -RRB- . Then he turned quite blue ; for the tide was up to his breast , and still the lobster held on . Then , I have no doubt , he repented fully of all the said naughty things which he had done , and promised to mend his life , as too many do when they think they have no life left to mend . Whereby , as they fancy , they make a very cheap bargain . But the old fairy with the birch rod soon undeceives them . And then he grew all colours at once , and turned up his eyes like a duck in thunder ; for the water was up to his chin , and still the lobster held on . And then came a man-of-war 's boat round the Mewstone , and saw his head sticking up out of the water . One said it was a keg of brandy , and another that it was a cocoa-nut , and another that it was a buoy loose , and another that it was a black diver , and wanted to fire at it , which would not have been pleasant for the mayor : but just then such a yell came out of a great hole in the middle of it that the midshipman in charge guessed what it was , and bade pull up to it as fast as they could . So somehow or other the Jack-tars got the lobster out , and set the mayor free , and put him ashore at the Barbican .
He never went lobster-catching again ; and we will hope he XXXXX no more salt in the tobacco , not even to sell his brother 's beer .
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