A Bit of Sea Fishing 157 



ing air which well might have come straight down 

 from the blue purity above, I could not help con- 

 trasting it with the smoke-laden stuff we might 

 have been inhaling had we played poker. 



" Bad for health to play cards," I drowsily mut- 

 tered, for the air was doing its work. At that 

 moment a footfall sounded in the hall, and soon 

 a fist smote my door with no uncertain touch. I 

 knew it was Harry still trying to get up a game, so 

 I yelled at him " Get away out of that ye evil 

 ' gam ' I won't play ! " 



" Yez wun't what ? " asked a strange voice. " Git 

 yez up, sorr, un yez'll not fish nayther. The hull av 

 thim's up ! " 



" Why ! What time is it ? " I asked in amazement. 



" Faith, an' it's just wint foor ! Lord love yez, d'ye 

 tink I'm foolin' wid yez? Shure Mr. Hill towld me 

 to haul yez out uv dat ! " 



I realized the situation and bestirred myself. 



It truly was a marvellous morning. Not a breath 

 of air was stirring as we went down the long wharf 

 with its double row of club-houses. The whole 

 world of waters was sleeping like a healthy child, 

 and in the solemn dome of blue which roofed our 

 field of action was not one vestige of cloud. The 

 tide was busy, but even the great pulse of Atlantic 

 seemed to beat weakly. The whole scene was 

 drowsy. 



It was beautiful, too. Across the channel spread 

 broad marshes, swart from sun-baking, wholesome 

 with salt. Above them hung a few bannerets of 

 pearly mist casting peculiar, sharply defined shadows. 

 Upon one side the barnacled, weed-tufted piles rose 



