Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Textbook Challenges in Protein Product Development Nicholas W Warne Ebook All Chapter PDF
Textbook Challenges in Protein Product Development Nicholas W Warne Ebook All Chapter PDF
https://textbookfull.com/product/pulses-processing-and-product-
development-a-manickavasagan/
https://textbookfull.com/product/tourism-product-development-in-
china-asian-and-european-countries-yuhua-luo/
https://textbookfull.com/product/biosimilar-drug-product-
development-1st-edition-laszlo-endrenyi/
https://textbookfull.com/product/pharmacogenics-challenges-and-
opportunities-in-therapeutic-implementation-y-w-francis-lam/
PROTEIN DOWNSTREAM PROCESSING design development and
application of high 2nd Edition
https://textbookfull.com/product/protein-downstream-processing-
design-development-and-application-of-high-2nd-edition/
https://textbookfull.com/product/advances-in-simulation-product-
design-and-development-proceedings-of-aimtdr-2018-m-s-shunmugam/
https://textbookfull.com/product/peanuts-processing-technology-
and-product-development-1st-edition-qiang-wang/
https://textbookfull.com/product/automotive-product-development-
a-systems-engineering-implementation-1st-edition-bhise/
https://textbookfull.com/product/integrated-design-engineering-
interdisciplinary-and-holistic-product-development-sandor-vajna/
AAPS Advances in the Pharmaceutical Sciences Series 38
Nicholas W. Warne
Hanns-Christian Mahler
Editors
Challenges in
Protein Product
Development
AAPS Advances in the Pharmaceutical
Sciences Series
Volume 38
Series Editor
Yvonne Perrie, Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy, University of Strathclyde,
Bearsden, Dunbartonshire, UK
The AAPS Advances in the Pharmaceutical Sciences Series, published in
partnership with the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, is
designed to deliver volumes authored by opinion leaders and authorities from
around the globe, addressing innovations in drug research and development, and
best practice for scientists and industry professionals in the pharma and biotech
industries.
Editors
123
Editors
Nicholas W. Warne Hanns-Christian Mahler
BioTherapeutics Research and Development Lonza AG
Pharmaceutics Research and Development Drug Product Services
Pfizer Inc. Basel, Basel Stadt
Andover, MA Switzerland
USA
This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer International Publishing AG
part of Springer Nature
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Preface
The use of therapeutic proteins continues to increase, with most of these protein
drug products being used to treat severe diseases such as various types of cancer or
inflammation. As the field of recombinant therapeutic proteins enters its fourth
decade and the market for biopharmaceuticals becomes increasingly competitive,
companies are increasingly dedicating resources to develop innovative biophar-
maceuticals to address unmet medical needs.
Often, the pharmaceutical development scientist encounters challenging phar-
maceutical properties of a given protein, the demands placed on the product by
stability, manufacturing and preclinical or clinical expectations, as well as the
evolving regulatory expectations and competitive landscape. Further, there have
been new findings that require close assessment, for example, related to excipient
quality, processing, viscosity and device compatibility and administration, solu-
bility and opalescence and container-closure selection. The literature varies widely
in its discussion of these critical elements, and consensus does not exist. This book
aims to serve to provide a broad overview, yet deep insight, into these different
topics. We seek to discuss several of these and other challenges currently faced in
biotechnology dosage form development to provide guidance, shared experience
and thoughtful reflection on how best to address these potential concerns.
In order to develop an adequate drug product of a therapeutic protein, significant
considerations need to be made to the formulation, container-closure system, and
processing. Only the combination of all yields an acceptable drug product. Firstly,
Part 2 provides some insights into the formulation development of biologics.
