own with the bait. Shawn had the jugs ready and
together they rowed to the head of the channel. Shawn placed the jugs in
the water, and they floated away in a line, ranging some four or five
feet apart, Burney and Shawn lingering behind with silent oars. Suddenly
a jug stood upon end.

"Down atter him, Shawn!"

Shawn skilfully sent the boat toward the bobbing jug.

"He's heading for shoal water!" yelled Burney, "Slack your right
oar--now come ahead--hold her--ease her up to him--look at that jug!"
The jug was racing for deep water again, and disappeared from the
surface for at least half a minute.

"He's a whopper, Shawn! Yonder he goes, thirty yards away! Give me the
oars and take the dip-net. Great Hirum, boy! yonder is another jug
that's hung!"

Burney sent the boat with a bound after the whirling jug. Shawn stood in
the bow of the boat with the dip-net ready to swing. They went to the
lower side of the jug, and just as Shawn reached out for the line,
Burney, unintentionally, brought the boat to a sudden stop, and Shawn,
losing his balance, went over board, dip-net and all. Burney sprang to
the stern of the boat, and as Shawn came up he held out an oar to him,
and Shawn grasped the side of the boat. Burney took the dip-net and
paddled the boat toward the jug, and catching the line, raised the fish
to the top of the water. Shawn swam around to the other side as Burney
raised the fish. "For land sake! Look at him, boy! He's the biggest one
I ever hooked--I can't get him in this boat--we'll have to tow him
ashore!"

They fastened a stout line through the gills of the big fish and towed
him to the shore and pulled him out on the beach--a blue channel-cat of
forty pounds. "Go and get some dry clothes, while I go after the jugs,"
said Burney. Shawn went down to the boat and rummaged around for a
change of clothes. He found a suit of Burney's heavy underclothing, and
rolling them up to suit his size, got into them; then came Burney's old
corduroy trousers, and Shawn buckled them up until they hung directly
under his armpits. Building a fire in the stove and hanging his wet
clothes before it, he left the boat and ran back to the spot where they
had left the big fish. Burney returned with the jugs and threw out
another smaller fish which he had taken off. "We'll eat this one, Shawn,
and sell the other one and divide the money," and as Shawn stood before
him in the loose-fitting clothes, old Burney laughed and said, "We