THE BASSES: FRES H-W ATER AND MARINE 



" How and where was that? " cried Gills, the 

 youngest of the trio, who was always ready to 

 dive into anything that savored of paradox or 

 disputation. 



At that moment their man hailed them to supper, 

 and they passed into the rough but cozy dining- 

 room and did ample justice to a plain but appe- 

 tizing camp meal. 



"Now, Mendy," said Gills between mouthfuls; 

 " tell us about that mixed experience of yours, 

 when, if I, understood you correctly, the conditions 

 of the wind, the water, and the weather were all 

 first class, but you did n't do much with the bass. 

 To be sure, it 's rather unusual with you to fail in 

 making big catches, so I 'm more anxious to hear 

 about this little one." 



" Give it to us, Mendy," chimed in the Doctor. 



"Well, it's a pretty tough yarn, and I don't 

 think, boys, you '11 believe me; but it 's true, every 

 word of it. 



" It was about this time last summer, and I was 

 stopping over for a few days with Jim Bean, who 

 keeps the Pauling House at Perkiomen on the 

 Schuylkill, and I had a rattling good time with the 

 bass, catching about twenty-six every day, and not 

 one of them weighed less than two pounds. 



" After fishing one morning with my usual suc- 

 cess, I laid off for the day, on the principle that 

 * enough is as good as a feast,' when, late in the 



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