ery quietly till he thought Ready was asleep as well
as the others, and then went out with the lines, and went down to the
beach, where he picked up three or four shells, and, breaking them
between two pieces of rock, took out the fish and baited his hooks. He
then walked to the point. It was a beautiful night; the water was very
smooth, and the moonbeams pierced deep below the surface. William threw
in his line, and as soon as the lead touched the bottom he pulled it up
about a foot, as Ready had instructed him; and he had not held his line
more than half a minute, when it was jerked so forcibly, that not
expecting it he was nearly hauled into the water; as it was, the fish
was so strong that the line slipped through his hand and scored his
fingers; but after a time he was able to pull it in, and he landed on
the beach a large silver-scaled fish, weighing nine or ten pounds. As
soon as he had dragged it so far away from the edge of the rocks as to
prevent its flapping into the water again, William took out the hook and
determined to try for another. His line was down as short a time as
before, when it was again jerked with violence; but William was this
time prepared, and he let out the line and played the fish till it was
tired, and then pulled it up, and found that the second fish was even
larger than the first. Satisfied with his success, he wound up his
lines, and, running a piece of string through the gills of the fish,
dragged them back to the tents, and hanged them to the pole, for fear of
the dogs eating them; he then went in, and was soon fast asleep. The
next morning William was the first up, and showed his prizes with much
glee; but Ready was very much displeased with him.

"You did very wrong, William, to run the risk which you did. If you
were resolved to catch fish, why did you not tell me, and I would have
gone with you? You say, yourself, that the fish nearly hauled you into
the water; suppose it had done so, or suppose a small shark instead of
one of these gropers (as we call them) had taken the bait, you must have
been jerked in; and the rocks are so steep there, that you would not
have been able to get out again before a shark had hold of you. Think a
moment what would have been the distress of your father and the agony
and despair of your poor mother, when this news should have arrived."

"I was very wrong, Ready," replied William, "now that I think of it; but
I wanted to surprise and plea