will not land so big a fish." Meanwhile they had entered the mouth of Placid Brook. The surface was dimpling—rings became, spread, merged in one another, and were not. The fish were feeding. [Pg 63] [Pg 63] "Let us land in the meadow," said Mr. Pritchard, his brown eyes clear and sparkling, "and spy upon the enemy." "Are you going to leave your rod and things in the boat?" "For the present—until we have located our fish." They landed, and he advanced upon the brook by a detour, stealthily, crouching, his field-glasses at attention. Once he turned and spoke to Gay in an authoritative whisper: "Try not to show above the bushes." [Pg 64] [Pg 64] VIII The sun was warm on the meadow, and although the bushes along its margin were leafless, the meadow itself had a greenish look, and the feel of the air was such that Gay, upon whom silence and invisibility had been enjoined, longed to dance in full sight of the trout and to sing at the top of her voice: "Oh, that we two were Maying!" Instead, she crouched humbly and in silence at Pritchard's side, while he studied the dimpling brook through his powerful field-glasses. Gay had never seen red Indians except in Buffalo Bill's show, where it is made worth their while to be very noisy. But she had read her Cooper and her Ballantyne, "Ballantyne, the brave, And Cooper of the wood and wave," "Ballantyne, the brave, And Cooper of the wood and wave," and she knew of the early Christian patience with which they are supposed to go about the business of hunting and fishing.
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