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3Close beside the boat a big trout broke the surface of the water. Nick pulled hard on one oar so the boat would turn and the bait spinning far behind would pass where the trout was feeding. As the trout's back came up out of the water the minnows jumped wildly. They sprinkled the surface like a handful of shot thrown into the water. Another trout broke water, feeding on the other side of the boat. "They're feeding," Marjorie said. "But they won't strike," Nick said. He rowed the boat around to troll past both the feeding fish, then headed it for the point. Marjorie did not reel in until the boat touched the shore. They pulled the boat up the beach and Nick lifted out a pail of live perch. The perch swam in the water in the pail. Nick caught three of them with his hands and cut their heads off and skinned them while Marjorie chased with her hands in the bucket, finally caught a perch, cut its head off and skinned it. Nick looked at her fish. "You don't want to take the ventral fin out," he said. "It'll be all right for bait but it's better with the ventral fin in." He hooked each of the skinned perch through the tail. There were two hooks attached to a leader on each rod. Then Marjorie rowed the boat out over the channel-bank, holding the line in her teeth, and looking toward Nick, who stood on the shore holding the rod and letting the line run out from the reel. "That's about right," he called. "Should I let it drop?" Marjorie called back, holding the line in her hand. "Sure. Let it go." Marjorie dropped the line overboard and watched the baits go down through the water. |
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5Marjorie unpacked the basket of supper."I don't feel like eating," said Nick."Come on and eat, Nick.""All right."They ate without talking, and watched the two rods and the firelight in the water."There's going to be a moon tonight," said Nick. He looked across the bay to the hills that were beginning to sharpen against the sky. Beyond the hills he knew the moon was coming up."I know it," Marjorie said happily.She didn't say anything. He went on. "I feel as though everything was gone to hell inside of me. I don't know, Marge. I don't know what to say." He looked on at her back. "Isn't love any fun?" Marjorie said. "No," Nick said. Marjorie stood up. Nick sat there, his head in his hands. "I'm going to take the boat," Marjorie called to him. "You can walk back around the point." "All right," Nick said. "I'll push the boat off for you." "You don't need to," she said. She was afloat in the boat on the water with the moonlight on it. Nick went back and lay down with his face in the blanket by the fire. He could hear Marjorie rowing on the water. He lay there for a long time. He lay there while he heard Bill come into the clearing, walking around through the woods. He felt Bill coming up to the fire. Bill didn't touch him, either. "Did she go all right?" Bill said. "Oh, yes." Nick said, lying, his face on the blanket. "Have a scene?" "No, there wasn't any scene." "How do you feel?" "Oh, go away, Bill! Go away for a while." Bill selected a sandwich from the lunch basket and walked over to have a look at the rods. |
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