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Episode 3
- Splashes in the Night
- The sun was just setting when everyone settled into their sleeping bags; Rufus had been asleep for nearly a half hour already. It was quiet. The birds and the last of the cicadas settled down and only a few crickets broke the stillness.
- It was around midnight when Mort awoke with a start. "What's that?" he asked no one in particular, as everyone else was asleep.
- "Dad, did you say something?" Mal asked.
- "I thought I heard a noise, maybe a splash," Mort answered. "It was probably just a raccoon trying to catch some fish for a late night snack."
- "Dad, there it goes again," Mal said.
- "I heard it too. More like a fish jumping. They do that, you know," Mort said. "It's nothing. I'm sorry I woke you up. Go back to sleep."
- It was quiet for a minute or two and then another splash, splash. By this time Mort and Mal were curious and awake enough to want to investigate. The moon was nearly full, so it would be fairly easy to make their way down to the beach, Mort reasoned. And it was warm out, so they wouldn’t get chilled.
- “Shh. Let’s not awaken the girls,” Mort cautioned.
- Rufus was awake by now. He yawned, stretched and slowly got up to follow father and son down to the beach.
“Dad, look, it’s grandpa,” Mal said, pointing to the cabin. Mike preferring sleeping on a cot in the cabin. “Easier on the bones and more room for you in the tent,” he told the family earlier.
- Mike waved and joined them on the beach.
- “You heard it to, eh?” he asked.
- “Splashing. Could it be the Loch Ness monster, grandpa?” Mal asked.
- “You know that’s just a fable, Mal,” said Mort.
- “Well, this is ‘Loch Ness,’ isn’t it?” Mal responded. “There it goes again!”
- Mal pointed to the middle of the pond where the sound seemed to be coming from, although no one saw anything. Not even a shadow.
- Then another splash.
- “I saw it! I saw it!” Mal whispered loudly. “It was over there.”
- Mort and Mike both thought they saw the shadow of a fish, but they weren’t entirely sure as it disappeared quickly. The moon showed that there were ripples in the water, confirming that something disturbed the surface.
- “How big do you think it was, Mal?” Mike asked.
- “I dunno, Grandpa. Maybe like this,” Mal answered, holding his arms out in front of him, slightly bent inward from his shoulders.
- “Hmm. Hardly a monster size,” Mort observed. “Let’s wait for just a couple more minutes to see if it jumps again. It’s late and morning will be here before you know it.”
- They waited for about five minutes, but the pond remained quiet. Rufus turned to go back to the tent.
- “Smart boy, Rufus,” said Mort. “He’s got the right idea. Let’s go back to sleep.”
- Sunrise Fishing
- Mike was up before dawn. He brought up the fishing gear from the storage area and was putting some of the poles and lures into the rowboat when Mort and Mal came down to the beach.
- “The girls still asleep?” Mike asked.
- “Uh huh,” Mal answered. “Sleepyheads.”
- “Actually, I’m pretty sleepy too,” said Mort. “I was kind of restless the rest of the night, waiting to hear more splashing.”
- “Me too,” said Mike. “I didn’t hear anything more, though. Did you, Mal?”
- “Nope. Maybe it’s waiting for us to row out there and then jump into our boat,” said Mal.
- “Not too likely, Mal,” said Mort. “From the size you think it was, it probably couldn’t make it over the side of the boat.”
- “Let’s go out for a little bit. The sun is just coming up. We might just catch a fish or two for breakfast and surprise the ladies,” Mike suggested.
- “Fish for breakfast? That WOULD surprise them,” Mal said, turning up his nose.
- When Agnes and Mel came out of the tent, their surprise was to see the rowboat already out in the middle of the pond, all three fishing poles poised over the water. Rufus was sitting in the front of the boat, looking every bit the “captain pooch.”
- Agnes waved. “Hey, you didn’t wait for us!” she called out.
- “No room,” Mort called back. “Fishing poles are on the sand. You can fish from the pier.”
- “No thanks,” Mel said to Agnes. “Fishing’s boring, and I don’t like the hooks. Besides, I’m hungry.”
- “Me too,” said Agnes. “I don’t think we have to worry about them bringing back any fish for breakfast. Do you want some cereal now, or do you want to wait until they come back and I can make the eggs and bacon on our propane stove?”
- “I’ll wait,” said Mel, as she walked down to the beach.
