nd jump out anywhere,
For it's my delight of a likely[29] night
In the season of the year."

The chorus was taken up by the other boys with shouts of laughter, and
the keeper turned away with a grunt, but evidently bent on mischief.
The boys thought no more of the matter.

[28] #Beggars#: here, wonderful chaps.

[29] #Likely#: suitable; convenient.

But now came on the May-fly season; the soft, hazy summer weather lay
sleepily along the rich meadows by Avon side, and the green and gray
flies flickered with their graceful lazy up-and-down flight over the
reeds and the water and the meadows, in myriads upon myriads. The
May-flies must surely be the lotus-eaters[30] of the ephemerae;[31] the
happiest, laziest, carelessest fly that dances and dreams out his few
hours of sunshiny life by English rivers.

[30] #Lotus-eaters#: the lotus was a plant fabled by the
ancients to make strangers who ate of it forget their native
land and lead a dreamy, happy, careless life. See Homer's
Odyssey, IX., and Tennyson's poem, "The Lotus-eaters."

[31] #Ephemerae#: Insects which live a very short time;
literally, but a day.

Every little pitiful coarse fish in the Avon was on the alert for the
flies, and gorging his wretched carcass with hundreds daily, the
gluttonous rogues! and every lover of the gentle craft was out to
avenge the poor May-flies.

THE RETURN MATCH WITH VELVETEENS.

So one fine Thursday afternoon, Tom having borrowed East's new rod,
started by himself to the river. He fished for some time with small
success: not a fish would rise at him; but as he prowled along the
bank, he was presently aware of mighty ones feeding in a pool on the
opposite side, under the shade of a huge willow tree. The stream was
deep here, but some fifty yards below was a shallow, for which he made
off hot-foot:[32] and forgetting landlords, keepers, solemn
prohibitions of the Doctor, and everything else, pulled up his
trousers, plunged across, and in three minutes was creeping along on
all-fours toward the clump of willows.

[32] #Hot-foot#: with all haste.

It isn't often that great chub, or any other coarse fish, are in
earnest about anything, but just then they were thoroughly bent on
feeding, and in half an hour Master Tom had deposited three thumping
fellows at the foot of the giant willow. As he was baiting for a
fourth pounder, and just going to throw in again, he became aware of a
ma