Recently, the degradation and quality of surfactants such as polysorbates have
received significant attention. Furthermore, the use of excipients for formulations
will impact not only protein stability but also the products’ pharmaceutical
parameters such as pH, viscosity, and osmolality. Excipients can crystallize under
frozen conditions and may subsequently lead to challenges related to protein sta-
bility in the frozen state. In order to enable self-administration or improve conve-
nience, high-concentration protein formulations are often required. Part 3 will
discuss high-concentration protein formulations, related theoretical considerations,
product considerations, including opalescence, appearance, and particulate matter,
v
vi Preface
but also analytical and predictive tools as well as impact and practical considera-
tions related to protein concentration, such as viscosity and relation to device
functionality. In most R&D portfolios, there are increasingly more “novel con-
structs” in research and development and less focus on “traditional” monoclonal
antibodies. Part 4 will introduce different categories of novel therapeutic protein
constructs, including antibody drug conjugates, fusion proteins, and strategies for
half-life extension.
Significant focus during the development of drug products includes the devel-
opment and selection of the container closure, required to provide protection and
possible functionality for a given product. Historically, glass vials, rubber stoppers,
and aluminum crimp caps are used for therapeutic protein injectables where
self-administration is not desired or required. Increasingly, combination products
are used, including syringes with needle-safety devices or autoinjector, injection
pens or infusion (mini) pumps. Part 5 will introduce various technologies and
discuss possible challenges related to primary packaging and device, including
container-closure integrity testing, delamination, functionality of syringes and
clogging, impact of silicone and tungsten and related analytics. Finally, the stability
of a given product also needs to be ensured during preparation and administration
and some considerations to in-use stability, including microbiological stability, will
be provided.
Finally, processing is being introduced and discussed in Part 6. Challenges for
the “seemingly simple fill/finish process” are many: extractables and leachables,
hold times, material (in)compatibility, sterile filtration, processing residuals (e.g.,
vaporized hydrogen peroxide) impact on stability, QbD considerations, tech transfer
challenges, and GMP drug product manufacturing segregation concerns, e.g.,
ADCs, cytotoxics, growth hormones, or some antibiotics.
The final section, Part 7, will discuss strategies and options for life-cycle
management. This may include changing the route of administration (e.g., IV to
SC), changing the formulation or dosage form (e.g., replacing excipients, changes
from lyophilisate to liquid), or the use of devices.
Given the span of topics, we believe this book is of significant interest for
colleagues in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry, as well as academic
researchers and regulatory agencies globally, may it be business or project leaders,
researchers, scientists in formulation and process development, analytical scientists,
QC/QA colleagues, regulatory staff, and manufacturing leaders.
Enjoy reading!
vii
viii Contents
xi
xii Contributors
AAC Antibody-Antibiotic-Conjugate
ADC Antibody-drug-conjugate
ADE/PDE Acceptable or permitted daily exposure
AF4 Asymmetric-flow field-flow fractionation
API Active pharmaceutical ingredient
AUC Analytical ultracentrifugation
CFU Colony forming units
CIP Cleaning in place
CIP/SIP/DIP Cleaning in place, sterilization in place, drying in place
CMC Critical micelle concentration
DLS Dynamic light scattering
DOE Design of experiment
DP Drug product
DS Drug substance
DSC Differential scanning calorimetry
DSF Differential scanning fluorimetry
ELISA Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay
EU Endotoxin unit
FFA Free fatty acids
FID Flame ionization detector
FTIR Fourier-transform infrared
GMP Good manufacturing practice
HPLC High-performance liquid chromatography
HTF High-throughput formulation
HSA Human serum albumin
ICH International conference on harmonization
LC-MS Liquid chromatography-coupled mass spectrometry
LTP Liquid transfer port
MAC Maximum allowable carry-over
xv
xvi Abbreviations
Keywords Protein stability Stability testing Preformulation
High throughput screening Excipients Development strategy
W. Friess (&)
Department of Pharmacy—Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmaceutics,
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Butenandtstr. 5-13, 81377 Munich, Germany
e-mail: wolfgang.friess@lrz.uni-muenchen.de
