"A real banquet," Doctor Joe declared, as he helped himself
liberally. "I've eaten in some fine places since I've been away, but
I've had no such feast as this! And there's no one in the whole world
can fry trout like Margaret!"

"You always says that, sir," and Margaret's face glowed with pleasure
at the compliment.

"'Tis true!" declared Doctor Joe. "'Tis true!"

"I'm wonderin' now about the trout," remarked David.

"What are you wondering?" asked Doctor Joe.

"How folks get along with no trout to eat off where you've been, sir."

"There are men who go far out from the city and fish in the streams
for trout, just for the sport of catching them," explained Doctor Joe.
"They will tramp all day along brooks, and feel lucky if they catch a
dozen little fellows so small we'd not look at them here. But it is
only the few who do it for sport that ever get any at all, and there
are hundreds of people there who never even saw a trout, they catch so
very few of them."

"'Twould seem like a waste o' time," remarked Thomas, "if they
catches so few. I'd never walk all day for a dozen trout unless I was
wonderful hard up for grub. If I were wantin' fish so bad I'd set a
net for whitefish or salmon, or if there were cod grounds about I'd
gig for cod, though salmon or cod or whitefish would never be takin'