“Now then, John,” said Uncle Dick, as he swung off his saddle at the camping-place, “you hustle out your fishing-rod and go down there to the eddy and see if you can get us a trout for supper. The rest of us will take care of the camp.”
“Yes,” said Moise, “those bull-trout, she’ll got big in that eddy, him—sometimes we’ll caught him seven, height, eleven pound long.”
“Well, that’ll suit me,” said John, “I don’t care how big they come.” So saying, he picked up his rod from the saddle of his riding-pony and, feeling for the reel in his pocket, began to joint and string the rod as he passed down the bank.
The others had not been working very long at fixing the camp before they heard a shout from John, far below them. Uncle Dick chuckled. “Shouldn’t wonder if he’d got hold of one of them,” said he. “Better go and see, Rob—you and Jesse.” The other boys ran out of cover into an open place from which they could see John at the side of the deep eddy where he had begun fishing. Rob gave a big shout. “He’s got one, sure!” He could see John’s rod bending strongly, while John himself was walking up and down, making excited motions, looking back over his shoulder. The two ran down to him as fast as they could. “What’s the matter, John?” demanded Rob, laughing, as he saw his friend’s excited actions.
“Well, by Jiminy! I’ve got a whale, near’s I can make out,” answered John, excitedly. “I just threw in over in that slack water—baited with a piece of grouse, you know, not having anything else—and pretty soon he nailed it. I’ve been walking him around in there for quite a while, and can’t do anything with him. He seems as big as a salmon up in Alaska.”
“It’s partly the current makes him pull so hard,” said Rob. “Work him over here toward this bank in the quiet water, if you can.”
“He don’t cut up much,” said Jesse.
“No,” said John, “he just goes down and chugs with his head, like he wanted to break something. But I’ve got on a big hook, and we’ll pretty near get this fellow before we’re done. I wish I hadn’t forgot my landing-net. But I didn’t know there’d be any as big as this one.”
“Well, lead him in, John,” said Rob, bending down at the water’s edge and waiting for the fish to approach.