"Lazy scamps!" he said.
"Now, Jonas," remonstrated Joe, as soon as he could recover himself and sober his face enough to speak, "we are not laughing at you; we are laughing at ourselves. Don't get mad. We met with a big misfortune. We got fish enough to stock a market--beauties too; and while we went over to see Mr. Kramer the tide came up and swept them all out, and worse still, carried off our fishing-tackle."
"That's so, Jonas."
"Humph! great thing to laugh about!" grumbled Jonas, somewhat mollified.
"You ought to pity rather than scold us," cried Joe, pretending to feel hurt. "We lost most of our lunch, too. You'll do as well as you can for us with supper, won't you?--'cause this has been an awful hard day on us."
"Oh--oh, hear!" cried the crowd, writhing again in convulsions of laughter.
Jonas shrewdly suspected that they had not told all their bad luck; but he had heard enough, and summoning Friday to get a fishing-rod and hurry along, he went down where it seemed most probable to him that the fish would be plenty.
When the boys went back to camp they fully intended to keep the rest of the story to themselves; but at the supper-table, when Mr. Bernard asked for an account of their day's adventures, each looked at his neighbour to see who would be spokesman, and in looking they fell to laughing, and there was no one sober enough to answer.
"You evidently had a very jolly day, boys," said Mr. Bernard, with a twinkle in his gray eyes.
"Not very, sir," said Joe, feeling that it was impolite to leave the remark unanswered. The boys all laughed again, and Joe said, "The tide carried off our lunch, and our fish, and ever so many of the best rods."