THE BOY AND THE BROOK 19 



.worm is looped upon the hook and the wriggling 

 mass is cautiously dropped into the middle of the 

 scum. It has no sooner touched the water than 

 there is a sharp tug and a mighty swirl, but only 

 the hook and the remainders of the worm come 

 back in answer to his pull. Another bait, and 

 again the hook is lowered into the pool. No, the 

 old fellow was not pricked the first time, for here 

 he is again and this time firmly hooked. To bal- 

 ance the body on the limb when both hands are 

 employed in tugging on the line, is no easy task, but 

 at last the trout is in his hands and hugged to his 

 breast. With the fingers of one hand through his 

 gills and the thumb among the sharp teeth of the 

 fish's mouth, the slow journey is made back to the 

 shore. Glory enough for one day! The prize 

 measures about twelve inches and is thick through. 

 Edwin Crumb's trout is beaten with room to spare. 

 But now it dawns upon the boy that he has been 

 gone a long time, and if he hopes to be permitted to 

 repeat this trip he must hurry home. He also be- 

 comes acutely conscious of an awful vacuum in the 

 region of his stomach which even crinkle-root and 

 ground-nuts will not fill. He reasons with himself 

 that he can reach home more quickly by striking 

 through the woods to the road than by retracing 

 his way along the brook. He is very sure that he 

 knows the way, but his certitude evaporates 

 steadily as he plunges his way through the woods. 

 Just when he admits to himself that he has no 



