e, which
now lay between Harry and Philip, who at last grew so warm on the
subject, that one had hold of the head and the other the tail, the
latter place of vantage being occupied by Harry, and a matter of French
and English tugging was about to commence when Mr Inglis interposed,
and settled the matter by arranging that Philip should carry the trophy
half-way, and Harry the remainder: which decision had hardly been
arrived at, when Master Harry must try whether the pike would bite;
which he did by holding the gasping mouth to the tail of Dusty Bob's
coat.

Whether sensible that it was biting or no, the fish's mouth closed upon
the floury cloth, and held there with such tenacity that the piece had
to be cut out--so firmly were the jagged and hooked teeth inserted in
the woolly fabric.

This, of course, produced a scolding for Master Harry for his
mischievous trick, and a piece of coin for Bob to get the hole repaired;
and then the party returned in triumph to tea--the boys as proud of
their acquisition as any Roman conqueror who led his treasure-burdened
slave through the streets of the city of Romulus.

CHAPTER TEN.

A SAD AFFAIR.

"Oh do come in, Fred!" said Harry, blowing and splashing about in the
water like a small whale, on the day following the fishing excursion.
The lads were down by the side of the river, in a spot called Withy
Nook--a green snug place entirely sheltered from all observation--a spot
with the emerald grass sloping down to where the river ran by, sparkling
and dancing in the golden sunlight, flashing back the bright rays from
the tiny wavelets, and making the golden waterlilies rise and fall as
they rode upon the bright surface. The water was so limpid that the
sand and clean washed pebbles could be easily seen at the bottom, except
when the water was put in a state of turmoil by the antics of the two
boys who were bathing.

"Oh do come in, Fred!" echoed Philip; "it isn't a bit cold, and not
deep; and you ought to learn to float and swim."

"Oh come on," said Harry again.

Fred felt that he would like to go in and have a dip, for the water
looked so cool and bright and clear; but there was a certain amount of
timidity to be got over; he had never been in anything but a bath in his
life, and plunging at once into a river was a novel feat that he could
hardly summon courage to attempt. But at last the persuasions of his
cousins had the desired effect, and Fred quickly undressed, a