Nor did it. When this had been done, Dick asked:

"Fellows, you know what we came here to do? Fish wouldn't taste
bad for supper, would it? Which two of you want to go and try
your luck for perch? They'll bite, even after dark."

Tom and Hazelton made a hasty selection of tackle, also producing
a can of bait that had been brought along from Gridley.

Then Tom and Harry disappeared, taking with them one of the lanterns.
A quarter of a mile below the camp were the ruins of an old pier
from which they could cast their lines.

Where the perch are plentiful there is little skill involved in
such fishing. Perch will bite after dark. The hook is baited
and dropped in. The fish take hold greedily, rarely falling from
the hook afterward.

While Tom and Harry were still fishing darkness fell. The two
Gridley boys fished on in silence, adding frequently to the two
crotched stick "strings" that flopped on the end of the pier.

"We've thirty-nine perch. That's enough, even for a hungry crowd
like ours," said Tom at last, after lighting the lantern.

"Here is the fortieth, then," called Hazelton, as he felt a tug
at his line. He landed a pound perch almost under Tom's nose.

"Good enough business, this," declared Tom contentedly. "I hope