They were very busy, and what they were doing was so interesting to the children that at first they did not even wonder where the Amulet had brought them.

And the crew seemed too busy to notice the children.

They were fastening rush baskets to a long rope with a great piece of cork at the end, and in each basket they put mussels or little frogs.

Then they cast out the rope, the baskets sank, but the cork floated.

And all about on the blue water were other boats and all the crews of all the boats were busy with ropes and baskets and frogs and mussels.
'Whatever are you doing ?' Jane suddenly asked a man who had rather more clothes than the others, and seemed to be a sort of captain or overseer.
He started and stared at her, but he had seen too many strange lands to be very much surprised at these queerly-dressed stowaways.
'Setting lines for the dye shell-fish,' he said shortly.