THE CATFISH
"If Sneezer was here," said Frane, Junior, "he'd show you more fish than I can. Sneezer used to just smell 'em out. But come on. I know where some of the big ones stay."
"I don't want to dive in after them," declared Russ Bunker, laughing. "The way you promised Laddie. And I haven't any hook and line at all."
"We won't go fishing. Not really. Mostly the darkies fish. We don't bother to. They bring us plenty to eat when we want them at the house."
"You—you don't do much of anything, do you?" asked Russ doubtfully. "Not for yourselves, I mean."
"Don't have to," returned Frane, Junior. "The darkies do it all for us. But Phil and Alice and I have to do our own studying."
Russ saw that he was in fun, but he was curious enough to ask the smaller boy:
"Do you and the girls go to school?"
"School comes to us. There is a teacher comes here. Lives at the house. But it's vacation time now till after New Year's. I hope she never comes back!"
"Oh, is she mean to you?"