"Now," said d.i.c.k.

"No, wait until it is further under," said Jimmy.

Frank waited until the bird was fairly under the net, and then pulled the string. The trap descended upon three hens, half-a-dozen sparrows, and the water-hen.

"Hurrah!" cried the boys, rushing out. It was a matter of some difficulty to secure the bird they wanted from among the struggling ma.s.s of hens and sparrows, but they did so at last without hurting any of the others, and at once pinioned it by cutting off its wing feathers.

The next morning as soon as it was light they rowed to the place where the big pike lay. Everything was very still and quiet, and shrouded in a light grey mist, as they pushed their way along a narrow channel to the pool. They had brought with them their strongest rod and their stoutest line, and they carefully tried every knot and fastening of their tackle before commencing to fish. The next most important thing was to bait the water-hen or arm her with hooks properly. This was done by tying a number of hooks lightly to her with thread, and ruffling the feathers so as to conceal them.

"Poor thing," said d.i.c.k, as Frank took up the rod and swung her into the pool.

By keeping a slight pull on the line the bird was induced to turn in the opposite direction, and to swim towards the middle of the pool.

"Another minute or two will show if our plan is successful," said Frank, "and if not, the bird shall be let loose."

"I don't feel much faith in it now," said Jimmy.

When the bird reached the centre of the pool she dived.

"Oh dear, I did not expect that," said Frank. "What shall we do now?"

"She must come up again presently. The pool is twelve feet deep, and she cannot cling to the bottom."

"I felt her give such a pull just now. She is struggling hard to escape," said Frank, who was still letting out line.

Two or three minutes pa.s.sed away, and still the bird did not make her appearance.

"Pull in the line a bit, Frank."

Frank did so, and said,--

"She must be clinging to the bottom. I cannot move her," and he pulled a little harder.

"I say," he cried, "I felt such a sharp tug. I do believe the big pike has got hold of her."

"Nonsense!" said the others.

"But it isn't nonsense," said Frank, and he held the rod bent so that they could see the top twitching violently.

"It is the pike!" Frank exclaimed excitedly, and he immediately let the line run loose, so that the pike might have room to gorge his prey.

"He must have seized the water-hen as she dived," said d.i.c.k.

"Yes, and won't we give him plenty of time to gorge. I don't want to miss him now we have got such a chance," said Frank.

And in spite of their impatience they gave the pike half-an-hour to swallow the bird, and then, at the end of that time, there were sundry twitchings of the point of the rod, and the line was taken out by jerks of a foot or two at a time.

"He is moving about," said Jimmy. "It is time to strike."

Frank raised his rod amid a hush of expectation. As the line tightened he struck lightly, and immediately the rod bent double with a mighty rush from the pike as he went straight across the little pool, which was about thirty yards in diameter. After this first rush the pike began to swim slowly about, keeping deep down and never showing himself. Round and round and across the pool he swam, now resting for a few minutes like a log, and from a twitching of the line apparently giving angry shakes of his head. Frank kept a steady, even strain upon him, and as the s.p.a.ce was so circ.u.mscribed there was no danger of a breakage by any sudden rush.

This sort of thing went on for half-an-hour, the line slowly cutting through the still, dark water; and Jimmy and d.i.c.k urged Frank to pull harder, and make the fish show himself. But Frank was too wise to give way, and he still kept on in a steady, cautious fashion.

"If we go on much longer we shall be late for Mr. Meredith," said d.i.c.k.

"Never mind," replied Frank, "he will forgive us on such an occasion as this."

"Here he comes," shouted Frank, as he wound in his line. The pike came rolling up to the surface a few yards from the boat, and they caught sight of him. His proportions were gigantic, and his fierce eyes glared savagely at them. He gave a flounder on the top of the water, then sank down again into the depths.

"What a monster!"

