to the water for months and months!

"Going fishing, Curly?" she said wistfully.

"Yep."

"Where are they biting now?"

"There's carp and bream under the old mill-dam up in Norman's Woods. I saw
'em jumping there to-day."

"Oh! when are you going?" gasped the girl, hungry for outdoor sport and
adventure.

"In the morning--before _you're_ up," said the boy, rather sullenly.

"I wager I'll be awake," said Ruth, sitting down beside him. "I wake
up--oh, just awfully early! and lie and think."

Curly looked at her. "That don't get you nothin'," he said.

"But I can't help it."

"Gran says you're overworked," Curly said. "Why don't you run away from
school if they make you work so hard? _I_ would. Our teacher's sick so
there isn't any session at the district school to-morrow."

"Oh, Curly! Play hooky?" gasped Ruth, clasping her hands.

"Yep. Only you girls haven't any pluck."

"If I played hooky would you let me go fishing with you to-morrow?" asked
Ruth, her eyes dancing.

"You haven't the sand," scoffed Curly.

"But can I go if I _dare_ run away?" urged Ruth.

"Yep," said the boy, but with rather a sour grin.

"What time are you going to start?"

"Four."

"If I'm not down in the kitchen by that time, throw some gravel up to the
window," commanded Ruth. "But don't break the window."

"Oh, shucks! you won't go when you see how dark and damp it is," declared
Curly.

When, just after four o'clock in the morning, Curly crept downstairs from
his shed chamber, knuckling his eyes to get the sleep out, there was a
light in the kitchen and Ruth was just pouring out two fragrant cups of
coffee which flanked a heaping plate of doughnuts.

"Old Scratch!" gasped Curly. "Gran will have our hides and hair! You're
not _going_, Ruth Fielding?"

"If you will let me," said Ruth, meekly.

"Well--if you want. But you'll get wet and dirty and mussy----"

Then he stopped. He saw that Ruth had on an old gymnasium suit, her rubber
boots lay on the chair, and a warm polo coat was at hand. She already wore
her tam-o-shanter.

"Huh! I see you're ready," Curly said. "You might as well go. But
remember, if you want to come home before afternoon, you'll have to find
your way back alone. I'm not going to be bothered by a girl's fantods."

"All right, Curly," said Ruth, cheerfully.

Curly put his face under the spigot, brushed his hair before the little
mirror in the corner, and was ready to sample Ruth's coffee.

"We w