- Mel sat down at the far edge of the little pier and dangled her feet in the cool water, amused by the lack of activity in the rowboat. As she looked down into the shallow water, she could see some small fish darting around with jerky movements. Those definitely are too small to eat, she thought.
- Then Mel noticed a fishing net lying next to the two poles that were left for her and Agnes. Bet they forgot it; maybe I can try catching those little fish, she thought, and went to pick it up.
- Of course, the tiny fish were too fast to be caught and Mel soon tired of trying, so she put the net into the water, leaning the handle against some bushes along the bank.
- Mike, Mort and Mal were also tired of trying to catch fish as well – and hungry -- so they quickly rowed back as soon as they saw Agnes starting up the propane stove.
- “No fish for breakfast, eh?” Agnes greeted them with a smile.
- “Afraid not,” said Mike. “By the way, when we go into town this morning, we should probably pick up some more ice for the cooler. Don’t want any of the food to spoil.”
- A Message from the Caretaker
- The Maloneys returned to “Loch Ness” a bit before noon. They found a note taped to the cabin door. It said:
- Hope you’re enjoying your stay. Please call if you need anything.
- It was from the caretaker. Agnes got out her cell phone and dialed the number.
- “Everything’s perfect,” she told him. “Thank you for all your thoughtful arrangements.”
- “Did you catch any fish yet,” he asked.
- “Not yet, but we’ll be trying again later,” she responded.
- “Well, watch out for that big ol’ catfish that some people say we’ve got. I’ve never seen it, but I’ve heard Al and others talk about hearing splashing around at night. But that’s not likely, because catfish are bottom fish. Never heard of catfish jumping and splashing.”
- “Ok, we will. Thanks again for everything.”
- “What did he say, Ag?” Mort asked.
- “He sounded very nice. Asked if we caught any fish yet and if we heard any splashing. Rumor has it that there’s a big catfish going around splashing at night,” Agnes replied.
- “Catfish are bottom fish. They don’t splash, except when they’re caught,” Mike said.
- “But we did hear splashing. Dad, Mal and I heard it last night. We went down to investigate, but it was hard to see in the dark,” said Mort.
- “And you didn’t wake Mel and me up to go with you for protection? Weren’t you scared?” Agnes asked, a bit skeptically since no one mentioned their nighttime stroll to the beach.
- “If all that splashing around didn’t wake you up, why should we?” Mal teased.
- “Well, what do you want to do this afternoon? I'm still tired from all our splashing around yesterday. We could watch the grass grow,” Agnes suggested.
- “Not a bad idea, Aggie. I'm tired too.” Mike said.
- “Great! Let’s start right now,” said Mort.
- At first the twins thought the adults might have really meant to watch the grass grow.
- Finally realizing the joke, Mal said, “I think we should all watch Mel’s hair grow, instead.”
- “I’m going into the cabin for awhile. I could use a nap,” Mike said.
- "C'mon Dad, Mom. I want to see a fish that looks like a cat," Mal pleaded.
- "Does it really look like a cat?" Mel asked.
- "Catfish do remind me of cats. They've got kind of flat heads and really long whiskers. Just like a cat's whiskers," Agnes said.
- "Speaking of flat heads, that's what mine feels like. I'm kind of tired too," said Mort.
- "Aw, Dad," Mal complained.
Fish for Dinner
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- Mort decided to give in, figuring that fishing wouldn't take much energy. He might even be able to talk Mal into fishing from the pier. He would be able to lie down in the sand and enjoy the sun. No rowing! Agnes felt obliged to follow, even though she felt, like her daughter, that fishing was boring.
- Mal and Mel ran ahead while their parents walked behind at a liesurely pace. Mel told her brother about the little fish she saw at the edge of the pier, and they both were staring into the water when Agnes and Mort reached them.
- "What are you two looking for?" Agnes asked.
- Mel explained that they were trying to find the little fish that she saw early that morning from the pier.
- "Well, what's this?" Mort exclaimed.
- He was about to set up fishing poles for Mal and Mel to try their luck with from the pier when he noticed the fishnet in the water. Stooping down to have a better look at the shadow he thought he saw in the net, he couldn't quite believe his eyes. Looking HIM in the eye was a catfish, calmly resting in the net.
- "Ag, would you come here? You too, Mal and Mel. You wanted to see a catfish? Here, have a look."
- "That's sure a catfish," said Agnes. "Mal, Mel, you see those beady little eyes, those whiskers? Its body is flat, so it can move along the bottom. Most other fish have a...a fish shape, like your goldfish at home."
