Randy of the River | Page 5

soon reached the shallow pool among the rocks in which they
had been placed and drew up the two strings.
"Well, I declare!" he ejaculated, as he looked the fish over. Then he
counted them carefully. "What can this mean?"
His string had held twelve fish and Jack's eight fish. Now three of the
largest fish from each string were gone. He looked around with care,
but could see nothing of the missing fish.
"Hullo! What's keeping you?" shouted Jack, from the boat.
"Come up here!" called back Randy.
"Anything wrong?"
"Yes."
"Landy! I hope the fish aren't gone!" burst out Jack, as he scrambled up
the rocks and ran to where Randy was continuing the search.
The situation was soon explained and both boys hunted around in the
neighborhood of the pool, thinking the fish might have gotten away in
some manner. Then of a sudden Jack uttered a cry:
"Look at this, Randy!"
"What is it?"
"A key ring, with two keys on it."
"Where did you find it?"
"Here, right beside the pool."

"Then somebody has been here and taken our fish!"
"Exactly what I believe."
Jack began to examine the key ring and then he uttered another
exclamation:
"Here are some initials on the ring."
"What are they?"
"I can't make out very well--they are so worn. I think the first is R."
"Let me see."
Jack passed the find over and Randy examined it.
"I can make it out," said Randy. "R. A. B."
"Robert A. Bangs!" shouted Jack.
"Bob Bangs!" murmured Randy. "Could he have been mean enough to
come here and take some of our fish?"
"It certainly looks that way."
"Let us go after him and find out."
"All right. Anyway, we can make him explain how his key ring got
here."
Taking what was left of the fish, the two boys hurried back to the
rowboat and soon each was seated at an oar and pulling a good stroke
in the direction of the town.
"He must have been watching us fish," observed Jack. "And he must
have seen us place our catch in the pool."
"And took our best fish because he couldn't catch any of his own,"

concluded Randy. "Well, if he has my fish he has got to give them up,"
he added, with determination.
Rowing at a good rate of speed, it did not take the boys long to reach
the town. As they moved past one dock after another they looked for
Bob Bangs, but the big youth was nowhere in sight.
"I reckon he was afraid of being followed," said Jack.
"There is his boat," answered Randy, and pointed to the craft, which
was tied up near an old boathouse and not at the regular Bangs dock.
While the two boys rested on their oars an old man who was lame, and
who rented out boats for a living, came from the old boathouse. "Hullo,
Isaac!" called out Jack. "Have you seen Bob Bangs around here?"
"Why, yes; he just went ashore," answered Isaac Martin.
"Did he have any fish?"
"Yes, a nice string--some pretty big ones, too."
"How many?"
"Seven or eight."
"Which way did he go?"
"Up Samson Street."
"That's the back way to his house," cried Randy. "Come on!"
"What shall we do with our fish and the boat?"
"Let Isaac take care of them."
"Want me to take care of things, eh?" said the lame boatman. "Very
well, I'll do it."

The two boys were soon on the way, on a run. They knew about the
route Bob Bangs would take to get home and came in sight of the big
boy just as he was entering his father's garden by a rear gate.
"Stop, Bob!" called out Randy.
The big boy looked around hastily and was much chagrined to see the
others so close at hand. He held his string of fish behind him.
"What do you want?" he demanded, as they came closer.
"You know well enough what we want," returned Jack. "We want our
fish."
"Your fish? Who has got your fish?" blustered Bob.
"You've got them," retorted Randy, and made a snatch at the string. The
big boy held fast and a regular tug of war ensued.
"Let go!"
"I won't!"
"You shall!"
"See here, Bob," interposed Jack. "It won't do you any good to hang on.
Those are our fish and we want them."
"Bah! How do you know they are your fish?"
"Because you took them from the pool in which we placed them."
"I did not."
"You did."
"You can't prove it."
"Yes, we can."

"How?"
"By this," said Jack, triumphantly, and exhibited the key ring and keys.
CHAPTER III
EXPOSING BOB BANGS
When Bob Bangs saw the key ring his face changed color.
"Where did you get