ve been
black, but it was all over flour. "There," he said, "that's what I
always keeps there to drink when too much dust gets down my throat."
Saying which Bob took a long drink of cold tea out of the spout, and
then generously offered it to all the visitors, who declared that it was
such a little time since they had had breakfast that they would rather
not.

"More left for me then," said Bob; "and now for the fish-traps. I
opened them last night, but I forgot to look this morning; so you're
just right, my lads--just right. Shouldn't wonder if there was a whale
down in the big trap after all this water; should you, Master Harry,
eh?"

"None of your gammon, Bob. Think I don't know better than that? Why
don't you come and look at the traps?"

"'Cos I ain't in such a hurry as you are," replied Bob. "You'd like me
to run, wouldn't you, eh?"

"Do come, Bob," said Philip, putting in his appeal to the rough and
dusty object before him--an appeal not without its effect, for Bob gave
a very dusty smile; and then, reaching down a bunch of keys from a nail
in the wall, proceeded with one of them to open a door which led down a
dark flight of damp stairs to the under regions of the mill, where the
two great toothed wheels were swiftly revolving--dripping with water,
and looking horribly wet, slimy, and muddy; while between them, and on
each side, were what Harry had called the fish-traps: large contrivances
of strong laths about half an inch apart, forming very wide and deep
cages, down into which, in a torrent, the water rushed and passed
through--of course leaving therein everything in the shape of fish that
had been brought down by the swiftly speeding current.

At the first sight of the gloomy cellar-like place and the sound of the
rushing stream, mingled with the hollow cavernous plashing noise of the
water running from the wheels as they rose from out the deep well-like
chasms where they did their duty, Fred shrunk back and hardly liked to
descend; but, seeing how coolly and confidently his cousins went down,
he summoned up courage and followed, while Bob proceeded to inspect trap
number one.

"Well! that's a pretty go," said Bob; "shan't catch many fish that a
way, anyhow."

"Why, what's the matter?" said Harry, looking at the great wooden fish
cage.

"Matter!" said Bob; "why, some one's left the door open."

"I know who it was," said Harry, laughing, as he inspected the opening
at the bottom of the trap,