He sat upon the edge of the island, the extreme western coast, fishing
for eels, with a string, a bent pin and a salted almond. It seemed
that the eels did not care for salted almonds, so Pee-wee endeavored to
tempt them with a chocolate bonbon but the bonbon dissolved on the pin,
forming a sort of subterranean chocolate sundae, and the eels ignored
it.

"I bet I know what's the matter," said Pee-wee; "they're afraid to come
near the island on account of the lights." At all events the eels
appeared to shun the neighborhood of the party; they were not in
society.

Just then Pee-wee had an inspiration. In the light of its consequences
it was probably the most momentous inspiration that he ever had. "I
know what I'll do," he said. "I'll use a long, long stick that'll
reach way, way, way out." And he glanced about him in quest of a
"long, long stick" with which to beguile the bashful eels. His
inquiring eye lit upon one of the long clothes-line supporters which
Townsend had driven into the river bottom to help hold the island in
position.

It is necessary to understand the strategical position of this
prospective fishing rod. These two poles had been forced down into the
muddy bottom just south of the island and the southern edge of the
island lay against them and was thus prevented from drifting down with
the ebbing tide. The makeshift gang-plank, gay with bunting, held the
island off shore and the ropes between the island and the bushes
steadied it. This crude engineering was quite sufficient. BUT----

There is a church somewhere in Europe of which it is said that if a