they waded through the mud to the shore.

"Say, Uncle Joe, there must be a lot of 'em in there. I guess Mr.
White will be surprised when he sees them all."

"Why, Bob, you surely won't take them all in at once," said his uncle,
starting to pry something out of the mud that proved to be a turtle
still larger than any they had yet found.

"Why not?" said Bob. "He didn't say bring in one or two--he just said
he'd pay fifty cents each for all I could catch; so I'm going to take
them all at once, before he changes his mind about them. Maybe after
he's eaten three or four he won't be willing to buy any more."

"Three or four, Bob," said his uncle, "why, I really believe we'll get
a barrel full."

"All the better," said Bob, as he scraped out another big one from
behind an old log. "They're in here thick as thieves."

It was nearly sundown when they finished the hunt and by that time
most of the boys in the neighborhood had learned that the water was
being drained from the pond and that a turtle hunt was on and had come
down to see the fun.

They were astonished at the number of turtles they found, for after
giving every boy one, they had two barrels full and eight big turtles
beside.

"How many have you got, Bob?" asked his uncle, as they hitched up the