Chapter 36: Catches of the Day
"We got loaches!"
Matt quickly bent down to snatch the loach in his hand, gripping it tight!
"I’ve got one too!"
Another slave hollered. A foot-long loach writhed and squirmed in his hand, looking downright tasty.
"Quick, grab a water bucket for the loaches! There’s got to be plenty more down here. If we catch enough, maybe the lord will throw us a reward!"
The slaves on shore jumped into action, snatching up buckets and diving into the mud pit.
Loaches are tough little critters. When their watery homes dry up or water levels drop something fierce, they often burrow down into the mud.
At that point, the loaches slow their roll and go into a kind of sleep to ride out the dry spell.
When water levels come back up or it rains, they’ll pop out and get active again.
Of course, if they run into a real bad drought, they’ll die in the cracked mud.
The slaves didn’t understand all that—they just knew you could often find loaches in rotting muck.