D. Weinbuch A. Hawe
Coriolis Pharma Research GmbH, Fraunhoferstr. 18B, 82152 Martinsried, Germany
e-mail: daniel.weinbuch@coriolis-pharma.com
A. Hawe
e-mail: Andrea.Hawe@coriolis-pharma.com
D. Weinbuch W. Jiskoot
Division of BioTherapeutics, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research,
Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
e-mail: w.jiskoot@lacdr.leidenuniv.nl
List of Abbreviations
AF4 Asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation
API Active pharmaceutical ingredient
AUC Analytical ultracentrifugation
CTA Clinical trial authorization
DLS Dynamic light scattering
DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid
DOE Design of experiment
DP Drug product
DS Drug substance
DSC Differential scanning calorimetry
DSF Differential scanning fluorimetry
FTIR Fourier-transform infrared
Glu Glutamic acid
GMP Good manufacturing practice
h Hour(s)
H2O2 Hydrogen peroxide
His Histidine
HPLC High-performance liquid chromatography
HTF High-throughput formulation
ICH International conference on harmonization
LA License application
LC-MS Liquid chromatography-coupled mass spectrometry
mg/ml Milligram per milliliter
mM Millimolar
lm Micrometer
nm Nanometer
pH Potential of hydrogen
pI Isoelectric point
pKa Acid dissociation constant
QC Quality control
RH Relative humidity
RNA Ribonucleic acid
rpm Rounds per minute
SEC Size exclusion chromatography
SLS Static light scattering
Tg’ Glass transition temperature
UPLC Ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography
USP United States Pharmacopeia
UV Ultraviolet
°C Degrees Celsius
% Percent
1 Introduction into Formulation Development of Biologics 5
1.1 Introduction
injection site [26]. The same formulation might, however, be acceptable if the
product were intended to be diluted in an infusion liquid prior to intravenous
administration, provided that the product is stable in use and compatible with the
infusion system. Another example: If a lyophilizate in a vial would be stable for five
years but the same molecule could be formulated as an aqueous solution in a
prefilled syringe with two years shelf life, the latter might be preferred over the
more stable formulation for economical and marketing reasons and due to easier
patient self-administration.
Since a liquid formulation is often faster and cheaper to produce and is more
user-friendly, generally it is preferred over a lyophilizate. However, it may be
impossible to develop a sufficiently stable liquid formulation, either because of time
constraints during (early) product development or because the molecule turns out to
be insufficiently stable even after extensive formulation development exercises.
1 Introduction into Formulation Development of Biologics 7
The obvious alternative in such cases is a dry formulation (apart from an early stage
frozen liquid formulation), which is almost exclusively achieved by lyophilization,
a process requiring dedicated formulation development.
From a formulation scientist’s perspective, in an ideal world already at the
earliest stage of development the final dosage form, the required stability profile as
well as other needs (see Table 1.1) have been defined, high-throughput, stability-
indicating analytical methods are in place, and material, time and resources are
available in unlimited amounts. However, the real world is quite different.
Consequently, the first formulation used during preclinical studies (e.g., toxicity
studies) is likely going to be different from the formulation applied during later
clinical phases and the final formulation used for commercialization. This may be
explained, besides by the above-mentioned reasons, by changes in the dosing
regime, the route of administration or the primary packaging material (e.g., switch
from vials to syringes) or by instabilities occurring in a not-yet-optimized formu-
lation as well as additional insight gained into the stability of the protein molecule
and/or the excipients. Nevertheless, it is highly favored to have the final formulation
composition defined as early as possible during drug product (DP) development to
avoid additional studies, regulatory efforts and to align drug substance (DS) and DP
composition. To this end, it is imperative that the formulation scientist acquires
knowledge about the clinical needs, marketing considerations as well as regulatory
requirements. Moreover, the more is known about the physical and chemical sta-
bility of a protein molecule as function of major formulation variables and external
stress factors (temperature, mechanical stress, freezing, and thawing, etc.) early in
the development, the less complex, costly, and time-consuming, it will be in a later
stage of development to accommodate a formulation to the needs of the molecule
and the product.
