ot."

"Then he'll give up shooting, which is what is wanted," said Sadler.
"What's your third bother?"

"That young woman has made up her mind to go out in the boat by herself
the very fust time she feels like it," said Matlack; "she didn't say so
with her mouth, but she said it with the back of her head and her
shoulders, and I want to know if that rule of yours is going to hold good
this summer. Women is gettin' to do so many things they didn't use to that
I didn't know but what you'd consider they'd got far enough to take
themselves out on the lake, and if you do think so, I don't want to get
myself in hot water with those people and then find you don't back me
up."

"If you don't want to get yourself into hot water with me, Phil Matlack,
you'd better get it into your head just as soon as you can that when I
make a rule it's a rule, and I don't want people comin' to me and talkin'
about changes. Women in my camp don't go out in boats by themselves, and
it's easy enough to have that rule kept if you've got backbone enough to
do it. Keep the boat locked to the shore when it ain't in use, and put the
key in your pocket, and if anybody gets it that 'ain't any right to it,
that's your lookout. Now that's the end of your troubles, I hope. How's
things goin' on generally in the camp?"

"Oh, well enough," said Matlack. "I thought at fust the old lady'd give
out in a day or two, but I've taught her parlor-fishin', which she's took
to quite lively, and she's got used to the woods. The boss, he sticks to
fishin', as if it was office-work, and as for the rest of them, I guess
they're all gettin' more and more willin' to stay."

"Why?" asked Peter.

"Well, one of them is a gal and the others isn't," replied Matlack,
"that's about the p'int of it."

During Matlack's walk back the skies cleared, and when he reached the camp
he found Mrs. Archibald seated in her chair near the edge of the lake, a
dry board under her feet, and the bishop standing by her, putting bait on
her hook, and taking the fish off of it when any happened to be there. Out
in the boat sat Mr. Archibald, trusting that some fish might approach the
surface in search of insects disabled by the rain. Farther on, at a place
by the water's edge that was clear of bushes and undergrowth, Martin was
giving Miss Dearborn a lesson in fly-fishing.

"He's a mighty good fisherman," thought Matlack, looking at the young
fellow as he brought his rod back from the water w