"Phenomegon. Doan' you-all know whut a phenomegon is?"
"Ah reckons Ah knows whut Ah means," answered Pete, with sudden dignity.
"You've mixed phenomenon and paragon, and----"
"Ah ain't mixed nuffin. Ef you-all thinks Ah'm er ignorampus, den Ah 'lows Ah ain't de fellah you wants tuh hiah."
"Yes, you are, Pete--you're just the fellow."
"Two dollars a day. There's pay for your first day's work."
Pete almost fell out of the boat. Fifty cents a day was the most he had ever received.
"Does yo' think yo' kin stand dat, boss?" he inquired. "Ah'd hate mahse'f tuh def ef Ah thought Ah was er strainin' yo' financibility."
"I guess it won't be much of a wrench to give you a couple of dollars a day," laughed Matt.
"Den yo's bought me. By golly, dis is de first time Ah's evah had two whole dollahs knockin' togethah en mah clothes since Ah was knee-high to a chickum. Where you-all wants tuh go, boss?"
"I want to go into Fourth Lake through the canal, then across Fourth and up the Catfish."
"Dat's easy. De Catfish runs f'om one lake tuh de odder, intuh one en out ergin, cleah f'om Fo'th Lake tuh First. Thutty miles you-all kin go in er boat, den intuh Rock Rivah en clean erroun' de worl'. But dat 'ar Fo'th Lake is right juberous when dar's er west win'. A boat Ah was in once, on dat 'ar lake, turned ovah fo' times! Yassuh. I got spilled out de las' time en swum fo'teen miles towin' de boat by de painter, which Ah done happen tuh ketch when Ah drapped in de watah. Ah got er medal fo' dat. De Gun Club give me de medal."
"They ought to have given you two medals, Pete."
"En it was er solid gol' medal, with er inscripshun sayin' dat Pickerel Pete was gallywhoopus tuh dat extent. Golly, but dat was er fine medal! It was as big erroun' as er fryin' pan."
"Must have bothered you some to tote it."
"Sold it fo' fo' dollahs en fo'ty cents, en dey kep' it in de cap'tol fo' people tuh come in en look at. Yo's got er pow'ful fine moke wo'kin' fo' yo', boss."
"Well, cast off, Pete, and we'll start. I'll do the steering, and you can sit up front and tell me which way to go."
Matt started the gasoline, switched on the spark, and Pete gave the fly wheel a turn. One turn of the wheel was enough to give them their first explosion, and the _Sprite_ shook herself together and started out into the lake.