As I looked up with an air, I presume somewhat bewildered, I
heard the loud and bellowing laugh of Tom and saw the whole of our stout
company gliding up in two boats, the skiff and the canoe, toward the
landing place, perhaps a hundred yards from the spot where I stood.
"Come here, darn you," were the first words I heard, from the mouth of
what speaker it need not be said--"come here, you lazy, snortin, snoozin
Decker--lend a hand here right stret away, will you? We've got more
perch than all of us can carry--and Archer's got six wood-duck."
Hurrying down in obedience to this unceremonious mandate, I perceived
that indeed their time had not been misemployed, for the whole bottom of
the larger boat was heaped with fish--the small and delicate green
perch, the cat-fish, hideous in its natural, but most delicious in its
artificial shape, and, above all, the large and broad-backed yellow
bass, from two to four pounds weight. While Archer, who had gone forth
with Garry only in the canoe, had picked up half a dozen wood-duck, two
or three of the large yellow-legs, a little bittern, known by a far less
elegant appellative throughout the country, and thirteen English snipe.
Pages:
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130