“We’ll cut our holes here,” he announced. “Spread out a little and don’t cut ’em too near together.”
It was no small task. A coating of hard-packed snow was first removed. Then came the ice, which was now over three feet in thickness. The holes when finished were three feet in diameter at the top, tapering down to a foot and a half at the bottom like a funnel.
“Now,” said Indian Jake when all was ready, “we’ll see whether we’re goin’t’ get any fish.”
David’s baited hook had hardly sunk below the surface of the water when he felt a tug, and an instant later he drew out a whitefish that he was quite sure weighed four pounds at the very least. A little later Indian Jake drew out another, and almost at the same moment Andy gave a shout as he landed still another.
“Looks like we’re goin’ t’ get whitefish, _what_ever,” said Indian Jake.
Standing still upon the open ice soon became cold and disagreeable work. The lines quickly became encrusted with a thick coating of ice, and it was necessary to keep them moving up and down in the hole, else the water would freeze at once. Even then they must clear away the accumulated ice frequently.
With the rising sun a breeze sprang up from the west to add to the discomfort, and presently Indian Jake, unhooking a whitefish, asked:
“I’ve got four fine ones,” David announced.
“I’ve got three, and that makes ten,” calculated Indian Jake. “That’s all we’ll use this week and next week and th’ week after. They’s no need standin’ here and freezin’, and we might as well go back t’ th’ tilt. Pull in, boys, and we’ll go.”
Indian Jake and David drew in their lines, and proceeded to clear them of ice, but Andy, with his still in the water hole, was making no preparation to leave.
“Come, Andy,” David shouted. “Jake and me are ’most ready to go.”
“I can’t,” answered Andy. “My hook’s snagged on something, and I can’t pull un in.”
“Let me try her,” said Indian Jake, who had wound his line, and was picking up the frozen fish and dropping them into an empty flour bag he had brought for the purpose.
“Here, try un,” and Andy surrendered the line to Indian Jake, just as the line gave a mighty tug.
“Why, you’ve got a fish on there!” exclaimed Indian Jake. “He’s as big as a porpoise, too, whatever he is!”