The Fishing of the Free Folk 91 



resistance, then a shiny thing whizzes through the 

 sweet air and hits the bank with a sounding wallop. 

 I spring tiger-like upon the fish and jam a nervous 

 finger through its gills, for it is, indeed, a mighty 

 rock-bass, nearly a foot long, and as nearly a pound 

 in weight. You don't take more than one such 

 rock-bass in a week so, naturally, I am jubilant and 

 rather chesty as I string him and make him exceed- 

 ingly fast to a handy root. 



" That's the way to snake a big fish ! " I proudly 

 exclaim as I proceed to bait-up. " Hank Jones 

 'lowed he'd landed the boss rocky last week, but 

 his'n wa'n't a minny 'longside mine. Why, a girl 

 could catch a bigger fish than Hank's. Why, you 

 might do it some day, after you've learned the ABC 

 of it. You just watch me and " 



The sentence has never to my knowledge 

 been completed. All the girl said was, " Oh ! 

 ah ! ah ! " in queer little jerky gasps ; but she clung 

 to her carved pole and heaved like a navvy at a 

 tremendous something which lashed the water into 

 suds. I distinctly remember seeing her put her 

 small shoe into six inches of water and not notice it ; 

 also, that she gave a final strong heave and sat 

 backward upon the bank, and that an immense 

 bronzy shape followed straight into her lap. It 

 seems to me that she spread her knees very wide 

 under her skirt, then slapped them together and 

 folded her arms across, and bent over as though she 

 had a pain or something. Because the free folk 

 don't wear skirts, they never try to catch things in 

 their laps nor spread their knees. If they had to 

 make a try at it, they'd first get their knees together, 



