and took the
hatchet out of her hand, but in his excitement he was almost uncivil.

"You obstinate little idiot!" he said. "You'll kill yourself yet."

To my surprise, Hutchins, who had been entirely unemotional right along,
suddenly burst into tears and went into the tent. Mr. McDonald took a
hasty step or two after her, realizing, no doubt, that he had said more
than he should to a complete stranger; but she closed the fly of the
tent quite viciously and left him standing, with his arms folded,
staring at it.

It was at that moment he saw the large fish, hanging from a tree. He
stood for a moment staring at it and we could see that he was quite
surprised.

"It is a fish, isn't it?" he said after a moment. "I--I thought for a
moment it was painted on something."

He sat down suddenly on one of our folding-chairs and looked at the
fish, and then at each of us in turn.

"You know," he said, "I didn't think there were such fish! I--you
mustn't mind my surprise." He wiped his forehead with his handkerchief.
"Just kick those things I brought into the river, will you? I apologize
for them."

"Forty-nine inches," Tish said. "We expect to do better when we really
get started. This evening we shall go after its mate, which is probably
hanging round."

"Its mate?" he said, rather dazed. "Oh, I see. Of course!"

He still seemed to doubt his senses, for he went over and touched it
with his finger. "Ladies," he said, "I'm not going after the--the mate.
I couldn't land it if I did get it. I am going to retire from the
game--except for food; but I wish, for the sake of my reason, you'd tell
me what you caught it with."

Well, you may heartily distrust a person; but that is no reason why you
should not answer a simple question. So I showed him the thing I had
made--and he did not believe me!

"You're perfectly right," he said. "Every game has its secrets. I had no
business to ask. But you haven't caught me with that feather-duster
thing any more than you caught that fish with it. I don't mind your not
telling me. That's your privilege. But isn't it rather rubbing it in to
make fun of me?"

"Nothing of the sort!" Aggie said angrily. "If you had caught it--"

"My dear lady," he said, "I couldn't have caught it. The mere shock of
getting such a bite would have sent me out of my boat in a swoon." He
turned to Tish. "I have only one disappointment," he said, "that it
wasn't one of _our_ worms that did the work."

Tish sa