Endurance Test; or, How Clear Grit Won the Day

by Captain Alan Douglas

"Bully for the farmer!" said Landy, or at least that was what the others took it for granted he meant, since his mouth was so full of flapjack that he could hardly do more than mutter.

After breakfast was over they started to carry out the various duties or pleasures which each fellow had in view. One wanted to take a few pictures, and, of course, this was Landy, though his mates solemnly warned him to be careful what vines he touched while in the woods. Another declared he felt like trying to tempt some of the finny denizens of the river from their beds on this bright morning. This was Adam, and he had brought along a lot of new tackle, as well as a fine jointed rod, to prove that he was as good a fisherman as he was a water dog.

Elmer chose to potter around the camp. There were always plenty of things that could be done to improve conditions and add to the general comfort of those who occupied the tent and cooked at the fireplace made of stones. And having the true sportsman spirit in his composition, he was never more happy than when arranging these many little details connected with the camp.

He improved the fireplace so that the coffee pot would not tilt and threaten to upset from the three metal crossbars that formed a gridiron; he dug the drain at the back of the tent a little deeper, so that in case of a sudden heavy downpour the surplus water would be carried off and not inundate the tent, and, finally, he finished the rude but effective table on which they could place their food at meal times, and even had a couple of short sections of log rolled up so as to take the place of seats when they dined.

Ty, after the breakfast things had been washed up and put away, wandered off somewhere. And Ted was supposed to be fishing farther down the stream, he, too, having expressed a wish for a real fish dinner that night, if so be the bass in the Sweetwater were in a "taking" humor.

Several times when Elmer stood up to rest the muscles of his back, and consider what he would do next, he happened to cast a curious look up to where Adam had taken his position on the bank of the river.

Apparently the fish did not respond to the urgent invitations of the German boy as well as he had expected, or else Adam's education with regard to the ways the American black bass has to be attracted to the bait had been neglected.

For some time he was industriously seen threshing the water as though issuing a call to all the fish in the river to come and have a bite with him. Of course that was just the opposite of what he should have done; for bass are shy and have to be tempted in quietness.

Elmer chuckled to himself when first he noticed what the new scout was doing.

"Looks like Adam is densely ignorant along our ways of fishing," he thought. "Wonder now what kind of fish he's ever caught that style on the other side of the ocean. Perhaps he never wet a line before in all his life. I noticed that he watched Ted closely, and imitated him exactly in setting up his line, even to the float Ted always persists in using."