Page 81 - A Little Bush Maid

"T guess you’d never want to see it again," Jim said. "That was a pretty
narrow escape--if your foot had been in just a bit farther you might have

been hanging from that old log now!"

"That was my own idea all that night," observed the Hermit; "and then
Wally wouldn’t have caught any more than the rest of you this morning!
And that reminds me, T promised to show you a good fishing-place. Don’t

you think, if you’ve had enough of my prosy yarning, that we’d better make
a start?"

The party gathered itself up with alacrity from the grass. Lines were
hurriedly examined, and the bait tin, when investigated, proved to contain

an ample supply of succulent grubs and other dainties calculated to tempt
the most fastidious of fish.

"All ready?" said the Hermit.

"Hold on a minute," Jim said. "T’ll let Billy know where we’re going."

Billy was found fishing stolidly from a log. Three blackfish testified to his
skill with the rod, at which Wally whistled disgustedly and Norah laughed.

"No good to be jealous of Billy’s luck," she said. "He can always get fish,
when nobody else can find even a nibble. Mrs. Brown says he’s got the

light hand like hers for pastry."

The Hermit laughed.

"T like Mrs. Brown’s simile," he said. "Tf that was her pastry in those

turnovers at lunch, Miss Norah, T certainly agree that she has ’the light
hand.’"

"Mrs. Brown’s like the cook in The Ingoldsby Legends, Dad says," Norah
remarked.

"What," said the Hermit--