“That’s what we do, too,” said Bob. “When we catch ’em, we catch ’em.”
“Ye never caught that ere fish,” retorted Hank, disdainfully.
“We didn’t! How did he get here, then?” demanded Jock, quickly.
“Oh, fish is cheap over in Cornwall,” replied Hank, with a peculiar smile. “When I see ye headed that way, I knew ye weren’t goin’ for nothin’.”
“Do you mean to say we bought that fish?” demanded Jock, aghast.
“I’m not makin’ no insinuations,” said Hank. “But I knows what I know.”
The boatman’s suggestion seemed to afford intense delight to Ben and Bert, and though they joined at once in the banter, it was evident they did not share in the suspicions of Hank McBride.
“Did you ever catch a bigger one?”
“Did you ever hear about the fox who wouldn’t be hired to eat the sour grapes?” said George, turning to the boys, and striving to ignore the presence of his rival.