"They'll be biting soon as fast as we can haul 'em in," he said.
But the rush of fish did not come immediately.
"Did you ever read Captain Mayne Reid?" he asked. "Or Captain
Marryatt? Or Ballantyne?"
She shook her head.
"And you an Anglo-Saxon!" he cried derisively. "Why, there's
stacks of 'em in the Free Library. I have two cards, my mother's
an' mine, an' I draw 'em out all the time, after school, before I
have to carry my papers. I stick the books inside my shirt, in
front, under the suspenders. That holds 'em. One time, deliverin'
papers at Second an' Market--there's an awful tough gang of kids
hang out there--I got into a fight with the leader. He hauled off
to knock my wind out, an' he landed square on a book. You ought
to seen his face. An' then I landed on him. An' then his whole
gang was goin' to jump on me, only a couple of iron-molders
stepped in an' saw fair play. I gave 'em the books to hold."
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