“There isn’t just one way of doing it” holds true for formulation development of
biologics, and there are numerous ways and philosophies how to come to a stable
and robust formulation. No matter which approach is followed for achieving a
satisfactory formulation, the selection of analytical methods plays a crucial role.
Already early in the process, the critical routes of instability need to be identified in
order to establish the important stability-indicating analytical methods as well as the
appropriate formulation strategy to tackle the instability issues. Formulation de-
velopment usually evolves during a drug development program, and often there-
after, and can generally be divided into the following activities: preformulation,
formulation development for DS, DP formulation development for preclinical
phases, for early clinical phases, for late stage/commercialization, and finally for-
mulation activities during the life cycle of a product (Fig. 1.1). Of course, there
certainly is an overlap between these phases, and wherever applicable, considera-
tions for a later stage should be reflected as early in the development process as
possible. In the following sections, we describe first what typically forms part of a
protein formulation and then discuss several phases and approaches of formulation
development.
8 D. Weinbuch et al.
Fig. 1.1 Diagram of a formulation development process (modified from Chang and Hershenson
[8])
The term active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) refers to the molecule of interest,
e.g., a peptide, monoclonal antibody, or enzyme. In a pure state, the API would
typically be a solid powder, as often found for peptides. This state, however, is
extremely impractical to obtain and/or presents an unstable state for most biologics.
Therefore, a DS, a (sometimes frozen) liquid formulation containing the API is used
for purified bulk storage. A DS typically results from a chromatographic or ultra-
diafiltration step at the end of a purification process. In commercial-scale produc-
tion, the formulation composition of the DS is often very similar to that of the final
DP, but this can obviously not be the case when formulation development has yet to
be completed. This may have consequences for DP formulation screening, as dis-
cussed in the Sects. 1.2.4 and 1.3.1.
1.2.2.2 Excipients
One rule in formulation development is to avoid putting anything into the formu-
lation that is not needed. In other words, a formulation should be kept as simple as
possible, and each excipient, as well as its quantity, should be justified. Having
mentioned this, it is not an easy task to combine the right excipients in the right
1 Introduction into Formulation Development of Biologics 9
in liquid formulations below pH 6, because its hydrolysis rate during storage may
become significant, leading to the formation of fructose and glucose; the latter
degradant can form glycation products with the protein via the Maillard reaction
[31]. While excipients preferably should comply with compendial standards,
additional requirements may apply for specific protein formulations, as further
illustrated.
Excipients can exert several functions; e.g., glycine can act as stabilizer, buffer,
and tonicity modifier and may have several modes of action. The need for their
inclusion in a protein formulation mainly depends on the critical instability path-
ways of the protein and other not protein stability-related needs, such as tonicity
requirements and lyophilizate appearance. Furthermore, certain excipients that may
be useful in liquid formulations should be avoided in lyophilizates (e.g., volatile
buffers such as acetate, or salts that lower the glass transition temperature of the
maximally freeze-concentrated solution (Tg’) of amorphous formulation), whereas
some excipient functions are specific for lyophilized products, e.g., bulking agent,
lyoprotector.
Buffer species may have specific destabilizing or stabilizing effects on proteins,
besides offering buffer capacity. So, buffer type and concentration should be
carefully selected during formulations screening, and the decision depends not only
on the desired pH (typically well within about ±1 unit from the pKa of the buffer
species) but also on the protein, the route of administration, and whether it is a
liquid or a lyophilized formulation. Furthermore, in high-concentration protein
formulations, one could consider not to include any buffer. Especially in slightly
acidic, highly concentrated (>50 mg/ml) antibody formulations, the total number of
His, Glu, and Asp residues in the API may provide sufficient buffer capacity to
provide a stable pH value [13].
