"Catch somep'n, teach'?" a voice asked.
"Yes, I caught something." He got his tobacco pouch from his pocket and filled his pipe, trying to keep his hands from trembling.
"Gee, he's a big one, teach'," the voice said.
Ward stood up. The boy, Jacky Hodge, leaning over the bank looking down at the fish. Behind him, Ward saw Bobby, Alec Cress, Danny and several others. Now which of you is laughing? he wondered. But there was no way to tell. Jacky, a boy of twelve or thirteen, had his usual look of stupid good nature. Bobby, under the flambeau of red hair, dreamed at the fish. The others wore the open poker faces of children.
"That's a funny fish," one of them said and then they were all laughing as they raced away.
With some difficulty, Ward got the fish out of the water and began to drag it up the hill toward his house.
"Outspace fish," Ward said as he dumped the thing on the work table where Ann had deposited the bag of groceries.
"Where did you get that?"
"I just caught it. Down in the stream."
"That? In our stream?"