about three o'clock in the afternoon
This was a marine plant called dulse , which , in these waters , grows very plentifully , and is gathered and dried by the people in large quantities . It was a substance of which Tom was very fond , and he determined to gather some , and dry it in the sun . Collecting an armful of this , he took it to the shore , and spread it out over the grass , though , in that damp and foggy atmosphere , there was not much prospect of its drying . It was now about three o'clock in the afternoon , and Tom 's researches along the shore were successfully terminated . He had found all the different articles that he had thought of and his new acquisitions were now lying about him . These were , -- Clams , Lobsters , Mussels , Shrimps , Dulse . As he murmured to himself the list of things , he smiled triumphantly .