Free Terrible Beast of Zor by Gilbert L. Morris Page B

furrowed. “What’s noodling?”
    “I’ll show you.” Reb walked slowly along the brook until he found a spot he liked. “You see that log over there? I just saw something move in the water beside it.”
    The prince looked at the old log lying half underwater. He watched a moment, then nodded. “Something’s in there, all right.”
    “Probably a big catfish. You just stay and watch your Uncle Reb do his stuff.”
    “Could I help you?”
    “If you want to,” Reb said. “Not everybody likes it. Some people are afraid to do it.”
    “I’m not afraid,” Prince Alex said quickly.
    “OK. Come on.”
    Reb stepped into the water, and they waded out to the log, where the water was waist deep. He said, “Now we’re going to be real still, and what you do is you put your hand under this log.”
    “What if there’s a snake under there?”
    Reb grinned. “You’d probably get bit, but they don’t stay underwater much. Of course, a big turtle might be under there. I never got bit by one. It’s always possible, though.”
    The prince placed his hand under the log, and Reb said, “Now you just feel along it, moving real slow. If we have any luck, we’ll find a big catfish lying under there. In the heat of the day is the best time to catch him—like right now.”
    The prince probably did not like putting his hand under the log, but he did as Reb said. Finally he exclaimed softly, “I touched something! It was soft, and it moved.”
    “That’s it!” Reb said excitedly. “Now here’s what you do next. Slip your hand under the fish’s belly and stroke it.”
    “Stroke his belly?”
    “That’s it. That makes them go to sleep—I think.”
    The prince did as he was instructed, and Reb grinned. He had not expected the king’s son to show so much nerve.
    “Now you be careful of his spines. They’ve got poisonin them. Don’t get involved with them. What you do is slip your right hand up, put your thumb in his mouth, and then with one motion you clamp down and you lift him up and you throw him to the bank.”
    Apprehensively, the prince followed his instructions. “I’ve got up to his mouth,” he said. “He’s a big fish.”
    “You have to do it smoothly now. Grab him and throw!”
    The prince may have fully expected to be bitten or stabbed with one of the spines, but he appeared to clamp his hand down on the fish’s jaw. Then with one motion he flung onto the bank a catfish that weighed close to four or five pounds.
    “You got him, Alex! You got him!” Reb scrambled to the bank and stopped the fish’s flopping with his boot.
    The prince waded out and stared at the fish. “I never thought I could do a thing like that.”
    “So now we can have lunch,” Reb said. “You cut us some sticks to put the meat on, and I’ll dress this fellow out.”
    “Let me clean him,” Prince Alex said. “I’ve never cleaned a fish before.”
    “OK, but it’s a messy job.”
    The prince gave Reb a direct look. “I’m going to have to take over some messy jobs,” he said. Then he listened to Reb’s instructions and followed them carefully. When it was over, his hands were messy indeed, but he was grinning. “And now I know how to noodle.”
    “You learn quick, Alex. When you set your mind on a job, you do it. Well, let’s have lunch.”
    The day after the prince noodled his fish, Alcindor arrived. He had come before both to bring them newsand to see how the prince was doing, but this time there was a worried look on his face.
    Everyone gathered about him.
    Alcindor stared at Alex. “Good morning, my Prince.”
    “Good morning, Alcindor.”
    “You’re sunburned.”
    “Yes, I suppose I am,” the prince said simply.
    Then the aide said, “Well, I wish I were the bearer of good tidings, but I’m not.”
    “What’s happening, Alcindor?” Alexander asked quickly.
    “The pressure is building up. There will certainly be a Zorian attack very soon. Their troops are moving to the front lines right on the