Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1875-09-11
How the Ladies' Fish.

hooks ana lines.
As soon as they get up to Moserton
they look for a good place to get down
on the RATS, and the most venturesome
one sticks her boot heels in the bank
and makes two careful steps down;
men she suddenly finds herself at the
bottom with both hands in the water
and feeling that everybody in this
|, wide world is looking at her, and she
| never tells any body how she got there.
The other girls, profting by her exam-
pie, turn around and go down the bank
on their hands and toes backward.
Then they scamper over the RATS till
they find shallow place where they
can see the fish, and Shout
ooh, l see one!"
"Where ?"
"There."
ooh, my! so he Isl"
''Let's catch him."
"Who's got them baits?'
Somebody's got my hook y
"You lazy thing, you're setting on
my pole"
All these EXPLANATIONS are got off in
tone that awakens every lazy echo
within three acres square into galloping
Mysteries.
Then the girls, by superhuman ex-
ertions, get worm on the hook and
throw in with a splash like the launch
ing of wash-tub, and await the re-
suit.
When a silver-fn comes along and
nibbles the bait they pull up with ajerk
that, had any unfortunate fish weighing
less than fifteen pounds been on the
hook, would have landed it in the neigh
borhood of the new church Oh College
Hill.
After a while a feeblc-minded sun
fish contrives to get fastened on the
hook of timid fisherwoman, then she
gives tongue:
''Oh, something's got my hook!
"Pull up, you little idjyut y shout
five excited voices, as poles and hooks
are dropped, and they rush wildly to the
rescue.
The girl with the bite gave spas
modic jerk, which sent that unhappy
''sunly" into the air the full length OF
forty feet of line, and he comes down on
the nearest curly head with damp flop
that sets the girls growing as though
their were humble bees in her hair.
couch Murder Take it away! Ugh,
the ugly thing !"
Then they hold up their skirts and
gather about that fish as it skips over
the logs, one all the time holding the
line in both hands, with her foot on the
pole, as though she had an evil-disposed
coat at the other end, which she
expected TO butt her at any moment
Then they talk over it.
GLOW will we ever get it OFF,"
':Aint it pretty?"
''Look how it pants ?"
"Wander if it aint dry?"
"Poor little thing, let's put it back
again"
GLOW will we ever get the hook
away from it p,
"Pick it up! y says girl who backs
rapidly out of the crowd.
'Good gracious, I'm afraid of it.
There, it's opening its mouth at mel
Just then the ''sunny" wriggles off
the hook and disappears between two
logs into the water, and The girls try for
another bite; but the sun comes down
and fries the backs of their necks, and
they get no more bites but fly bites,
and they get three headaches in the
party and they all get cross and scold
at the fish like SO many magpies.
If an unwary club darcs to show
himself in the water they poke at him
with their poles, much to his disgust.
Finally they get mad all over and
throw their poles away, hunt up the
lunch basket, climb up into the woods,
where they sit around on the grass and
caterpillars and eat enough dried beef
and rusk and hard boiled eggs to give
wooden horse the nightmare, after
which they compare notes about their
beaux until sundown, when they go
home aud plant envy in the hearts of all
their muslin delaine friends by telling
them what Just a splendid time" they
had.