CHAPTER XI
A RESCUE IN THE RAPIDS
The same thought seemed to awaken every one the next morning. All were out early but they found Jack making the fire. He stated that they were going to have some very fine biscuits that morning and so he was up early. No one thought of him in connection with the extra dish of prunes. The boys were soon on the water though they did not expect to get the first salmon.
"Ye Heavens!" said Pud. "If one of those big salmon got on my line, I wouldn't know what to do with it anyway. But all the same, I'm going to have a try."
"Same here," said Bob. "I really would like to hook one because my father has told me so much about salmon fishing that I'm anxious to see if I can play one as he told me how to do it. He has caught salmon not one hundred miles from here, you know."
"Yes, it's all very well for them to tell us how to do it," said Bill. "I'll bet, though, that we make a botch of it when we get one."
They were soon separated by varying distances. Bob got three trout but no salmon rose to his fly. Pud was down the stream and as Bob floated by, he said,
"I don't believe there are any salmon here anyway. I've got four trout but nary a salmon."
As if to rebuke his disbelief in the presence of salmon in that river, a big fish leaped clear of the water and tore away with Pud's line. In a moment, Pud was busy. He got so excited when he saw the wonderful fish make another flying leap that he forgot that he was on a frail canoe and over he went. Bob hurried to his rescue and Pud was soon in his boat again. Pud had held on to the rod and when he got in the boat, he started to reel in but he was due for a rude awakening, as he was nearly yanked out of the canoe by a terrific rush from the fish.