that way, and becoming
somewhat interested in the process, was seduced by Tom G----, inside
of the yard, to try his hand at catching and tossing in sheep. About
the second or third one he operated upon, his treacherous friend
stumbled against him, giving him a tremendous push, and with a sheep
in his arms he drove head foremost among the washers. The water was
cold, and there was a good deal of puffing and blowing about the time
his head came above the surface. He was a sensible chap, and took the
joke as a wise man should, especially when the odds are all against
him, albeit, it was somewhat rude.

"He came out on the other side of the stream, and after joining in the
laugh against himself, and taking off and wringing his garments, he
wandered up to the apron of the old dam, and stretching himself along
the planks, went to looking anxiously down into the deep water. After
a while, he seemed to have discovered something, and called out to his
friend below, 'I say Tom, have you got a fishhook in your pocket? Here
is a trout that will weigh two pounds, and I want to hook him up.' Now
Tom was a fisherman, and a big trout was his weakness; moreover, he
was never without half a dozen hooks and lines in his pockets. He left
his business at once, and went up to the apron to assist in taking the
two-pound trout. A pole was cut, and a couple of feet of line, with a
hook attached, was fastened a little way from the top, and the haft
of the hook stuck into the end so that by a little force it might be
removed, and Tom and his friend got upon the apron, and stooped over
to see where the great trout lay.

"'Here he is, Tom, just under the edge of this rock.' Tom stretched
himself over to get a view of the fish, when a vigorous shove from the
rear sent him like a great frog plump towards the bottom of the pool.
This was a consummation that Tom had not bargained for, but there was
no alternative but to swim for the shore, dripping like a rat from a
flooded sewer. That joke had two points to it, and Tom G----had the
worst of them."

"Your anecdote," said Smith, "reminds me of one in which I was an
actor, and which was impressed upon my mind by a process which few
boys are fond of, but which is very apt to make the impression
durable. _I_ fished for trout once without line or hook. I got a fine
string of them, and myself into a pretty kettle of fish in the
bargain. On my father's farm, as it was when I was a boy, was a stream
that