pipe in his mouth,
content in every feature, a perfect picture of Placidity on a Boulder.

"Given up fishing?" I asked.

"Not much," he replied: "I've caught nine beauties. Pete does all the work,
and I catch the fish."

Sure enough, he had Pete, who was one of the best fishermen on the river,
fishing away as hard as he could. Whenever Pete hooked a fish my friend
would lay down his pipe and play the fish into the landing-net. "It's
beastly sport," he said: "if I wasn't so confoundedly lazy I couldn't stand
it at all.--Hello, Pete! got him?"

"Yes, sah--got him shuah;" and Pete handed him the rod as the line spun
out. We watched the short struggle, and started down stream, leaving him to
his laziness just as he was settling back in the boat for a nap and telling
Pete not to wake him up unless the next was a big one.

By noon we had thirty-two fish--a very fair and satisfactory experience. We
were about to change our position when we were detained by a tremendous
shouting from the other boat, about half a mile above us.

"What's the matter with them, McGrath?" said I.

"Bedad, sorr! I think it must be that bucket there in the bow," he replied,
pointing to the article, which contained our luncheon.

I was quite satisfied that it was, and there being a cool spring about
forty feet above us on the bank on the Virginia side, we disembarked. In
the excitement of fishing I had not thought of luncheon, but now I found I
had a startling appetite. So had my friend and his assiduous darkey when
they came in and reported twenty fish.

"Yes," he said, "I know we ought to have a good many more, but Pete is so
lazy. It was all I could possibly do to catch those myself."

With a flat rock for a table, the grass to sit upon, and the bubbling music
of the little stream that flowed from the spring as an accompaniment, the
ham and bread and butter, the pickles and the hard-boiled eggs, and even
the pie with its mysterious leather crust and its doubtful inside of dried
peaches, tasted wonderfully well. We did not venture out upon the river
again until three o'clock, our worthy guides agreeing that the fish do not
bite well between noon and that hour, and both of us being disposed to rest
a little. My friend stretched himself on the thick grass, and when his pipe
was exhausted went fast asleep, and snored with great precision and power
to a mild sternutatory accompaniment by Mr. McGrath and Pete. I employed
myself in bringing up m