I 'll see what it is like tomorrow . '' The boats were quickly launched and glided out from the shadow of the cliffs . Benjamin stood at his mast . Mary Stella came down to the water 's edge and waved her hand gaily . `` Good luck to you and the best catch of the season , '' she called out . Benjamin waved his hat in response . His jealousy was forgotten for the moment and he felt that he had been churlish to Braithwaite . `` You 'll wish you 'd come , '' he shouted to him . `` It 's going to be a great evening for fish . '' When the boats reached the fishing grounds , they came to and anchored , their masts coming out in slender silhouette against the sky . A row of dark figures was standing up in every boat ; the gulfs shining expanse was darkened by odd black streaks -- the mackerel had begun to school . Frank Braithwaite went out fishing the next day and caught 30 mackerel . He was boyishly proud of it . He visited the shore daily after that and soon became very popular . He developed into quite an expert fisherman ; nor , when the boats came in , did he shirk work , but manfully rolled up his trousers and helped carry water and `` gib '' mackerel as if he enjoyed it . He never put on any `` airs , '' and he stoutly took Leon 's part against the aggressive Mosey Louis . Even the French Canadians , those merciless critics , admitted that the `` Yankee '' was a good fellow . Benjamin Selby alone held stubbornly aloof . One evening the loaded boats came in at sunset . Benjamin sprang from his as it bumped against the skids , and ran up the path .
At the corner of his fish-house he stopped and stood quite still , looking at Braithwaite and Mary Stella , who were standing XXXXX the rough picket fence of the pasture land .
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