nny; "but ye're
right there; I didn't catch a single fish, for the little gintlemen
wouldn't let me."

"Little gentlemen, Dinny?" said Mr Rogers eagerly. "Did you see any
natives?"

"An' is it natives ye'd call the dirthy undersized little craytures?"
cried Dinny indignantly. "Sure I'd take a couple of 'em up under my
arms and run away wid 'em."

"But you say they interfered with you, and wouldn't let you fish," said
Mr Rogers.

"Faix, sor, an' that's what they did. Ye know the big pool."

"To be sure," said Mr Rogers. "There are silurus in it."

"Are there though, sor?" said Dinny. "And there's the big rocks up
behind it, where the prickly trees wid red flowers and no leaves at all
grow."

"Yes, I know the place," said Mr Rogers impatiently; "go on."

"Well, sor, I sits meself down comfortable, baits my hook wid a nice bit
of fresh mate as any dacent fish would like to have, and then I says to
meself, `Dinny,' I says, `while ye're waiting to hook a nice fish for
the masther's dinner, I'd have jist a whiff o' tibakky if I were you.'
`Ye're right and I will,' I says; and I outs wid my pipe, fills it, and
was just going to light up, when _splash_! There was a great big stone
thrown in the wather.

"`Ah, be aisy, Masther Jack,' I says, for I knew it was you."

"Why, I was away with my father," cried Jack.

"To be sure ye were, Masther Jack, dear; but don't ye see I thought it
was your thrick; and bang comes another big stone down be me side.

"`I'll tell the masther if ye don't lave off,' I says. `That's you,
Masther Dick, as throwed that.'

"Splash comes another, and then I recklected as ye'd both be far away,
and that it must be one of them dirthy little varmints, Coffee or
Chicory. So I lays down me rod and line, as nice and sthrait a rod as
ye'd cut out of the woods anywhere, ye know, sor, and I picked up my bit
of stick ready for them.

"`I'll wait till ye throw again, me beauties,' I says; and just as I
says it to meself, a big stone hits me on the back, and another goes in
just by me line.

"`Now ye shall have it, ye wicked little villains,' I says; and jumping
up I was going to run at 'em, when, murther! there was about a dozen of
the craytures coming down from the rocks, shouting and chattering, and
throwing stones.

"`Will ye be off?' says one, `ye've no business fishing there widout
lave.'"

"How do you know he said that?" said Dick dryly.

"Sure an' what else would he say, Masth