Since the primary packaging material may affect the quality of the DP, it is an
important and integral part of the formulation development program. Obviously, the
primary packaging material depends on the dosage form (see Table 1.1 for some
examples), which in turn impacts the way a drug is administered and its
user-friendliness. Implications of the primary container on formulation develop-
ment, e.g., the setup of mechanical stress studies, are addressed in Sect. 1.3.2 of this
chapter. For more information, the reader is referred to Chap. 5 of this book.
1.2.3 Preformulation
Preformulation studies are a prerequisite “to know your molecule,” which is vital
for the entire development cycle of a therapeutic protein. On the short term, pre-
formulation studies may be used for candidate selection and will help in the
1 Introduction into Formulation Development of Biologics 11
Table 1.3 Accelerated stability and forced-degradation studies used in protein formulation
screening
Stress type Exemplary stress conditions Anticipated instability types
Temperature Real-time/intended Aggregation, conformational changes,
temperature, e.g., at 2–8 °C chemical changes
Accelerated testing, e.g., at 15,
25, or 40 °C
Mechanical, 50–500 rpm, 2 h to >48 h Aggregation, adsorption,
shaking conformational changes
Mechanical, 50–500 rpm, <1 h to 48 h Aggregation, adsorption,
stirring conformational changes
Mechanical, 1–5 cycles, e.g., between 25 °C Aggregation, adsorption,
freeze-thawing and −20 to −80 °C conformational changes
Oxidation H2O2, 1–5% for 1–2 days, Chemical changes (oxidation),
oxygen purge aggregation, conformational changes
Humiditya 0–100% RH Aggregation, conformational changes,
chemical changes, moisture content
a
Specifically for lyophilized products
12 D. Weinbuch et al.
Time pressure, limited resources, the risk of a drug to drop out during the devel-
opment program, or plans to sell a drug candidate after clinical phase 1, are only
some arguments to define an early stage DP for preclinical phase or clinical phase 1
without extensive formulation development. In this case, within a relatively
short-time frame, the formulation scientist should aim to deliver such an initial
formulation that can be reproducibly manufactured with a standard container clo-
sure system, while leaving enough flexibility to, e.g., alter the dosage regime and
the route of administration at later development stages. Lyophilization and recon-
stitution with a different volume is one approach to allow dosing flexibility and
setting up different protein concentrations [1, 24]. The shelf life requirement of this
early DP is mainly determined by the logistics of supplying the drug for clinical
trials. Stability of the API in the DP until at least the end of the trial must be
supported by stability data. Importantly, the more is known at this stage about the
intended commercial formulation (e.g., administration route, dosage form, and
primary packaging material), the better.
In preformulation and early formulation development, HTF screening can be
beneficial, especially if there is no or very limited pre-existing knowledge about the
sensitivity of the API to formulation and stress conditions. The high number of test
formulations can be handled when working with automated pipetting systems or
robots ideally combined with stress testing/stability testing in plates and plate-
reader based analytics requiring low sample volumes. Typical analytical methods
for this purpose are UV spectroscopy (protein content, turbidity), fluorescence
spectroscopy (intrinsic or extrinsic with dyes), and DLS, all of which can be
performed fully automated in multi-well plates. Moreover, intermediate-throughput
methods, such as HPLC/UPLC and DSC, when performed with autosampler
devices, can be conveniently used [5, 32, 38].
14 D. Weinbuch et al.
While the protein in its initial formulation is tested in clinical trials, the formulation
scientist will already be working on an optimized, commercially viable formulation.
This formulation should, beyond the stability required for the initial formulation,
ultimately be robust against external stresses during the desired shelf life, adminis-
tration (sometimes using product specific application devices) and to potential
protein-specific degradation pathways. In order to test robustness, forced-degradation
studies at relevant stress conditions (Table 1.3) combined with a tailored set of sta-
bility indicating analytical methods, defined during preformulation, are employed. In
this context, design of experiment (DOE) approaches can be applied to optimize
experimental setups and reduce the number of required sample measurements [14].
