Frank Merriwell's Catch — page 5: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

TiF TOP WEEKLY. “Can that be a white perch ?’’ gurgied ‘Hodge, amazed. ‘It doesn’t look just like the others.’’ | ““Whatever it is, there are more out ‘there,’”’? said Frank. ‘Get after them, Bart.. We'll daze the fellows when we bring in a mess of these dandies.”? Hodge had arranged a tempting bait on his hook, and now he madea fancy throw that carried the whole length of the line out of the boat. The hook struck far away on the water and sank, while the fish Frank had caught flopped in the bottom: of the canoe, stirring up the others to a merry pattering dance. ‘*Pull in by the time your hook sinks three or four feet,’’ said Frank, looking after his own bait. ‘*These big fellows are on the surface.” _ Bart obeyed, and he had not drawn his hook a third of the way to the canoe be- fore it was snapped up, bringing a little cry of satisfaction from his lips. “Oh, this is sport!’ he exclaimed. ‘I thought we had fun with thase little fel- lows, “*’Those little fellows!’ laughed Frank. ‘‘A short time ago you were calling them beauties, ”” “They seemed so then, but these are so much larger. (No you don’t, old chap!) And they are so much whiter! I hope we can get a big mess of them.”? Then Bart snapped into the boat a fish quite as large as the one Merriwell jhad caught. He held the shining beauty up and feasted his eyes on the spectacle a moment. Then the hook was removed, and the fish was tossed down to help stir up his gasping comrades. By this time Frank had hooked an- other, and for fifteen minutes the fun was fast and furious. Once they were forced to pick up the paddies and get ahead of the school again; but finally, SPECIAL ARTICLES OF TIMELY INTEREST — ThE HALP-HOLIDAY, 3 with amazing enna, the fish ceased biting. ‘Where have they gone?’ asked Bart. **I can’t see them jumping anywhere.’ *‘Nor I,’ said Frank. ‘‘They have sunk. Let your line drop deeper before starting te pull in.”’ But, although they tried various meth- ods of fishing, they caught but two or three more, and those were not large ores. “They are gone,’ said Frank, regret- fully; ‘‘but we have made a fine haul, Hodge. Won’t Browning kick himself to think he did not get up and come with me when I awoke him this morning!’ “He won't get over it all day, for he’d rather fish than do anything else—unfess it’s sleep. It’s wonderful how lazy that fellow is.?? “But he can fight. He’s got so he — wants to fight my battles now. Why, he was going to dip in over at Camp Benson jast night when that fellow Welch, from Newport, took a fancy to punch me for dancing with his girl.’’.. “He tald me about it, and he said — Welch was backed by a big bewhiskered rufhan who was all ready to hit you from behind. That was why he gat into the game. It wasa plain case of a crooked attempt to do you up, but Browning spoiled the trick.”’ ‘‘I saw the man, and I was on guard for him. Welch swore he’d do me, and he’s just the kind of fellow who will try | to keep his word. He isa ruffian, but is — cowardly. I do not believe he would hesi- tate to killa man if he was. in a rage and thought he might escape punishment for a The report of a gun reached their ears, and, at the same moment, something came rattling against the side of the canoe. GOMmMiGcaoo G SS (C(O)