In a few minutes the pike came up again, and this time more on his side, and plainly much exhausted. Three times more did he thus rise and sink again, and each time he seemed more helpless. The fourth time he remained on the surface lying on his side. d.i.c.k got hold of the gaff and held it in the water with outstretched arm, while Frank slowly drew the conquered giant towards it. d.i.c.k put the gaff under him and sharply drove it into his side, and then Jimmy and he uniting their forces, hauled the pike into the punt, almost upsetting it in their eagerness, and then threw themselves on the fish to prevent it flopping out again.

They rowed home in great triumph, and on weighing the pike it was found to be 34 lbs. in weight, and the largest which had been caught in Hickling Broad for many years. The time it took to land it from the time it was struck was fifty-five minutes.

CHAPTER x.x.xIV.

Fishing on Stilts.--A Capsize.--Wild-fowl-Shooting.-- A Flare-up.

December was ushered in with a week of storm and wet, and as the boys were shut out from outdoor pursuits they had more leisure for indoor studies; and one day a bright idea occurred to Jimmy, by the carrying out of which he said he could fish the broad without the trouble of rowing a boat. So on a Sat.u.r.day afternoon, when the clouds had broken, and the rain ceased, and the still water reflected the pale blue of the December sky, Frank and d.i.c.k sat at the boat-house window watching Jimmy put his plan into execution.

He had turned a couple of leaping-poles into stilts. His feet rested upon foot-rests, but were not fastened to them, so that if he fell into the water his feet would be free and he could keep himself right-end uppermost; but the crutches of the stilts which came up under his arms were lightly tied around his shoulders, to leave his arms at liberty to use a rod. And now, having been fairly started by the aid of his friends, he was stalking along like a huge heron in about five feet of water, and was spinning for pike, casting his bait to right and left of him and oftentimes behind him,--for his movements were rather uncertain and erratic; and as making a cast disturbed his equilibrium, he was obliged to execute a sort of waltz-step to recover himself. Frank and d.i.c.k were in ecstasies of laughter at his involuntary antics.

"He will never catch any fish in that way," observed d.i.c.k.

In a little while, however, they saw his rod bend double, and it was evident that a good-sized pike had seized his bait. Then Jimmy made a stumble, and a violent effort to recover himself, and in so doing turned his back to the pike, which resented the insult by making a savage rush, pulling Jimmy backwards.

There was a violent sort of war-dance on Jimmy's part, during which one of the stilts seemed to be pointing upwards, and then Jimmy, with a last wild flourish of a stilt in the air, descended from his lofty height and disappeared beneath the waters of the broad.

Frank and d.i.c.k hastened, as fast as their laughter would allow them, to the punt, and rowed to meet Jimmy, who was half wading half swimming towards them, the two long stilts trailing behind him from his shoulders, and his rod following Mr. Pike on a different course.

"Swim after your rod, Jimmy," cried Frank.

"Whoo, hoo! it is so cold," spluttered Jimmy.

He scrambled into the punt, and, just staying to recover the rod, and with it a pike of about six pounds in weight, they rowed back, and Jimmy ran home to change.

Frank afterwards said to Jimmy,--

"That stilt dodge of yours is a capital idea. You see you caught a pike directly with it. Won't you try it again?"

"No, thank you," said Jimmy, "once ducked, twice shy."

After a few days' fine weather a hard frost and deep snow set in. A stiff breeze prevented the broad from being frozen over, and swept the snow into drifts wherever there was anything to arrest its progress.

When the snow had ceased, the wind and frost still continued, and wild-fowl in large numbers visited the broad. d.i.c.k did not care sufficiently about the shooting to make him willing to face the cold; but Jimmy and Frank had capital sport among the wild-ducks. They killed the greatest number when the ducks took their morning or evening flight across a reedy spit of land which ran out into the broad. Here the boys had sunk a large cask in the earth, and when they were both hidden in this, packed in with dry straw and a retriever with them, they were warm and comfortable. The whistle of wings cleaving the air, or a cry of wild-fowl in the starlit silence of the night, would arouse them, and, with their heads peering over the top of the cask, they had their guns in readiness to salute the dark objects pa.s.sing over with a shower of shot.