While forced-degradation studies do not reflect real-life conditions, they are useful to
reveal differences in stability between formulations and to give justification on why
excipients are added and at which quantity. In late-stage formulation development,
tasks of the preformulation phase might still be ongoing and specific molecule
characterization tasks may be intensified. Since the DS is at this stage available in
larger quantities (and often higher purity), the formulation scientist is not anymore
tied to low-volume analytical methods used in early stage development, but can
also employ resource consuming or high-volume methods, e.g., AF4, AUC,
FTIR-spectroscopy, MS, particle characterization [11] to test the stability of the
protein more in detail. Knowledge from clinical trials on application route, dosage
regime, and the potential use of an application device will also influence the for-
mulation design. The investigation of processing stability should include filter tests,
tubing tests, handling test, and fill-finish tests to assure robustness toward stresses
during manufacturing, if not already, at least in parts, performed during early stage
development. Finally, real-time stability studies at relevant storage conditions (e.g., 2–
8 °C) using the DP in its primary container system from different production batches
are to be conducted to define and justify the product’s shelf life. This is stated in the
ICH guideline QC5, and for most DPs, a shelf life of at least 18–24 months is desired.
I
t was wonderful how many sea creatures Peggy and Janet found
when they began. The little tub was quite full before long, and
Peggy, looking into it, told Janet that she was afraid they wouldn’t
be very comfortable.
Janet considered for a minute, and then told Peggy that there
was an old washing-tub in the scullery which she was sure her aunt
would let her use instead of her own little one; then there would be
room enough for all the creatures to be happy.
“But how would we ever get a washing-tub filled with water out of
the sea?” Peggy asked.
“Hoots! James and me can
carry it up in pails,” said Janet.
“Will you ask Aunt
Euphemia about it?” Peggy
asked. She had begun to see
that Janet could get anything
she wanted. Janet said that she
would, and went off to gain Aunt
Euphemia’s consent to the
scheme. She came back
smiling, and Peggy knew all
was right, so she clapped her
hands with delight.
“O Janet, do you think James will get the water to-night?” she
cried. “For it would be horrid if my poor beasts died, or were sick for
want of it.”
Janet then went off to look for James, and before long Peggy had
the joy of seeing him come toiling up the walk, carrying two huge
pails of water. Then Janet went down to the sea again with two pails,
and brought them back filled, and James brought two more, and
when they had all been poured into the tub it was quite full.
“Now I can put in my beasts!” Peggy cried.
The first of all was a great prize: it was a bit of
stone with two sea anemones attached to it. Sea
anemones are the creatures that Peggy had
seen in the pool that were like little pink flowers.
Janet had explained to her that it hurt anemones
to be scraped off the rocks, and so they had to
hunt till they found them growing on a small
stone that it was possible to lift. It had been some time before they
found this, but at last, at the bottom of a pool, Janet spied a small
stone with two beautiful anemones sticking to it. Whenever she lifted
the stone out of the water, the funny little creatures drew in all their
pretty petal-like feelers, and became like lumps of red-currant jelly;
but the moment Peggy placed them in the tub of water, out came the
feelers one by one till they were as pretty as ever again.
Then there was one of the big ones that had been scooped out of
the sand with great difficulty, and was rather offended evidently, for it
took a long time to put out its feelers—just lay and sulked on the
bottom of the tub. Peggy watched it for a long time, but as it wouldn’t
put out its feelers, she turned to the other creatures.
There were a number of whelks. Whelks, you
know, are sea-snails. They live in shells, and
draw themselves in and out of them very quickly.
The moment Peggy put them into the tub, they
pushed their shells on to their backs as snails do,
and began crawling slowly along the edges of the
tub.
