Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-09-02
MICKEY FINN'S BASS.

mickey, hav' ye tn wurrums?" said
Mr.. Finn.
81 hav' a tomaty can full of wurrums
an four big grasshoppers in bottle, an
tin grubs that found in rottin' boord,
an swim crickets an two cockroaches as
black as coal an as big as your thumb,
an humble bee-shure pulled out his
singer with tn tweezers"-
"Ah, hoult on, sonny. Fax ye hav'
enough of bait t. catch all tn fish in
Jacobs Valley. Bring all them things in
here till we have look at thin"
When Mickey had brought all his bottles
and boxes into the kitchen and placed
them on the table they presented quite a
formidable array. The crickets were con-
fined in cigar box, and when he lifted
the lid to permit his father to have q
glance at the bait, the crickets jumped
out upon the foor and the tame crow
showed liking for crickets which it
never before had exhibited. The worms
proved to be of the night walker order
Mickey had caught them by the aid of a
lantern as they crawled through the grass
of Stumpy field the previous evening.
The bumblebee escaped when little Mike
took the cork out Of the bottle, and flew
away to the clover field near by. Said
Mr.. Finn:
EYE may as well pull up one O. thin
bane poles in the yard an fasten yer line
to it, an SO yen be ready for tn mornin' +,
fur We'll be startin' again tn tonne tn
sun is up"
Early next morning, while yet the grass
was diamonded with dew. little Mike and
his father started up the Old Point road.
Mickey was heavily freighted. He car
ried on one arm a large market basket,
which contained two cigar boxes and vari-
Gus bottles, containing bait, both solid
and liquid. The latter was for his fathers
exclusive use. One of the cigar boxes
was filed with a varied assortment of fish
ing tackle, including a number of rusty
screws for sinkers, Goldfish hooks stuck
into cork, an old chalk line, five soda
water bottle corks and number of other
articles which the boy in his ignorance
deemed necessary for fishing In a country
! brook.
After leaving the Old Point road the
way led down q little lane where brown
thrush sang solo in tree and golden
oriole fitted across the lane and uttered
liquid notes. Under the tree where the
oriole sang in field filed with cocks of
new mown hay there dubbed little
spring. The water came up through the
sand at the bottom of the spring and
shifted it like drops of quicksilver. Ly-
ing down OF full length the fishermen put
their mouths down to this living spring
and drank deep draughts. Twas natures
own champagne. There was life in the
water. The sun had kissed the spring
and the sweet scent of hay stole into it.
Somehow Mickey didn't appreciate the
water as much as his father did. He said
he would rather have glass OF root beer
any time.
had gained it's meridian, but its rays
could not penetrate the dense foliage on
the banks overlooking the water. In
these cool pools swan sunfish with golden
scales, and brook bass which resembled
bars of FURNISHED silver as they flashed
their cleaning sides in the sunlight.
the water that he could scarcely put
worm on his hook. At last the tackle
was all ready, when six inch trout, look
ing almost translucent in the clear water,
came swimming up the stream. It stop
ped almost opposite where the boy stood,
lazily tanning its dorsal and ventral fins.
Said Mickey, with parted lips and bated
breath:
Keep still, dadl Wait till you see me
haul i'm out"
Slowly the hook sank beneath the sur
face, and the worm in all its squirIning,
juicy plumpness rested on the sand be-
fore the nose of the trout The two held
their breath and awaited developments.
The trout slowly backed away from the
worm for a distance of one foot, then it
moved forward and smelt of the bait.
There was a moment of intense suspense,
and Mickey's pole shook as though it had
the palsy. Then the trout darted like a
beam of sunshine into q shadowy place
beneath the bank. Mickey's disappoint-
ment was great, but he choked it down,
and said with almost sob in his voice:
Dad, I almost had iml"
yes" replied his father; 'but you
didn't have any salt on his tail that time,
me lad; thry agin."
Then Mickey's father lay down upon the
grass on the banks of the stream and went
to sleep. He had just entered the Dor
ders Of dreamland when he was awakened
by shout which echoed like fire alarm
In the valley. He sat up and listened
Again he heard the shout and distin-
guished these words:
"Dad, got bitel'
Mickey's father plunged into the under
brush and forced his way through the
overhanging branches of the trees to the
place where the sound came from. He
had not gone twenty feet, however, be-
fore cry so jubilant, so full of triumph,
so instinct with the passion of possession,
carno to him that he knew at once some
thing important Ind occaNed. Looking
through the aisles Of the wood he saw
Mickey lying upon the trunk of big tree
which projected out over the stream. In
order to maintain his position he had to
hang on with one hand and with the other |
he held his rod. Again he cried n agi- |
tated tones:
> ''Golly, dad, my dobber's under"
Pull up. sonnyl Pull upl"
Mickey did pull up, and dangling from |
the end OF his line was brook bass about |
Eve inches long. But Mickey was In such |
q position that he could not land his fish |
And so he Rugged the tree and palpitated |
and perspired and managed 70 lift Che fish /
Just so far out of the water thst its tail |
touched the swirling current.
The picture was such pleasing one to |
Mic.ey's father that he stood hidden BY |
the foliage and watched his boys dilemma /
for at least two minutes before he went |
to the rescue Then he slid down the
bank and held Mickey so that he could /
plished in q very careful manner for fear
that it might escape. But when it lay
upon the grass and gssped for its native
element there was no touch Of pity in
Mickey's heart; only look Of triumph N
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