The San Francisco call., 1905-01-15
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olives, and cheese, and cookies, and
oranges, and bananas, and tin box
ways take some fish with me when
go fishing. Then. If you don't catch
any, why, / have fish anyhow"
Then Billy cut a coupe of small
hickory sprouts, and, sharpening an
end of each, gave one to Tommy Has
kins and said Now you do just
what you see me do. I'm going to show
you how to cook" Then he took three
Of the slices of bacon, impaled them
and held them over the bed of Goals
to broil. Tommy Haskins did likewise
with the other three slices. Soon q
tantalizing, appetizing odor came from
the bacon as the grease sputtered down
on the not Goals and the raw sides Of
the strips took on a delicate brown.
'U-m-m! l didn't know bacon could
smell so good. 1t fairly makes my
mouth water"
1T tastes as good as 1t smells, too,
on a picnic like this" responded Billy
1t was a glorious dinner. Tommy
Haskins said as much and Billy heart
lily agreed with him. 1t was the first
time Tommy Haskins had ever tasted
sardines. He said they were awful
good" Billy did not care for any. He
said So That is why Tommy Haskins
ate them all. Real French sardines are
good. Billy said he had his mouth
propose to spoil his appetite by filling
up on sardines. Tommy Haskins was
sure it would not affect his appetite.
He did not like the stuffed olives, how
ever. and said so frankly. Billy liked
stuffed olives and ate them all. He ex-
planned that stuffed olives always gave
him an appetite for bass; and then
each Of them ate three slices of broiled
bacon and wished for more. When the
last crumb Of the dinner had disap-
peared they looked at each other and
smiled
Then it was that Tommy Haskins
said. Billy, did you ever lear tell Of
folks eatin' frogs?"
Yes"
well. but do you believe it?"
''Why, yes! In fact, I've eaten them
many a time myself"
"Gee!"
They're good! Better than spring
chicken-a whole lot better!"
"Gee-mi nee Crickets!"
'They are. You just take the hind
legs, skin them, roll them in cracker
dust, fry them in butter. and they're
just-honkey!"
Say! 1 know where there's a whole
million of 'em. But we haven't no gun
nor nothin' to shoot 'em with"
You do? Then we'll have a few! I
know how to get en-
Billy cut a bit of red cloth from the
corner of the laprobe and proceeded to
wrap the hooks.
Anything red makes bullfrog an
cry. It's like shaking a red rag at
bull. You want to pick out your frog,
hold the hook out in front of him and
ten chances to one he'll make jump
for it and get caught Well have more
fun this afternoon than we can shake
stick at"
They fished for frogs with fair sue
cess until late in the afternoon; then
they started back to where they had
left the horse and buggy. They loiter-
ed by the way and built little dam
of stones across a shallow rifle. They
sent fiat pebbles skipping across the
surface of the water. They answered
the piping call of the quail somewhere
out in the green wheat field. AT the
cave, where the sandstone cliff arched
over the creek Billy discerned some
slight depressions in the dry dusty floor
of the cave, such as one might make
by pressing the finger tips gently into
a little heap OF dust
Billy asked Tommy Haskins IL lhe
had ever seen the doodle bugs, and re-
ceiving a negative answer and the ex-
preston of Tommy Haskins' utter dis
belief In their existence, he dropped
down on his hands and knees and be-
gan repeating the time hOnored formu-
la for charming doodle bugs from their
subterranean home. The little mounds
of dust began to tremble, and then the
little dusty beetles came forth and
whirled round and round in a very ex-
cited manner indeed. The boy looked
his utter establishment and then ex-
claimed:
Billy, 1 b'lieve you know purt' nigh
everything!"
Billy smiled and replied: 'I guess you
know a thing or two yourself. Say! Do
you s'pose your ma has scaled those
fish yet?'
Il don't know, but 1 bet she cooks
'em all right Once my ma was SICK
and we had hired girl, and we purt'
nigh starved to death! Pa could beat
her cookin' hisself. l heard him tell
ma so. But you just wait till you taste
my mas cookin'!"
When they drove out into the smooth
road along the west side Of the sec
ton. Billy handed Tommy Haskins the
lines and said:
"Now YOU drive bit. Hold a good
tight lire. chirrup twice and / guess
Prince will not need any whip"
Tommy Haskins squared his elbows,
chirruped twice and the roadster shot
forward with suddenness that almost
took the boys breath. Prince could do
a 2.4O clip and it was the first time
Tommy Haskins had ever drawn line
over anything faster than one OF his
na,. old farm horses. The fence posts,
The grazing cattle. the row of catalpa
trees along the roadside, all seemed to
he fving in the opposite direction.
Tononnv Haskins drew harder still
40, tha lines, his feet well braced
AGAINST the foot rail. but the horse only