rasshoppers and worms enough for bait if you choose
to look for 'em. Go, and see what you can do."

A reminiscence of ancient times induced Bobby Frog to say "Walke-e-r!"
to himself, but he had too much wisdom to say it aloud. He did,
however, venture modestly to remark--

"I knows nothink about fishin', sir. Never cotched so much as a eel
in--"

"When I give you orders, _obey_ them!" interrupted the farmer, in a tone
and with a look that sent Bobby and Tim to the right-about double-quick.
They did not even venture to look back until they reached the pool
pointed out, and when they did look back Mr Merryboy had disappeared.

"Vell, I say," began Bobby, but Tim interrupted him with, "Now, Bob, you
_must_ git off that 'abit you've got o' puttin' v's for double-u's.
Wasn't we told by the genl'm'n that gave us a partin' had-dress that
we'd never git on in the noo world if we didn't mind our p's and q's?
An' here you are as regardless of your v's as if they'd no connection
wi' the alphabet."

"Pretty cove _you_ are, to find fault wi' _me_," retorted Bob, "w'en
you're far wuss wi' your haitches--a-droppin' of 'em w'en you shouldn't
ought to, an' stickin' of 'em in where you oughtn't should to. Go along
an' cut your stick, as master told you."

The sticks were cut, pieces of string were measured off, and hooks
attached thereto. Then grasshoppers were caught, impaled, and dropped
into a pool. The immediate result was almost electrifying to lads who
had never caught even a minnow before. Bobby's hook had barely sunk
when it was seized and run away with so forcibly as to draw a tremendous
"Hi! hallo!! ho!!! I've got 'im!!!" from the fisher.

"Hoy! hurroo!!" responded Tim, "so've I!!!"

Both boys, blazing with excitement, held on.

The fish, bursting, apparently, with even greater excitement, rushed
off.

"He'll smash my stick!" cried Bob.

"The twine's sure to go!" cried Tim. "Hold o-o-on!"

This command was addressed to his fish, which leaped high out of the
pool and went wriggling back with a heavy splash. It did not obey the
order, but the hook did, which came to the same thing.

"A ten-pounder if he's a' ounce," said Tim.

"You tell that to the horse--hi ho! stop that, will you?"

But Bobby's fish was what himself used to be--troublesome to deal with.
It would not "stop that."

It kept darting from side to side and leaping out of the water until, in
one of its bursts, it got entangled with Tim's