But the words were hardly uttered before young Joe gave a whoop, and began hauling in vigorously.
“I’ve won!” he shouted.
“No, you haven’t,” cried Tom, pulling in rapidly, hand over hand.
“You’re just within the time-limit,” said Harvey, as Tom’s fish came in over the gunwale. “It’s another tie; you’ll have to try it over again.”
“All right,” said young Joe. “I got mine first, though—No, hold on here. Hooray! I’ve won, after all.”
Young Joe, who had been in the act of disengaging his bait from the mouth of a sculpin, stopped suddenly, and made a grimace of delight.
“Pull up the anchor, George,” he said to his eldest brother. “Let’s row alongside the other boat, and I’ll prove that I win.”
George Warren looked at Joe’s catch, and laughed.
“I guess you’re right,” he said.
They rowed up to the other boat.