The boys stayed at Rock Creek ten days. At last they were completely out of bait; the little marsh had been scoured clean of frogs, and even the snakes had deserted it; every stone and log had been overturned, for crawfish; they had been driven to bacon-rind, which was too hard, and to dogfish flesh, pressed beef, and bits of bread tied in mosquito netting, all of which were too soft. Their provisions were reduced to a few beans and a can of peaches, and the fish in the fish-box. Their clothing was much the worse for hard service; so were their faces and hands.
They decided, suddenly, to go home.
Thereupon, one morning they ran their faithful trot-lines for the last time; took them up, not without regrets; ate an early dinner, principally of beans and canned peaches; and by noon had their camp broken, which was an easy matter, considering that their blankets and their cooking utensils were about all the outfit that had survived. They cleaned for market the forty fish, mostly cats, imprisoned in their fish-box, and packed them in an old cask, with a chunk of ice, donated by Sam and Joe, on the top under a piece of canvas. At half-past six they were sculling to the government light on the peninsula, with Sam and Joe waving farewell from in front of the shanty, and with Bob, in the stern of the boat, defiantly barking back across the water at the brindled dog, and telling him what he (Bob) would have done had he (Bob) remained only a day longer.
Soon the Harriett hove in sight around the bend below, and swinging in at their bandanna handkerchief signal, stopped for them to hustle aboard.
By eight o’clock they were at Beaufort, and had astonished Commodore Jones by lugging their cask of fish upon his quarter-deck—that is, his fish-market platform—and demanding payment.
As a result of the bargain, they came out gainers fifty cents each, over and above their passage money both ways on the Harriett!
The first half of the long vacation was now gone, and what with swimming and baseball and short jaunts after sunfish and croppies, and other amusements furnished by field and river, the last half also quickly passed.
As a glorious wind-up to the Beaufort youths’ summer of fun, with the closing week of vacation came the county fair. This was an annual event, and was held on grounds maintained for the purpose upon the outskirts of the town; and year to year Beaufort people, old as well as young, looked forward to it with much interest.
Ned went, of course. And this year Bob went, too. It was his burning ambition to go everywhere that Ned did; and in the case of school and church, this created some embarrassment.