to seize hold of the lad who had so promptly gone to the rescue of
her pet.

At that Dick laughed aloud.

"I'm too much of a waterdog for that, Bessie. But while I'm in I might
as well do the whole thing. Now watch me go after that floating oar of
yours," and so saying he started to move down-stream again.

This time he drew the boat after him, and just opposite his fishing hole
he managed to overtake the runaway oar, now held against a jutting rock,
and speedily placed it in the possession of the girl.

"Won't you go home with me to get dried out, Dick?" asked Bessie,
looking at him in sincere admiration as he stood up in the water, and
pulled the boat toward the shore.

"What, me? Why, this is a picnic for a boy at this time of year. I'm
going to wring the worst of it out, and then row your boat back up the
river for you. Why, long before I go home my luxurious fishing suit will
be dried on me. Saves pressing, you know, Bessie. And by cutting a few
sticks like clothes-pins I can snap them on along the front and get a
beautiful crease!"

She laughed at his merry conceit, for Dick had always been a favorite of
hers among the school companions of other days.

He was as good as his word, and persisted in rowing the boat back to the
landing from which she had started out; while Bessie sat there fondling
her Angora kitten, and rubbing its bedraggled hairy form with her little
handkerchief.

Dick went back to his fishing, amused at his little adventure, and never
once suspecting what a tremendous influence such a small thing was
destined to have on his whole future.

To his delight he found another captive tugging furiously at the line on
which he had placed his minnow, and it proved to be by far the largest
prize of the day, very little short of two pounds.

"To-morrow I will try and get a lot of live bait. I believe they fancy
them at this season of the year. What, that last one hardly sank down
before it was taken and this seems to be a jim-dandy of a boy too by the
way he pulls. I hope I don't lose him now," and he began to play the
captive as cautiously as his experience in landing tricky bass had
taught him how.

After successfully tiring the fish out he managed to get him on the
string with the others, but he had no more minnows, and as the
fastidious bass would not look at common earth worms after that Dick
was compelled to give up for the day, take his fair-sized string of fish
and poles, and start tru