ER X

THE GUARDIAN OF THE HONEYCOMB

"And we're really goin' ter make a start right now?" questioned Rube,
as he watched Kiddie packing their fishing gear on top of the rest of
their equipment in the canoe. "We shall not get very far if you're
notionin' ter make camp 'fore dark."

"All the better," said Kiddie. "If we find we've forgotten anything,
there'll be the less distance for us to come back for it, see?"

"Thar's nothin' as you're liable ter have forgot," observed Rube,
confident in Kiddie's forethought. "Seems ter me you must have had a
schedule of the things already fixed up in your head. Anyhow, I don't
reckon as we shall have any occasion t' come back--unless it's for the
big dog. Why ain't we takin' Sheila along of us, Kiddie? Wouldn't she
have been useful?"

"In some ways, yes; in others, no," Kiddie answered decisively. "I'm
leaving her to mount guard up at the homestead and down at the cabin.
She'll be better fed here at home, and she won't be running wild. If
we took her along with us, she'd sure be foolin' around among our
traps, scarin' the wild critters away from 'em; and I ain't in favour
of keepin' her on the chain. Besides, I don't calculate on your havin'
a hound ter help you in trackin' and scoutin'. You must learn to do it
all on your own. Ready? In you get, then, while I shove her off."

Kiddie himself took the paddle. The water was extremely calm, and as
the canoe rippled out from the shore, every tree and bush and boulder
was clearly reflected in the glassy surface.

"No," he said, after a long spell of silence, reverting to Rube's
remark. "Thar's no advantage in going far this evening. We've made a
start; that's the great thing. I ain't greatly in favour of a
long-prepared programme, or of doin' things accordin' ter plan, like an
ordinary tourist. Guess we'll make camp back of that point that juts
out in front of us. But 'fore we land, we got ter catch a fish or two
for supper. That's why we packed the rods an' lines on top of the
outfit. May as well begin right away. Be careful how you move. Don't
stand; crawl."

Rube got the two rods ready, while Kiddie paddled onward for a couple
of miles. Here and there the calm surface was dimpled by rising fish.

They drifted slowly into the shadows of the trees. Rube was the first
to cast his fly, and the first also to make a strike, but it was a
catfish that he caught, and, gently removing the hook, he threw it back.