Camping on the St. Lawrence; Or, On the Trail of the Early Discoverers

by Quincy Allen

  CHAPTER VIII.

  JOCK HAS HIS TURN.

  There was a commotion on board which seemed to threaten the safety ofall. The huge fish was throwing himself from side to side, but Ethanwas equal to the emergency, and with his merciful hickory club soonput an end to the struggle.

  "Whe-e-w!" exclaimed Jock, in delight. "Isn't he a beauty!"

  "That depends," said Ethan, laconically. "I don't believe that chubthought he was specially pretty, when he saw this fellow get afterhim."

  "He seems to have a remarkably open countenance," drawled Bob, as hepried open the great mouth with the end of his rod.

  "'Tis something of a mouth the pickerel has, for a fact," said Ethan."D'ye see how the teeth are all set the wrong way?"

  The two boys eagerly examined their prize. The mottled sides stillglistened and the beautiful markings were all clear; but the mouth,as the boatman had said, was enough to strike terror to all fishes oflesser degree.

  "Not much chance for a chub if that trap once shuts to on him," saidEthan. "If he tries to back out, he only drives the teeth in farther."

  "How much will he weigh, Ethan?" inquired Jock.

  "Oh, seven or eight pounds. It's a pretty fair pickerel."

  Jock was disappointed. To him it had seemed as if the pickerel musthave weighed much more than that. His disappointment was still furtherincreased when Ethan added, "They ain't much good for eatin'. Oh, yecan eat 'em if ye want to, an' some folks like 'em first-rate, butgive me a bass every time."

  "That's the reason I caught bass," drawled Bob. "It's a shame to pullout a pickerel when you don't want him."

  "Pity about you," laughed Jock. "I don't care about fooling withlittle bass that aren't big enough to leave their mothers. When Icatch a fish I want to get one large enough to know what he's doing.Hello," he suddenly added, "there comes the other boat. I wonder whatluck they've had."

  The other skiff was now swiftly approaching, as Jock had said, and ina few minutes it came alongside. Long before it was near enough forhis voice to be heard, Jock exultingly held up to view the immensefish he had captured, and when his friends came closer, great wastheir astonishment and many their words of praise.

  "We'll go ashore for dinner now," said Ethan, after the prize had beenexamined. "Ye're ready to stop a bit, aren't ye?"

  "We are," shouted the boys together; and side by side the two skiffsmoved toward the shore.

  Before the boys landed they discovered that near the place to whichevidently Ethan was going were the ruins of some building whichplainly had been a large one. The boatman explained that a hotel hadstood there at one time, but it had been burned, and never had beenrebuilt.

  As the boys leaped ashore they all eagerly examined the catch whichTom's boat had made. There were several bass and a fish which stronglyresembled the pickerel which Jock had caught, though it was muchsmaller.

  "They've got a pickerel, too," said Jock, as he discovered the fish.

  "That isn't any pickerel," remarked Tom.

  "What is it, then? It looks just like one," said Jock.

  "It's a muscalonge. It's a little fellow, and the first one I've seenthis year."

  "Ye ought not to have saved him, Tom," remonstrated Ethan. "If you'dlet him go, he might 'a' growed big enough to amount to somethin'."

  "I thought of it, but I didn't know what luck you were having, and Iknew we'd want some fish for dinner, so I let him stay."

  "If they're beginnin' to run, mebbe we'll strike one some day that'so' decent size. Jock, if ye ever get a muscalonge what weighs fortypound on the end o' yer line, ye'll find out that catchin' pickerel'sboys' play alongside o' it."

  "Do you really think we'll get one?" said Jock, eagerly.

  "Can't tell. Like enough ye will, an' jest as likely ye won't. Outwith ye now, the whole kit and posse o' ye," he added, and the boysturned toward the grove of maples which grew near the shore.

  "This is what I call great fun!" exclaimed Ben, as he threw his longbody on the grass. "I think I could almost make up poetry if I was tostay here long enough."

  "Your face looks as if it was burning with poetic fire," drawled Bob.

  "It can't look worse than yours," replied Ben, as he placed his handson his cheeks.

  Indeed, all four of the boys presented a similar appearance, for theeffect of the rays of the sun reflected from the water had made alltheir faces of a decidedly brilliant hue. Jock tried to comfort themby explaining that that was what was to be expected, and that moremarked results than these were likely to be attained before their stayin camp was over. But for the present the boys were content as theylay beneath the grateful shade of the spreading maples. In thedistance was the glorious St. Lawrence, and an occasional whistleindicated that yachts were speeding over its course, or that the riverboats were passing. Other skiffs had now entered Goose Bay, and asthey moved slowly over the shoals or anchored near the "weeds," itbecame evident that its waters were well known before the coming ofour boys.

  It was now noon time, and the leaves upon the trees were hardly movedby a breeze; out on the bay the sun was beating, and the quiveringmotions of the air under the influence of the summer heat could bedistinctly seen. In the distance the calls of the crows could beheard, but otherwise the quiet of the day was unbroken. On every sidewas the solitude, and as one of the boys expressed it, 'they couldalmost hear the silence.'

  Yet the impression produced by it all was as strong as it was novel.The struggle for existence, the life of the city, the rumble andindefinable roar of the town, were all forgotten for the time. Here,at least, was peace, and the reluctance of Ethan to leave his home bythe great river, or depart from the comradeship of the St. Lawrence,could be readily understood. All four of the boys felt the influenceof the scene, and after a few minutes the laughter and conversationceased, and the young fishermen were as silent as the silent treesabove them.

