ON SEA AND SHORE 83 



without getting a strike, and then all at once you 

 run into a school of them. When this happens 

 you have your work cut out for you. I remember 

 a day at Block Island when the Doctor and I had 

 sailed almost entirely around the island with our 

 lines trailing unmolested behind the boat. Just as 

 we were approaching the starting place the captain 

 said, " Look at the bluebills jumping, over towards 

 shore! " The bluebill is a small fish some four or 

 five inches long, and favourite food for the blue- 

 fish. We tacked and sailed across the school, back 

 and forth, again and again, and when the fray was 

 over we had sixty blue-fish lying in the bottom of 

 the boat that averaged over five pounds in weight. 

 There's the light-house; we'll soon be in. See 

 that hotel on the hill? I've just time to tell you 

 of something that happened there on a summer 



morning a few years ago. I met Dr. on 



the Providence boat and he asked where we were 

 stopping and if we had any fishing. When I told 

 him of the " Quickstep " and Captain Frank and 

 the mackerel, he said, " I'll be over Monday morn- 

 ing. I'm tired of Assemblies and Chautauquas and 

 hotel piazzas." Monday found him with us, and 

 arrangements were made to start at five o'clock 



Tuesday morning. The hour came, but Dr. 



did not. The captain worried about the tide and 

 the bar, and I volunteered to see what had become 

 of our tardy friend. Pounding on the hotel door 

 I finally managed to rout out the night watchman, 



