Guerre a' Mort! 



gotten that one trivial little detail. But the darned 

 handle of the reel was going around so fast I couldn't 

 get hold of it. It managed to get hold of my thumb, 

 however. At last the reel handle paused for a mo- 

 ment, and in that moment I grabbed it and started to 

 reel in, with Ben giving directions. That bass didn't 

 want to come up to the boat a-tall, a-tall! Up and 

 out of the water he went again! I'd swear he bel- 

 lowed! I felt something give way somewhere in the 

 vicinity of my hands. The reel had come off ! In my 

 left hand was the rod; in my right, the reel. 



" Drop the pole and reel him hand-over-hand ! " 

 commanded Ben. 



I promptly dropped the pole, which as promptly 

 slid rout out into the water and gradually sank as slack 

 line was supplied it by my reeling-in process. For 

 some unknown reason I hung onto the reel. But the 

 old bronzeback was now making good headway toward 

 the boat. 



"Don't let him hit the side of the boat, Sherry, 

 or you'll lose him ! Lead him right up ; then with one 

 yank swing him on board." Ben should have been 

 a general in the late war. 



Up to the side of the boat came my victim, shaking 

 and gnashing his teeth. With one mighty yank I 

 lifted him out and up into the boat, where he started 

 another smashing program. I threw down the reel 

 and leaped for my prey! The reel hit the gunwales 



194 



