This brought the boat nearly to a standstill, and consequently down went the lead to the bottom; but only to be dragged up again, Dick hauling away excitedly as he felt a good tug, tug at his bait.
“I’ve got him again!” he cried.
“Then you can catch fish with such tackle as ours!” said Will, who looked on highly amused at his friend’s excitement.
“Oh, yes!” said Dick. “You see I didn’t know. Why, what’s this? Look at him how he’s going. Here, I’ve seen these chaps in the fishmongers’ in London too. I know: it’s a gurnard.”
“Gunnet,” said Josh correctively.
“Why, you might catch these with a great meat hook,” cried Dick. “Oho! what a mouth!”
“Look sharp and put in again, and you may get a red one: this is a grey,” said Will. “Some of the red ones are beauties, and you’ll hear them grunt when you take them out of the water.”
“Go along,” cried Dick laughing. “None of your nonsense!”
“A mussy me!” muttered Josh to himself as he knocked in a fresh thole-pin; “what a gashly little these Londoners do know!”
“They do make a grunting noise really,” said Will; “just when you pull them out of the water. You’ll see.”