When the gatekeeper returns and asks Kino and his wife if they have anything to offer in return, he reveals eight tiny and misshapen seed pearls of an unappealing color. The servant took the pearls toshow the physician and returned almost immediately informing the family of theailing child that the doctor had been called away.
Rejected by the doctor, the couple makes their way to the shore with their ailing child in hopes that they might find a pearl impressive enough that the doctor will accept it as payment for his services.
Kino must carefully dig through mounds of wasteland broken oysters before he finds several that are intact. As Kino worked, he suddenly spotted an extremely large oyster lying, unlike the others, by itself as if placed there by magic. Excited, Kino immediately surfaces with his discovery.
Kino decides that it is more auspicious to open the large oyster last, so he opens a small one first. However, his curiosity gets the better of him, and he picks up the large oyster and inspects it, Juana encourages him to open it.
When he opens the shell and digs through the muscle, he discovers a perfectly shaped and colored pearl that is the size of a seagull's egg.