med to a wetting as Jeremiah was,
became very angry, and immediately set off to go home to the tavern.
Jeremiah coolly resumed his position on the log, and went to fishing
again, paying no heed to Marco's expressions of resentment.

Marco walked along, very uncomfortable both in body and mind. His
clothes were wet and muddy, and the water in his shoes made a chuckling
sound at every step, until he stopped and took his shoes off, and
poured the water out. It was nearly sunset when he reached the tavern.
He found Forester better. He had left his bed, and had come down into
the parlor. He was reclining on the sofa, reading a book, when Marco
came in.

Marco advanced towards him, and began to make bitter complaints against
Jeremiah. In giving an account of the affair, he omitted all that part
of the transaction which made against himself. He said nothing, for
instance, about his coming to put his line in where Jeremiah was
fishing, and while a fish was actually near Jeremiah's hook, but only
said that he caught a fish, and that Jeremiah came and took it away.

"But what claim had Jeremiah to the fish?" asked Forester.

"He had no claim at all," said Marco.

"You mean, he had no _right_ at all," said Forester.

"Yes," said Marco.

"He had a _claim_, certainly," rejoined Forester; "that is, he claimed
the fish. He _pretended_ that it was his. Now, on what was this claim or
pretence founded?"

"I don't know," said Marco, "I am sure. I only know he had no right to
it, for I caught the fish myself, and he was going to take it away."

Forester paused a moment, and then resumed:

"I don't think that you have given me a full and fair account of the
transaction; for I cannot believe that Jeremiah would have come and
taken away the fish without any pretext whatever. You must have omitted
some important part of the account, I think."

Marco then told Forester that Jeremiah said that the fish was just going
to bite at his hook; and, after several other questions from Forester,
he gradually acknowledged the whole truth. Still, he maintained that it
was his fish. He had a right to put in his line, he said, wherever he
pleased, whether another boy was fishing or not; the fish belonged to
the one who caught him; and, before he was caught, he did not belong to
anybody. It was absurd, he maintained, to suppose that the fish became
Jeremiah's, just because he was swimming near his hook.

"Sometimes one can judge better of a case