I told him that the Penguin was an excellent vessel, still fit for many years of active service, and that all she required was an overhauling.
We had now finished our meal, and Yondozi suggested that we should go fishing, for he had brought lines and hooks with him (this ingenious method of capturing fish appears to be well known everywhere). I acquiesced, and went to cut a rod for myself.
Still, I thought of the Penguin, I liked the idea of leaving her in the water, although I was anxious that the Government should accept something from me as a slight acknowledgment of their many acts of kindness. Yet I never relished the proposal to have her exhibited. Once I got her to Atazatlan, I would be able to use her as a yacht, and give excursions to my friends.
Having prepared our lines, Yondozi and myself went along the lake for a little distance, and then threw them in. We were not there long when he landed a fine-looking fish resembling a perch. I, however, got no bite, so I took up my line and went farther along the bank, till I came to a place that I liked. Here I threw it into the water. Something began to nibble at the bait, so I pulled it up, but there was nothing on. I dropped it
