Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1924-01-10

| Luc IlNti-pfeSiSely as WAT CidlInS Inc
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 a wind-up, they pre-
pared to drag the famous Alpine hole
that lay along the south edge Of the
narrow sandbar jutting far down
stream from the lower end of the is
land
This hyur's nard 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 'em."
Banks purity steep" called Uncle
Nick from his place in the stern. Bet
ter not try T. wade out none"
The preacher nodded and the other
stopped to his task at the seine.
But when the usual circuit was com
pleted and they began to haul in on the
| seine, 1t was noticed that ii did not
bow out in the wide curve 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 parallel
lines.
Hung up, by thunder" growled
| Counterman, scraping the sweat from
his grimy forehead with grimier fore
| finger. "Snag r somethin about forty
yards out thar-right whar the bot
TOMS out, too, as the Teller says"
Jack walked up the bank short
distance to where the boat was
beached.
Stripped to the skim figure that
might have been model for those
master sculptors 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.
You'll find the lead line fast on
somethin'-a snag more'n likely" he
directed "Jist hist it Off 'Tain't nc
trick-but we've lost our fish,"
Warhope glanced back over his
shoulder and nodded The next mo-
ment he was blowing through the
stream with strokes so powerful 1t
seemed his great shoulders fairly
scorned the water and spurned 1t out
Of the way. But the task ahead proved
harder than the light remark Of his
old friend had indicated. 1t was only
after he had three times dived to the
bottom of Alpine hole that he was able
| to locate the snag and release the
seine.
| When he swan ashore. following the
seine as Uncle Nick and Counterman
hauled 1t in, the preacher. who had
| forward gunwae of the boat, feeling
| over his clothes stacked in the bow, as
| if eager to assure himself that they
had not come to HARM
The woodsman was putting his wad-
| ing clothes on again when slight
thud, as Of some heavy object striking
| the bottom of the boat. caught his
quick ear. Without turning his head
he happened to be just then squeezing
the water out of his hair before put
| ting his shirt on-he was able to catch
glimpse of the ivory butt of six
gun protruding from a pocket OF the
black frock coat as 1t was being tucked
back in the pile with the tall hat and
shiny boots.
| Nor was that all-with a deftness
that would hardly have been expected
In one of his profession, the slim fin
| gers were feeling over the other two
stacks Of clothes as If making sure
that the six-gun he had just tucked
away was the only one In the crowd.
Still. probably such an intention was
farthest from his thought. Six-gun and
all. 1t was likely merely another of the
many eccentricities Of man who had
the double drawback of being a profess
sor as well as a tenderfoot-in the
4 eyes of the woodsman, a combination
about as bad az could be made.
Uncle Nick and Counterman had
just finished hauling in the seine when
Jack Warhope, followed by the preach
err, came down the bar and rejoined
them. But the. old. mans prediction
! about losing the fish proved correct
The haul produced not thing except
a very surprised, highly Indignant
swapping turtle. Counterman kicked
the turtle back into the water and
stared ruefulIy at the empty seine.
"Them fish has o. be made up'-he
glanced up the river-"an's thar's jist
one shore place t':do it" 60
Mud haul" Uncle Nick finished.
"Egzac'ly. Hits SIGH a nasty place
t Ash that 1t amt hardly ever fished,
but they're thar"
The preacher had turned quick
look up the river; an expression of po-
lite displeasure clouded his face-an
expression which the others, busy
with the seine. failed to notice. AS
matter Of fact, his part in the morn
ing's sport had been NEXT to negligible.
After the mild and momentary excite
ment over the first haul. his interest
had obviously waned.
! if