Part 39 (1/2)
”Well,” said Colin, as he was leaving the laboratory to take up another piece of work he had been told to do, ”I don't want a flood to come, of course, but if there is one, I'd like to have a chance to see how the Bureau handles that sort of fish rescue work”
The reports the next ,--the Weather Bureau reporting heavy rain in Montana and the Milk River in flood
Fortunately the weather was fine in the eastern States, but a flood on the Milk River usually means a Missouri River flood, and that takes in nearly two-fifths of the Mississippi basin Around the Iowa station the rain still poured heavily By the end of the week more hopeful reports came from the west As the southwest had escaped entirely no serious trouble was expected, but in the region near the laboratory the rain was co down in torrents and the Wapsipinicon and Cedar Rivers were overflowing their banks
[Illustration: CLIMBING UP THE WHEEL
Device used on the lower Mississippi to haul in big nets for the Spoonbills
_By permission of Dr Louis Hussakoff_]
[Illustration: BIGGEST FRESH-WATER FISH IN AMERICA
Pulling out the source of domestic caviare, the Spoonbill
_By per stations at Bellevue, Iowa, and North MacGregor, Ioere reported to be preparing for collecting black bass, crappies, sun-fishes, yellow perch, pike, buffalo-fish, and catfish as soon as the water should recede and leave the fish stranded in lakes and pools One Sunday, Colin took the power-boat up the river and had a chat with thethe nature of the work He found that the flood dangers were small above the junction of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, and when an opportunity arrived to do some fish collection in the overflows, the boy thanked the superintendent of the station, and said he would rather keep to the mussel work This, a day or two later, came to the notice of Dr Edelstein
”I haf observed,” his chief said, ”that you haf been taking much more interest lately in your work Why is it?”
”I have been trying to do a little investigating on my own account,”
Colin said confusedly, ”and there's a lot of fun in working things out all by yourself”
”Haf you any objegtions to telling ?”
”Not at all, sir,” Colin answered ”I'd be glad to show you, if you'd care to see I've been trying to find out the cause of the difference in the secretions of the ht pearly shells and those that are dull But I haven't got very far along yet”
”Fery good subject,” was the reply; ”let ht him a number of small notebooks filled with records of experis, and over soreat deal of unnecessary work,” he said, ”work that I gould haf told you had no bearing on the results, but it isn't time wasted at all, for you will haf learned more that way than if I had told you And you haf two series of eggsperiments that are very useful If you only had tiomplete, the information would be of value to the Bureau”
”Would you include them in your report, sir, if I completed the series?”
His chief leaned back in his chair
”Seriously,” he said, ”I think your eggsperi You don't know as eestions froation”
”You mean in your article?” asked Colin
”No,” was the answer, ”in your own”
”My article! You mean that I should write it up?”
”Why not?”
”But I don't know enough!”