  Their revery was soon interrupted by the call of Ethan for them tocome to dinner, and with a shout the boys leaped to their feet and ranto the place where the dinner had been prepared. The sight which mettheir eyes was one which might have done even an epicure good. Boththe fishermen had been busy, and the results of their labors were nowmanifest. A fire had been kindled near the shore, and over it had beenplaced a contrivance with which nearly every fisherman on the St.Lawrence was provided. A frying-pan and pot had been used, in theformer of which small pieces of salt pork and some of the recentlycaught fish had been cooked, and in the latter were green corn andpotatoes. Coffee, also, had been made, and when the boys seatedthemselves upon the bank they perceived that Ethan had brought otherdainties from his home. Huge "doughnuts," and cookies of ample size,as well as pickles and various other dainties, were there. A large canfilled with milk was also placed upon the improvised table, andaltogether the "spread," as Bert termed it, was most inviting.

  "Where did you get all these things?" exclaimed the delighted Bob.

  "Brought 'em with me in the skiff."

  "Is that what you do, every day you go fishing?"

  "'Most always, when I take out city folks. I think they like thedinner we cook about as well as they do the fishin' itself. 'Longabout noon time we usually land and cook the dinner. Every boat has alay-out somethin' like ours, though I don't say every one is as goodas this," he continued, with pardonable pride.

  "I should say not," replied Ben, as the boys all fell to with a will.

  For a time scarcely a word was spoken, so busy were they all in theoccupation upon which they were engaged. Ethan still remained by thefire, and from time to time brought pieces of the sputtering pork,which somehow seemed to disappear almost as rapidly as they came.

  "What kind of meat did you say this is?" inquired Bob, as distinctlyas one could pronounce the words when his mouth was filled with thearticle in question, and at the same time leaning forward to make surethat the last piece on the plate should not be wasted.

  "Salt pork."

  "I never tasted of it before."

  "G
o 'long," said Ethan, incredulously. "Ye don't really mean it, doye?"

  "Yes, I do mean it," replied Bob. "It's my first experience; and myonly hope is that it won't be my last."

  "If you don't stop before long it'll be your last, I'm sure,"interrupted Ben, himself as deeply engrossed in the occupation as wasBob.

  "Well," said Ethan, "I wouldn't 'a' believed that ye never eat anyfried salt pork afore. Why, everybody eats it."

  "I don't wonder," murmured Bob, as he dexterously flung a corn-cob,which had now served its full duty, at a tree in the distance.

  "I'm afraid Ethan doesn't think we know much," said Jock. "He's beentelling us this morning about the greenness of city people whenthey're in the country. I'm inclined to think he's right, too."

  "Well, they be green," protested Ethan, sturdily. "I had a youngfellow from Bosting up here last year, what I rowed for, an' if yebelieve me, he didn't actually know how many teeth a cow had on herupper jaw. No, sir, he didn't for a fact; an' he was in college, too.Mebbe ye don't believe me, but it's true as yer life, what I'm tellin'ye."

  There was a twinkle in Ethan's eyes as he spoke, which was not lostupon our boys, who were looking somewhat foolishly at one another.Perhaps they were fearful that the question would be brought home tothem.

  Their anxiety was relieved when Jock spoke up quickly, and said, "Tellus, Ethan. How many teeth does a cow have on her upper jaw? I don'tknow; I don't, for a fact."

  "Thank you! You have expressed my feelings exactly," said Bert, partlyrising from his seat, and bowing in mock honor at Jock.

  "She has all she needs, I'm thinkin'," said Ethan. "If ye don't know,I shan't tell ye. I understand all four o' you boys are goin' tocollege, an' when ye get there I'm thinkin' some o' those Latin orGreek books'll tell ye all about it."

  At last the dinner apparently was finished, and with a sigh Bob rosefrom his seat.

  "This has been a great treat, Ethan," he said. "If Delmonico or theWaldorf-Astoria can do better, I've yet to learn it."

  "There's one thing they can't furnish," said Ethan.

  "What's that?"

  "The appetite. It takes this river and the air to furnish that."

  "That's so; though I hadn't thought of it."

  "Hold on," said Ethan, quickly. "We aren't done yet. Tom, you go downto my skiff an' bring up those pies an' things in the box under theback seat. Be quick, lad, or the appetite'll get away from theseboys."

  "Poison things? What do you mean, Ethan?" laughed Bob. "Aren't yousatisfied with feeding us in this way? Don't you want the trouble ofrowing us back to camp?"

  "I didn't say nothin' about 'poison things,'" replied Ethan, gruffly."I was talkin' about pies. Ye know what pie is, don't ye?"

  "I do that," replied Bob. "It's something I have never had enough ofyet."

  "I should think ye ought to get enough, if ye have it three times aday."

  "Three times a day! I never have it but once, and then in smalldoses."

  "Sho! I know better. All folks always have it reg'lar three times aday. Why, I shouldn't feel as if I'd had my breakfast if I hadn't hada piece o' pie and a doughnut along with it."

  "Ethan," said Bob, soberly, "do you take summer boarders at yourhouse?"

  "No, I don't. We did take some one time, but we'll never do it again."

  "Why not?"

  "Why, do you know," said Ethan, in a low voice, as if he was impartinga secret, "some o' those folks bothered us dreadful. Yes, sir; theydid, for a fact. There was one o' the men we couldn't get eout o' bedbefore six o'clock in the mornin'. What d'ye think o' that? Yes, sir,he'd actually lie in bed till six o'clock in the mornin'! But we mustget out o' this if we're to do any more fishin' to-day. Come, Tom,help me clear away these dishes."

  That task was speedily accomplished, and then the sport was resumed. Afair degree of success attended their efforts, and as the sun began tosink low in the western sky, Goose Bay was abandoned for the timebeing, and the two skiffs were headed for the camp on Pine TreeIsland.