"I have another, a large fish," shouted the schoolmaster, wildly excited
and rising to his feet. The fish pulled hard up stream till the whole
extent of line and rod combined was out at arm's length. Eager to secure
the prey, and thinking nothing of the precarious foundation on which he
stood, he placed a foot upon the gunwale in order to reach still farther
out.
"Look out, Wilks!" cried Coristine, as he also rose and grasped an
overhanging branch of the birch; but it was too late. The dug-out
tipped, the boards slid into the water, and with them went the dominie,
rod, fish, and all. When the canoe recovered its equilibrium, Wilkinson,
minus his wide awake, which was floating down the stream, was seen
apparently climbing the deep-sea mooring post, like a bear on a pole,
his clothes dripping where they were out of the water, his hair
plastered over his eyes, and his face flushed with anger. The lawyer
could not restrain his mirth, although he knew the vengeance it would
excite in the dominie's breast.
"O Wilks, Wilks, my poor drowned rat of a friend, ha! ha! ha! O Moses!
but it's too comical you are; the nuns couldn't help it, Wilks, no, nor
the undertaker's drum-major, nor a hired butler, even.
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