"Talk about juggling," laughed Tom. "That fellow would make a hit upon
the vaudeville stage."

"I'd like first rate to have him at the end of a cord," said Dick.

"Like those natives we saw in China, eh?" suggested Bert. "Do you
remember how they used to fasten a ring about the throat so that they
couldn't swallow them? It always seemed to me a low-down game to make
them fork over as soon as they caught the fish."

"Well, at any rate, that fellow has shown us that there are fish to be
had for the taking," said Tom. "I'll hunt up that canoe while you get
the rods and reels ready. What are you going to try for first, pickerel
or bass?"

"Suppose we take a hack at both," suggested Dick. "I'll get out the spoon
bait and try for pike and pickerel. You and Bert can use the live bait
and see what luck you have with the bass."

A careful search revealed the canoe, so cunningly hidden by its owner
under a heap of brush and sedge-grass, that only the explicit directions
they had received enabled them to find it. It was in good condition,
about eighteen feet in length and two paddles lay in the bottom. Tom got
in, pushed off from the shore, and with deft strokes brought the slender
craft down to where his friends were waiting.

Bert eyed the frail boat dubiously.

"A canoe is a dandy thing for cruising in, especially if you want to get