“O Janet, my whelks will walk out and get lost!” Peggy cried. But
Janet told her she thought they liked the water best, and would stay
in it.
Then there were three mussels. Mussels live in tight, dark blue
shells; but when they please they can open their shells, much as you
open a portfolio, for there is a kind of hinge at the
back of the shell. However, they too were sulky,
and lay still quite tight shut.
Janet had picked up a very large shell, and
put it into the tub, and Peggy asked her why. She
said they would see before long. Now she took the large shell and
laid it in the water. Peggy watched, and suddenly she saw a thin
green leg come stealing out; then another and another, till at last a
tiny green crab came scrambling altogether out of the shell, and ran
rapidly about the tub.
“O Janet, it’s a little crab! How did you know? Do they always live
in these big snail shells?” Peggy cried.
Janet told her that they were called hermit crabs, and that they
lived in the cast-off shells of other creatures, just using them as
houses.
“Put your hand into the water, Miss Peggy, and you will see him
run in,” Janet said.
Peggy shook her hand in the water, and saw the little crab scuttle
away and get into his shell like lightning.
Janet had wanted to add a big red crab, like the one that nipped
Peggy, but Peggy wouldn’t have it. There were some limpets, in their
little pyramid-shaped shells, and then Janet had added a lot of
seaweed of different kinds. Some of it was slimy green stuff, like long
green hair, which Peggy didn’t at all admire; but there were pretty
feathery pink weed and nice brown dulse.
“I wonder if James could get a flounder,” Janet said thoughtfully.
Peggy asked what a flounder was, and Janet said it was the kind
of flat little fish Peggy had had fried for breakfast that morning.
“They’re ill to catch,” she added. “But maybe James could get ye
ane.”
“Oh, a fish—a real live fish—in my tub would be so delicious!”
cried Peggy.
She ran off to beg James to try to
catch one for her; and James, who
was very obliging, went off once again
to the shore with a pail in search of a
flounder.
Peggy stood and watched him for
quite half an hour as he went slowly
across the sands, stooping over each
pool to see if there were flounders in it.
At last he came back, and Peggy
scarcely liked to ask him whether he
had got one, for she felt it would be so
disappointing if he hadn’t—her
collection would be quite incomplete.
But James was grinning with pleasure,
and he showed her two nice brown
flounders in the pail.
“Oh, they are flat!” cried Peggy.
She dived her hands into the pail, and attempted to catch them—
quite in vain. Then James slowly poured away all the water on to the
ground, and there the flounders lay, flopping about at the bottom of
the pail. Peggy was almost afraid to touch them, but James said they
would do her no harm; so she caught hold of one of the slippery,
wriggling little fish, and flung it into the tub, and it darted off and hid
itself under the seaweed. Then she put in the other flounder, and it
also hid under the seaweed, where it couldn’t be seen.
“I think they must be sleepy, and be going to bed,” Peggy said.
And then, quite tired out with her exertions, she rubbed her eyes and
yawned, till Janet told her it was time for her to go to bed like the
flounders; and Peggy agreed that it was.
CHAPTER XI.
THE LAST DAY AT SEAFIELD.
N
ow, if Peggy had taken time to think about it, she was only
going to make herself unhappy by collecting all these
delightful creatures in the tub; for her visit to Seafield was to
come to an end on Wednesday, and this was Monday
evening. The whole of Tuesday morning Peggy thought of nothing
but her dear sea beasts. She stood beside the tub and watched
them; she crumbled a bit of bread very fine, and flung it into the
water, and actually saw one of the flounders eat a crumb; she
chased the hermit crab into its shell a dozen times, and watched the
whelks move slowly along the side of the tub. It was the nicest
amusement she had ever had. But in the afternoon Aunt Euphemia
said that they were going to drive to the station.
“Your father is coming for you, Peggy, you know; he is going to
take you home to-morrow.”
