g you water?"

"No," I replied; "we don't want her coming down to the camp. She is to
attend to the house."

"Oh, very well," said John; "I will bring you water, morning and
night,--good, fresh water,--from my well, for,--well, for ten cents a
day."

"That will be nice," said Euphemia, "and cheap, too. And then it will be
well to have John come every day; he can carry our letters."

"I don't expect to write any letters."

"Neither do I," said Euphemia; "but it will be pleasant to have some
communication with the outer world."

So we engaged old John to bring us water twice a day. I was a little
disappointed at this, for I thought that camping on the edge of a stream
settled the matter of water. But we have many things to learn in this
world.

Early in the afternoon I went out to catch some fish for supper. We
agreed to dispense with dinner, and have breakfast, lunch, and a good
solid supper.

For some time I had poor luck. There were either very few fish in the
creek, or they were not hungry.

I had been fishing an hour or more when I saw Euphemia running toward
me.

"What's the matter?" said I.

"Oh! nothing. I've just come to see how you were getting along. Haven't
you been gone an awfully long time? And are those all the fish you've
caught? What little bits of things they are! I thought people who camped
out caught big fish and lots of them?"

"That depends a good deal upon where they go," said I.

"Yes, I suppose so," replied Euphemia; "but I should think a stream as
big as this would have plenty of fish in it. However, if you can't
catch any, you might go up to the road and watch for Mr. Mulligan. He
sometimes comes along on Mondays."

"I'm not going to the road to watch for any fish-man," I replied, a
little more testily than I should have spoken. "What sort of a camping
out would that be? But we must not be talking here or I shall never get
a bite. Those fish are a little soiled from jumping about in the dust.
You might wash them off at that shallow place, while I go a little
further on and try my luck."

I went a short distance up the creek, and threw my line into a dark,
shadowy pool, under some alders, where there certainly should be fish.
And, sure enough, in less than a minute I got a splendid bite,--not only
a bite, but a pull. I knew that I had certainly hooked a big fish! The
thing actually tugged at my line so that I was afraid the pole would
break. I did not fear for the line, for t