eat strain upon it.

"He won't run far. Here he comes back again."

Not far indeed, but there were a hundred yards of fine line out before
he could begin to reel it in. Then he cried,

"There he goes, down under the bank. Means to sulk. I'll worry him out
of that."

"Why don't you pull him right in?" asked Jeff, excitedly.

"Because he wouldn't come if I did."

It was a good while before there seemed to be any prospect of his
coming, and the boys were almost tired of the fun of sitting still to
see their stout friend let out his line and reel it in again. But at
last the pickerel himself began to get a little tired of pulling and
being pulled, and was reeled in closer and closer to the boat, while the
trout rod bent nearly double.

"He'll break that line!"

"No, sonny; that's what the landing-net is for."

They saw it darted under the gleaming side of the great fish--a lift, a
splash, and the prize was floundering on the bottom of the boat.

"Hurrah, boys! We've got him."

"You've beat us, mister. I'm just going to go home and catch a lot of
flies," muttered Charley.

Half an hour later they were all standing on the hotel steps, and Black
Dan was holding up the pickerel.

"Dat ar's de boss fish, shuah! And you done cotch him wid a fly and dat
ar whipstalk? Was you dar, Charley Morris?"

"I saw him do it, and so did Jeff."

"Well, ef I ain't glad he's done got dat ar pickerel out ob my way. Dat
fish has been a soah trial to me!"

And Jeff and Charley had had their own fun, and their first lesson in
fly-fishing.

[Illustration: CAUGHT IN THE ACT.--DRAWN BY W. T. SMEDLEY.]

WHY PICKLE GAVE THE GERMAN TEACHER A PRESENT.

BY LAURA F. FITCH.

Pickle had waked in high spirits. That was unlucky, in the first place,
for Pickle's high spirits always bubbled over before the day ended into
some deed of mischief. Then, Miss Prim had a headache, and could not
appear in the school-room. That was unlucky, too, for the new German
teacher was to arrive that morning, and she would not be able to
introduce him to the girls, and enjoin upon them attention and
obedience. To be sure, Miss Meek, the assistant-principal, undertook to
perform all necessary ceremonies, but then the girls never minded Miss
Meek. In the third place, the new teacher was queer-looking. That was
the most unfortunate circumstance of all, and was really to blame for
the whole affair.

"What business," Pickle wrathfully demanded