The catfish was too unwieldy to be put in the soap-box seat (which they had upturned on bottom for a temporary hold-all), and stowing him under the decking of the bows, out of the sun, they investigated the remaining hooks upon the line. A large majority were stripped and empty, but two channel-cat and one blue-cat were taken. None of these weighed over six pounds; still, they were not seven-ninths head! No more turtles or gars were encountered.
The upper line yielded five catfish; another soft-shell turtle, caught, as had been his partner in distress, by the flapper; and a dogfish. The turtle released himself, much to the boys’ pleasure; but the dogfish did not. He had swallowed the hook, so that the cord passed through his cruel jaws, armed with their wicked teeth, into his stomach.
Unwilling to lose another hook, Ned solved the difficulty by quickly dispatching Mr. Dogfish by a smart blow over the spinal cord at the juncture of head and body, and made use of the otherwise worthless fellow by baiting hooks with his flesh.
Running the two lines had occupied at least two hours. As they turned campward Hal and Ned were conscious that nature’s dinner bell was sounding in their interiors.
Bob saw them coming. At first he was undecided whether to regard them as friends, or enemies. When Ned shouted to him, however, his canine sense told him that this was indeed the scull-boat, bearing his master; and breaking from his puzzled stare into a volley of whines and barks, he shortened the distance by venturing up to his back out into the water.
Then, when the boys sprang to land, he spattered them well for not having invited him. But who cared? They were about as wet and dirty as they could be, anyway!
As they disembarked, Sam and Joe pulled out, below, with their short, choppy fisherman strokes, bound for their own lines, which were not set in the bayou, but in the deep water, toward the main channel.
The boys waved at the pair, and Joe languidly waved back.
Now it remained to place in the fish-box the haul from the trot-lines, and to get supper. Hal volunteered to cook a fish if Ned would clean one, but Ned decided that this would make a painful delay.