Peggy was very fond of her father—so fond that she had cried
when she said good-bye to him last week. It surprised Aunt
Euphemia extremely that, instead of being glad to hear of his
coming, Peggy seemed sorry, for she burst into tears.
“Why, Peggy, are you not glad to see your father?” said Aunt
Euphemia.
“I don’t want to go home!” Peggy sobbed.
Aunt Euphemia was rather pleased. “Do you want to stay with me
then, dear?” she asked.
“No; it’s my sea beasts. Oh, oh, oh!” sobbed Peggy. “Do you think
father will take the tub of sea beasts back in the train with us?”
No wonder Aunt Euphemia was hurt. It was nasty of Peggy to say
that she only wanted to stay because of the sea beasts.
“Of course, he will do nothing of the kind,” said Aunt Euphemia.
“All the beasts must be put back into the sea to-night.”
She walked away and left Peggy to cry alone. But after she had
cried for some time, Peggy remembered that father was different
from Aunt Euphemia, and perhaps would not distress her by making
her part from the dear sea beasts. So she dried her eyes, and
thought perhaps it was as well that he was coming.
The drive to the station was quite dull. Nothing happened, for
Peggy wasn’t allowed to sit on the box-seat with the driver as she
wanted to, but had to sit beside her aunt in the carriage. At the
station, too, there was very little to notice—only some sheep in a
truck, looking very unhappy. Peggy gathered some blades of grass,
and held them to the sheep, and they nibbled them up. Then the
train came puffing in, and the next minute she saw her father jump
out of a carriage, and come along the platform to where she was.
Peggy was so delighted to see him that she ran right at him, and
caught hold of his knees so that she nearly made him fall. Then she
took his hand, and began telling him everything at once, in such a
hurry that it was impossible for him to understand anything she said.
“Not so fast, Peggy. Wait till we are in the carriage,” he said,
laughing.
It seemed a very long time till they were all packed in, and then
Peggy had to climb on to her father’s knee and put her arm round his
neck. “Now may I begin?” she asked.
“Yes, sweetest; tell me all about everything now,” her father said.
And Peggy began her story, of course, at the wrong end.
“I’ve got a tub full of such dear sea beasts, father,” she said.
“There are two flounders, and a lot of whelks, and a hermit crab, and
two anemones fixed on a stone, and a big one stuck on to the foot of
the tub, and I watch them all day; and, please, how am I to take them
home?”
“Well, I must come and see them first,” her father said.
“And please, father, I got lost one day, and had my frock stolen—
the new one—and the bees stung me, and a crab nipped my finger,
and I was very naughty once—only once—and I went on to a green
ship, and—and—”
“Why, Peggy, you seem to have had a week of the most
extraordinary adventures; it will be quite dull to come home.”
Peggy wasn’t quite sure about this. She had so many things she
was fond of at home, that if only she might take her sea beasts back
with her, she thought she would be quite happy to return. She sat still
for a few minutes thinking about this, while Aunt Euphemia spoke to
her father. But the moment the carriage stopped at the door, she
seized her father’s hand, and begged him to come and see her tub
of sea beasts.
“Not till after tea, Peggy; I’ll come then,” he said.
Peggy would have liked him to come there and then, but she
knew she must wait.
Tea seemed longer than usual. Her father told her to be quiet, so
she ate away without uttering a word, and listened to all the dull
things Aunt Euphemia was saying. At last, when tea was over, she
came round to where her father sat, and took hold of his hand, and
gave it a little squeeze, which she knew he would understand.
“Yes, dearest!” he said,
but waited to hear the end of
what Aunt Euphemia was
saying. “Now, Peggy,” he
said at last, “come along;”
and together they went out
to the garden, and came to
the tub. Peggy looked in.
“Why, father,” she cried,
“my crab is floating on his
back! Isn’t it funny of him?”
Colonel Roberts examined the crab for a minute.
“I’m afraid he’s dead, Peggy,” he said. “They don’t turn up their
toes that way unless they’re dead.”