Part 17 (1/2)

mother gave the signal.

Flapjacks! My! weren't they good, with b.u.t.ter and syrup, followed by bacon and eggs and French fried potatoes? The girls ate for a solid hour. Lizzie's face was the color of a well-burned brick when the girls admitted they were satisfied. The out-of-door air had given even Lil an enormous appet.i.te.

”If my mother had any idea that I'd eat so much at this time in the morning she'd never have let me come camping,” she said. ”Why! do you know--I only drink a cup of coffee and pick the inside out of a roll, at breakfast, at home.”

There was a general inclination to ”laze” about the camp and read, or take naps after that heavy breakfast. But Laura would not allow the other six girls of Central High any peace.

”Of course, we have a big ham and a case of eggs with us,” said Mother Wit. ”But we don't want to eat ham and eggs, or bacon and eggs, three times a day while we stay here.

”Beside, the eggs, at least, won't hold out. We must add to the larder----”

”What shall we do?” asked Dora Lockwood. ”Paddle to the mainland and kill some farmer's cow to get beef?”

”No, indeed,” Laura said, laughing. ”We must, however, make an attempt to coax some of the finny denizens of the lake out of it and into Lizzie's fry-pan.”

”Fis.h.i.+ng!” cried Dorothy.

”I never went fis.h.i.+ng in my life,” complained Lil.

But the other girls of Central High were not like Lil--no, indeed!

They had been out with the boys on Lake Luna--both in summer and winter--and every one of them knew how to put a worm on a hook.

Lil squealed at the thought of ”using one of the squirmy things.”

”Aw, you give me a pain!” said Bobby. ”Don't act as though you were made of something different from the rest of us. A worm never bit me yet, and I've been fis.h.i.+ng thousands of times, I guess.”

Lil did not hear her, however. She was the only girl who had not brought fis.h.i.+ng tackle. When she saw her six schoolmates going about the work of tolling the finny denizens of Lake Dunkirk onto the bank, she began to be jealous of the fun they were having. White perch, and roach, and now and then a lake trout, were being landed.

Lil got excited. She wanted to try her hand at the sport, too. Yes!

Bobby had an extra outfit, and she even cut Lil a pole.

”But I tell you what it is, Miss,” said the black-eyed girl, ”I'm going to hold you responsible for this outfit. If you break anything, or lose anything, or snarl the line up, you'll have to pay me for it.

I paid good money for that silk line and those hooks.”

Lil promised to make good if anything happened to the fis.h.i.+ng tackle.

She took her place on a rock near Bobby and made a cast. The other girls were very busy themselves and paid Lil very little attention.

The fish were biting freely, for the morning was cloudy and these waters about Acorn Island were far from being ”fished out.” Bobby hauled in a couple of perch and had almost forgotten about Lil, when the latter said, mournfully:

”Say, Clara.”

”Well! what is it?” demanded the other.

”What do you call that little thing that bobbed up and down on the water?”

”The float,” replied the busy Bobby.

”Well, Clara!” whined Lil, mournfully.