The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-04-20

turned. by Inal IlIno we ndu DeSii
angling for three hours. Roy was
still there-still searching out the hole
that the condescending farmer had
tipped off to him. But this time he
resembled the Lincoln statue on the
state house grounds sad
dened, resigned.
How are you coming, Roy?" I
stage-whispered across to him, fear
ing that 1 might frighten his lonely
pool of hidden bass.
Great" he growled, Il haven't had
to change my bait yet
1 went across the creek and Joined
him. We stuck our poles in the mud,
! cork handles and all, and built little
fire. For a half hour we talked it
over. For four hours we had been
exhausting the patience that only a
fisherman can command and neither
of US had once witnessed a disturb
ance of our floaters. Our worms. now
white and securely laundried to the
hooks, were just as we had placed
them.
We spied a boy walking thru the
, woods. 1 hailed him. He sat down
with U.S.
Amy fish around here?" we asked
him.
'Aw, sometimes" he answered.
Been catching any here lately?"
"A few"
What WITH"
we set our lines at night and run
EN- in the mornin' when we want to
catch fish here"
Has fishing here always been as
poor as this YEAR," we inquired.
He didn't answer for moment.
Then he turned toward US in undis-
guised disgust
Say he blurted, WHO told you
fellers there was any fish here this
spring? Huh? Didn't you know that
all these cricks froze solid this winter
Il T.
anybody would know that
Roy looked at me. 1 looked at Roy.
The boy didn't wait for an answer
to his questions. His QUESTIONABLE
needed no verbal or written reply. He
got up. pulled his cap down over his
eyes and shuffled up thru the woods.
A little child shall lead them-to
the truth.
Didn't say before. that boy is
always right?
Roy and I did not expose our Sc
cret. We walked up the creek, found
the rest of the party, equally at loss to
account for the lack of bites and
strikes, and threw our lines in again
to keep them company.
Suddenly someone mentioned food
1t came like a bomb. Five lines
swished from the water and five poles
were thrown over five tired Shout
ders Silently the party. heads down
and feet crunching into the burrows OF
the fields, filed in Indian line to the
automobile.
The huge canvas was folded up
neatly and fastened to the running
board of the car. Bills grain sack
was thrown down among the yellow
violets Harry's reel, wet and muddy,
was showed carelessly into corner
The newspapers were torn from the
floor and flung to the four winds.
D ~, no his ont of the woods
and headed toward town.
1t was cold, cruel winter!
The next morning we started home
1t rained most of the night. Jay de-
cided suddenly but wisely, that he
had to make a few calls before he
left Erie and would come up on the
train. Sliding, slipping, skidding,
| stopping to cool the engine and never
making more than five or six miles an
hour. we spent the entire morning go
ing to Chanute-only nineteen miles.
At Chanute 1 remembered with a
startle that 1 must be in Topeka early
that evening. 1 have forgotten what
called me home-but I could, figure
only one way to do it and that was
via the Santa Fee. So I came by the
Santa Fe.
The next day at noon the Trium-
virate rolled in. They claim that the
| roads were good, that they had two
Dig rried chicken meals with ice cream
and pie at Waverly, that they stopped
at Lyndon and fished for an hour and
caught all they could carry along, that
oh well. when a fisherman return
eth, the truth is not in him.
1t is an old saying among fin ex-
perts that the other side of the
| stream always looks the best" There
| are no better streams in Kansas in
which to fish than creeks within a
few hours ride of Topeka But no
fisherman really feels as tho he has
taken full advantage of the sport I'M
less he devotes large part of his
! fishing expedition to going and COM
| ing. The more remote the stream,
| the more tempting the angling
After the writer had returned home,