twelve o'clock
Taking his jug of water and his lunch , he left the house and hastened to the beach . The wind was light , as on the preceding day , and it took him nearly two hours to run down to Rock Island , for the old boat was a very heavy sailer even under the most favorable circumstances . Paul did not feel quite so nervous as on the day before , for he was so confident of success that he did not feel uneasy even when he did not get a bite for quarter of an hour . The perch were accommodating in the main , and did not disappoint him , for at twelve o'clock -- as he judged it to be by the height of the tide -- he had seven dozen in the boat , and they were still biting as greedily as when he first commenced . He had two lines on board , and he tried the experiment of using them both at the same time , though without much success ; for perch are fastidious , and require a great deal of attention . While he was pulling in a fish upon one line , the sly rogues in the brine stole his bait from the other , and he came to the conclusion it was not best to have too many irons in the fire at once . Paul did not like to abandon the field while it was yielding such a rich harvest ; but he was a prudent fisherman , and not disposed to run any risks .