He rose, turned to the river, and lifted his rod. As he stood
looking over the channel, and the pool where the Bass homed, the
Kingfisher came rattling down the river, and as if in answer to
its cry, the Black Bass gave a leap, that sent the water flying.
"Ready!" cried Dannie, swinging his pole over the water.
As the word left his lips, "whizz," Jimmy's minnow landed in the
middle of the circles widening about the rise of the Bass. There
was a rush and a snap, and Dannie saw the jaws of the big fellow
close within an inch of the minnow, and he swam after it for a
yard, as Jimmy slowly reeled in. Dannie waited a second, and then
softly dropped his grubs on the water just before where he
figured the Bass would be. He could hear Jimmy smothering oaths.
Dannie said something himself as his untouched bait neared the
bank. He lifted it, swung it out, and slowly trailed it in again.
"Spat!" came Jimmy's minnow almost at his feet, and again the
Bass leaped for it. Again he missed. As the minnow reeled away
the second time, Dannie swung his grubs higher, and struck the
water "Spat," as the minnow had done. "Snap," went the Bass. One
instant the line strained, the next the hook came up stripped
clean of bait.
Then Dannie and Jimmy really went at it, and they were strangers.
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