- "I thought fish were afraid of people," said Mel. "He doesn't look scared at all."
- "Can we keep it?" Mal asked.
- "I'm not sure wild catfish are so good to eat. They're called bottom feeders because they eat whatever falls to the bottom of a pond or lake. Farmed catfish are tasty, though," Mort said.
- "I didn't mean to eat," Mal said, "I meant as a pet. We could fill a plastic bag with water and take it back home."
- "I'm afraid it's too big, Mal," Mort explained. "Now that you had a good look at it, let's release it and let it swim away."
- After a bit of coaxing, the catfish slowly swam away. Mort attached lures to four of the poles and gave two of the smaller poles to the twins.
- “You can sit at the edge of the pier and hold the pole over the water, like this,” Mort explained. “Let Mom and me know if you feel something pull or you see the bobber move. We’ll just sit here on the bench awhile and watch.”
- “What if we catch a fish?” Mal asked.
- “If it’s too small, we’ll take it off your hook and throw it back into the water. If it’s big enough to eat, we’ll fill one of your sandcastle pails with water to keep it alive until we’re ready to prepare it,” Agnes said.
- “Here, fishie, fishie,” Mel called.
- “That’s plain silly, Mel,” Mal sniffed. “They’re not like Rufus.”
- “Sounds sometimes scare the fish, so quiet is best,” Agnes said as she came over to the pier.
- “Here, fishie, fishie,” Mel called again, only softer, as she slowly moved her pole back and forth over the water.
- “Look there, Mel. It looks like you’re going to get a nibble,” Agnes whispered.
- “What do I do, Mom?” Mel asked.
- “Just keep moving your pole the way you’re doing, slowly. Watch the bobber. When you see or can feel a fish tugging on the line, slowly wind up the line. Not too fast.”
- The fish bit and Mel pulled up her first catch ever, a bluegill that was big enough to save.
- Mort rinsed and then filed one of the plastic pails with water while Agnes carefully removed the fish from the hook on Mel’s line.
- Mel was excited about catching her first fish, even more so because her brother hadn’t caught any yet. Anxious to catch another, she immediately put her line back in the water and moved the pole back and forth as before while whispering “Here, fishie, fishie.”
- “Gee, Mel, be quiet," Mal whispered, annoyed that he didn’t catch the first fish.
- “Mom, look. I think it’s another fish,” said Mel. “Here, fishie, fishie,” she called softly.
- This time it was a wide-mouth bass, also big enough to cook. Then another bluegill.
- Mal got more and more sullen with each additional fish that Mel caught. Why are they going to her hook and not mine, he wondered. Maybe I need a different lure.
- A Catfish Clue
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- Mal was about to get up and ask his dad for a different lure when he noticed a dark shape moving slowly along the bottom of the pond. It looks like that catfish, he thought. A lot of good that does me. Mom said bottom fish in ponds aren’t good to eat.
- Mal was feeling really sorry for himself as he watched the shape. He realized that it was a catfish, probably the same one they saw hanging around the fishnet.
- He watched the catfish and he felt that the catfish was watching him. The catfish moved slowly toward the left side of the pond, on the opposite side from where the fishnet had been. As Mal watched, it seemed to him that the catfish wanted him to see where it was going. Mal put down his pole, and when the catfish moved farther to the left, he slowly slipped into the water to follow it.
- “Where are you going?” Mel whispered.
- “Just here. I want to look at something,” Mal whispered back.
- Mal waded carefully through the water, trying to make as little motion as possible as he followed the catfish. Once the catfish reached the left edge of the pond, it turned and started moving away from the beach, keeping close to the left edge of the pond where the water was only ankle deep.
- The catfish stopped after a few yards. Mal stopped too. Did the catfish want to lead him to something? He looked down at the sand and stones under the water, but he didn’t see anything unusual.
- Mal moved his head from side to side to look for – what? - as the catfish hovered nearby. Then he saw a flat dark band lying in the shallow water, with something in the middle of it that looked like metal. He stooped to pick it up, and when he stood up again, the catfish had disappeared.
- “What have you got, Mal,” Mort asked, walking over to the edge of the pond.
- “I don’t know, Dad. The catfish led me to this,” said Mal.
- “The catfish led you?”
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 - LINKS: BOOK 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS
iNTRODUCTION TO BOOK 2
INTRODUCTION TO THE BIOFABLES SERIES
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