is necessary, therefore, to snare
the fish if you want him. In the sunny days he lies in the deep pools,
by some big stone or near the bank, poising himself quite still, or only
stirring his fins a little now and then, as an elephant moves his ears.
He will lie so for hours, or rather float, in perfect idleness and
apparent bliss. The boy who also has a holiday, but cannot keep still,
comes along and peeps over the bank. "Golly, ain't he a big one!"
Perhaps he is eighteen inches long, and weighs two or three pounds. He
lies there among his friends, little fish and big ones, quite a school
of them, perhaps a district school, that only keeps in warm days in
the summer. The pupils seem to have little to learn, except to balance
themselves and to turn gracefully with a flirt of the tail. Not much
is taught but "deportment," and some of the old suckers are perfect
Turveydrops in that. The boy is armed with a pole and a stout line, and
on the end of it a brass wire bent into a hoop, which is a slipnoose,
and slides together when anything is caught in it. The boy approaches
the bank and looks over. There he lies, calm as a whale. The boy devours
him with his eyes. He is almost too much excited to drop the snare into
the water without making a noise. A puff of wind comes and ruffles the
surface, so that he cannot see the fish. It is calm again, and there he
still is, moving his fins in peaceful security. The boy lowers his snare
behind the fish and slips it along. He intends to get it around him
just back of the gills and then elevate him with a sudden jerk. It is a
delicate operation, for the snare will turn a little, and if it hits
the fish, he is off. However, it goes well; the wire is almost in
place, when suddenly the fish, as if he had a warning in a dream, for he
appears to see nothing, moves his tail just a little, glides out of the
loop, and with no seeming appearance of frustrating any one's plans,
lounges over to the other side of the pool; and there he reposes just as
if he was not spoiling the boy's holiday. This slight change of base on
the part of the fish requires the boy to reorganize his whole campaign,
get a new position on the bank, a new line of approach, and patiently
wait for the wind and sun before he can lower his line. This time,
cunning and patience are rewarded. The hoop encircles the unsuspecting
fish. The boy's eyes almost start from his head as he gives a tremendous
jerk, and feels by the dead-weigh