“Ha! My fish! Good boy!” cried Professor Snodgrass. “Hold on to it, and you shall be rewarded.”
“All—right!” gurgled Andy, for just then some water splashed in his mouth.
The swimming lad held up one hand, to show, tightly clasped in the fingers, the fish. Then, with the other hand, or “paw,” as Jerry had called it, Andy grasped the pole of the net. He was pulled up far enough so that he could hand the fish to the scientist.
“That’s the boy!” cried the professor, as he opened a box, into which Andy dropped the wiggling creature. Then the lid was slammed down.
“Now I have you, my little beauty!” the professor exclaimed, dancing about in boyish delight.
Andy, with both hands free, now secured a good grip on the pole, and Jerry soon hauled him, dripping wet, to the dock. The excitement calmed down, and, for the first time, Professor Snodgrass seemed to note the presence of our three friends.
A word at this moment about the professor. Readers of the previous books of this series know him well. Dr. Snodgrass was a learned scientist, belonging to several prominent societies. His chief business in life was the collecting of rare specimens of animal life, from snakes to snails and from monkeys to lizards. He was connected with a large Boston museum, and his activities were directed to securing specimens for it. He traveled all over, going here, there, everywhere in search of queer specimens, of which he either heard, or which his studies convinced him lived in certain localities.
Professor Snodgrass had made the acquaintance of the boys some years before, and had gone with them on many of their expeditions, to collect rare bugs or animals. That was all he did. He took little or no interest in the object of the expedition, as far as the boys were concerned. All he cared about was his specimens. It might be a blue-nosed monkey, a triple-toed frog or some such queer thing that he sought, but, whatever it was, the professor usually got it, sometimes most unexpectedly.
“Well, is it all over?” asked Ned, as he watched Andy take off his coat, and wring some of the water out of it. “Have you got your specimen safe, Professor?”
“Yes, indeed, thanks to this brave young man. I must reward him, as I promised.”