Slow-Worm
Jimmy's arm and side were very much swollen and inflamed, and it was quite a week before he was free from pain. The doctor said that if the olive-oil had not been used he would have suffered very much more from the bite, and the consequences might have been serious, for Jimmy had not a strong constitution. He was very careful after that of putting his hand into a bird's nest without getting a look into it first.
CHAPTER XXI.
Fishing.—Jimmy's Dodge.—Bream-fishing.—Good Sport.—Fecundity of Fish.—Balance Float.—Fish-hatching.—Edith Rose.—A Night Sail.
It must not be supposed that the boys neglected that most fascinating of all sports, fishing. They fished in the broads and rivers whenever they had an opportunity. Pike, perch, bream, and eels—all were fish that came to their net; and now that birds' nesting was over they devoted some special days to the pursuit of the gentle art.
Some years ago, and at the time of my story, the broads were as full as they could be of coarse fish, especially pike; but by the indiscriminate use of the net and the destruction of spawning fish, the poachers have so thinned the water of pike and perch, that the proprietors are preserving them, and the public are agitating for a close time at certain seasons of the year, so as to protect the breeding fish. Even at the present time, however, the bream is so abundant as to afford plenty of sport to every fisher, however poor he may be. In shape this fish is something like a pair of bellows and it is commonly met with from one to five pounds in weight. It swarms in vast shoals and when it is in the mood for biting, you may catch as many as you like—and more sometimes, for the bream is not a nice fish to handle; it is covered with thick glutinous slime, which sticks to and dries on the hands and clothes. Bream-fishers provide themselves with a cloth, with which to handle the fish and wipe off the slime.
One morning Frank, while dressing at his open window, looked at the broad and was surprised to see it dotted with round, bright coloured objects.
"What can they be?" he said to himself in surprise. "They cannot be trimmers. They look like bladders, but who would paint bladders red, blue, green, and yellow? I am going to see."