st beef, biscuits, and apple pie.
Being a provident youth, he transferred a considerable quantity of these
eatables to the large basket in which he had brought home his fish the
day before, so that he could "have a bite" himself, even if the
mackerel failed to favor him in this direction.

Though he stopped to fill himself with cold roast beef, biscuit, and
apple pie, and even to fill his basket after he had filled himself,
Leopold was very much excited in regard to the mackerel catch of that
day. He hoped to find the number ones where he had fallen in with them
the day before; and he could hardly expect to catch more than one more
fare before the fact that the mackerel were in the bay became generally
known. The mackerel fleet itself, consisting of between two and three
hundred sail, might be in the vicinity before the sun set again. He
realized the necessity of making hay while the sun shines. But mackerel
are very uncertain, so far as their location and inclination to bite are
concerned; so that there was not more than an even chance for him to
catch a single fish. The result was doubtful enough to make the game
exciting; and Leopold felt very much as an unprofessional gambler does
when he goes to the table to risk his money. It seemed to be altogether
a question of luck.

But Leopold was hopeful, and felt that the chances were rather in his
favor. He had been saving all the money he could earn for months for a
particular purpose; and he was not excited by the simple prospect of
obtaining the lucre for the purpose of hoarding it, so that he could
feel that he possessed a certain sum. He had been a little afraid that,
when his gains amounted to so large a sum as thirty-two dollars and
forty cents, his father would take possession of his receipts; but the
landlord of the Cliff House adhered to his policy of allowing his son to
retain the proceeds of his own labor. With a pea-jacket on his arm and
the basket in his hand, he left the hotel while the stars were still
shining in the few patches of blue sky that were not hidden by the
clouds. But he did not proceed immediately to the boat. He crossed the
street, and, concealing his basket in the bushes by the side of the path
which led down to the river, he hastened up the next street beyond the
hotel till he came to a small cottage, at the gate of which he halted,
and gave three prolonged whistles.

"Hallo, Le!" shouted a voice from the open window in the gable end of
t