FISHING 



in such a superior way that something would hap- 

 pen, but the truth must be told even though wisdom 

 be confounded. A few minutes ago a boy bulged 

 through the kitchen door waving a string of fish 

 and registering triumph. He found the right fishing- 

 hole at last and caught eight, and one big one — Oh, 

 a beauty — got away. I hadn't a word to say. I 

 examined them and was forced to admit that he had 

 eight as fine chub as I had ever seen taken in this 

 district. The longest measured seven and a half 

 inches and the shortest six inches. Fishing is now 

 on a firm basis and the food outlook has greatly 

 improved. There is a fish banquet being arranged, 

 and the titled cat was so excited at the prospect of 

 getting eight heads to chew at that he had to be 

 put out. But though my predictions have all gone 

 wrong and the faith of the boys has been justified, I 

 am not without compensations. The chores will 

 now be done with more steam than ever and the 

 fishing season may last all summer. If they can 

 only catch a few now and then to keep up their 

 interest, they will not need to be driven to any kind 

 of work. The promise of permission to go fishing 

 as soon as a job is done will be enough to get them 

 to do their best. I hate driving them and it will be 



253 



