"
"Of course," he added, "it's the other fellow's imagination, but it
did the work all the same."
CHARLEY'S COUP
Perhaps our most laughable exploit on the fish patrol, and at the
same time our most dangerous one, was when we rounded in, at a
single haul, an even score of wrathful fishermen. Charley called
it a "coop," having heard Neil Partington use the term; but I think
he misunderstood the word, and thought it meant "coop," to catch,
to trap. The fishermen, however, coup or coop, must have called it
a Waterloo, for it was the severest stroke ever dealt them by the
fish patrol, while they had invited it by open and impudent
defiance of the law.
During what is called the "open season" the fishermen might catch
as many salmon as their luck allowed and their boats could hold.
But there was one important restriction. From sun-down Saturday
night to sun-up Monday morning, they were not permitted to set a
net. This was a wise provision on the part of the Fish Commission,
for it was necessary to give the spawning salmon some opportunity
to ascend the river and lay their eggs.
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