108 FISHING WITH THE FLY. 



boys?" I shouted. "Squills" awoke and replied, 

 " What luck yourself, Governor ? Not one blessed fish 

 in this region." I settled on my sculls, ready for a 

 quick start, and said, "Why, Squills, you don't know 

 how to fish. Just compound a few of your best pre- 

 scriptions and throw them overboard. They have gen- 

 erally proved fatal to your patients, and will murder 

 the fish sure." "Squills" made a wicked dab at my 

 head with his long-handled net, but a stroke put me in 

 safety, and I added, " And you, friend ' Bluffy,' just 

 rehash that famous trespass-case speech of yours, which 

 gave the judge fits and nearly killed the jury, and if 

 you don't have lots of dead fish, I'm a Dutchman." 

 The poor boys, however, were past joking ; and I rowed 

 back and examined their ground. They had actually 

 been fishing all the morning in water nine feet deep ; 

 over a bottom smooth as a billiard table, without a 

 weed, rock or stone to hide them from the fish ; all 

 of which, within a hundred yards, could plainly see 

 them and their boat. So I said, " Come boys, we'll go 

 to camp and have an early trout dinner, and in the 

 evening you shall catch fish to your heart's content." 

 Then up, after this manner, spoke the dolorous 

 "Squills," " That is all right, Governor, but it strikes 

 me that in order fully to enjoy a trout-dinner, it is, 

 above all things, necessary first to have the trout." 

 " True, most sapient medicus, and here they are," I 

 rejoined, at the same time lifting the lid of my creel. 

 " Glory to Galen ! " " Thunder and turf ! " " Ghost of 



