did you get it, Laddie?" asked Mother Bunker.

"Well, I was fishing, and I got a lot of nibbles but none of the fish
stayed on my hook. Then, all of a sudden, this one stayed on, and I
pulled him up, only it isn't a fish."

"I should say not!" exclaimed another voice, and they looked up to see
Uncle Fred standing near them. He had followed Daddy and Mother Bunker
to the place where the boys were fishing.

"What is it?" asked Russ.

"That's a snapping turtle--not a mud turtle," went on the ranchman.
"They're very hard biters, and if a big one gets hold of your finger or
toe he might bite it off, or at least hurt it very much. So keep away
from these fellows."

"I thought it didn't look like a mud turtle," said Russ.

"It is something like one, but different in shape," went on Uncle Fred.
"We'll just cut this one off your line, Laddie."

The line was cut, and the turtle, that had the hook in its mouth,
crawled down toward the creek. It had tried to crawl away before, but
could not because the fishing line held it.

"They get their mouth closed tight, and don't like to open their jaws,"
said Uncle Fred, as the turtle disappeared under the water with a
splash. "But I guess this one will open his mouth and let go the hook
when he gets off by himself. This is the largest snapper I've seen
around here. The Indians say they're good to eat, but I've never tried
it."

"Well, I did catch something like a riddle, didn't I?" asked Laddie.

"Yes. And Uncle Fred guessed the riddle," answered Russ. "Now we'll
fish some more."

"And I don't want to catch any more snappers," said Laddie, when Uncle
Fred had fastened a new hook on his line.

The grown folk went back to the ranch house, leaving the boys to fish,
and, somewhat to their own surprise, Laddie and Russ each caught two
good-sized fish.

With shouts of delight, about an hour after having captured the snapping
turtle, they ran to the house, holding up on strings the prizes they had
caught.

"We'll have 'em cooked!" cried Laddie. "They're good to eat! One of the
cowboys told us they were."

"Yes, those fish are good to eat," said Uncle Fred. "I'll have Bill
Johnson clean and cook them for you."

"This is better than riddles!" laughed Russ. "I'm going fishing every
day and catch fish."

"And I'm going, too," declared Violet.

"Good!" cried her father. "Then Uncle Fred won't have to buy so many
things at the store."

The fish were cooked, and very good they