The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1923-11-15

Even the Preacher Himself Must Have
Caught Something of the Humor OF
the Odd Makeup.
the preacher himself must have
caught something of the humor Of the
odd makeup, for his studiously cir
cumspect face relaxed into a sugges-
ton of a grin.
After a mild bit of urging, a prodi-
gious deal of coaching, he was left
near shore to hold the brazil stick while
Jack and Counterman rowed out
around as great an expanse of water
as the length of the seine permitted.
On nearing the shore at the compile
ton of the circuit, the two rowers
leaped into the water the moment it
was shallow enough, leaving the boat
to Uncle Nick, and raced for the bank
at top speed, holding the brazil stick to
the bottom as they ran.
With the frantic river tribes thus
forced to shore, the water began to be
wildly agitated. Long ripples, shot
from side to side Of the rapidly dimin-
fishing space Enclosed by the net, as
some panic-stricken swimmer plowed
his reckless way near the surface.
Even the preachers tired and studi-
Gus eyes walked with the excitement,
and he tugged eagerly at the brazil as
the bass and pickerel began to leap,
glittering in the morning u like sill
yer arrows shot up by the river gods.
"Thar, boys, haul Ter easy" directed
Counterman. 'NWe got EN-. They
cayn't git away now. Man! hain't
Their a wad NV 'em! know'd this wus
a good hole"
The good fish were dropped into the
live box, the others thrown back into
the river-precisely as war claims the
best men and leaves the defective
and the fisherman seined on.
Several hauls had been made, none
of them quite so profitable as the first,
and the sun was fast mounting toward
mid-sky when, as q wind-up, they pre-
pared to drag the famous Alpine hole
hat lay along the south edge Of the
narrow sandbar jutting far down
srream from the lower end of the is
land.
This hyur's a hard hole t fish," OBJ
served Counterman, handing the near
brazil to the preacher and taking his
place at the oars with Jack, 'but
they're thar, if we can git en-
Banks purity steep" called Uncle
Nick from his place in the stern. BET
ter not try t. wade out nome" I
The preacher nodded and the other
stopped to his task at the seine.
gut when the usual circuit was com
pieted and they began TO haul in on the
seine, it was noticed that it did MOI
how out in the wide curve a spread
seine should. Instead, as the men
pulled, the sides drew in toward each
other until the floating corks stretched
out into the river in nearly parallei
lines.
Hung up, by thunder growleo
Counterman, scraping the sweat from
his grimy forehead with a grimler fore
finger. "Snag r somethin' about forty
wards out thar-right whar the DOT
fom,s out. too, as the Teller says.
Jack walked ND the bank a short
distance to where the boat was
beached.
Stripped to the skin, a figure tnat
might have been a model for those
master s%culptors who conferred I'M
mortality upon the gods of classic
Greece. he was Just slipping into the
water when Uncle Nick came up the
bar.
eYoull find the lead line fast on
soniethin'-a snag more'n likely" ne
directed. ."Jist hist it off. faint. no
trick-but we've lost u fish,"
Warhope glanced back over his
shoulder and nodded. The next mo-
ment he was blowing through the
stream with strokes so powerful II
saenfed his great shoulders fairly
scorfiead the water and spurned II on,
OF fhe way. But the task ahead proven
sbarder than the light remarb off, his
old friend had indicated i was M
after he had three times diyed to tne
bottom of Alpine hole that he was aoie
r. locate the snag and release the
seine. +ho
When he swan: ashore followlng sie
seine as Uncle Nick and Counterihal
hauled it in, the preacher VINO hau
come up the. bar, was seated on n,e
forward g.nwale of the boat feelins
ovar his clothes stacked in the DOW, as
e oooer IN assure himself that they
had not come to harm.
The woodsman was putting HIS va
ing clothes on again when a snsh.
tbrd as of some heavy object strlkln@