240 NATURE STUDY. 



about it ill the newspapers. Such things happen so often 

 among the water people that little attention is paid to 

 them. Besides, a great many mosquitoes got away during 

 the afternoon, and those that were drowned were never 

 missed. 



The mosquitoes having flown away, or having been 

 drowned, there would be no more wrigglers for nearly a 

 week, and it was very lucky for Pike that the little min- 

 nows came. He ate as many as he could of them, some- 

 times crowding as many as six of them in his little stom- 

 ach at one time. Of course, he grew very fast. 



On this particular afternoon, Pike had just managed to 

 .swallow one more minnow, and was lying near the bank, 

 when he heard the little girl say : 



" Oh ! how dreadfull}^ thick the mosquitoes are ! " 



And the little boy answered : 



" Huh ! Just see my legs ! I'm letting 'em fill up." 



He meant the mosquitoes on his legs, of course ; and 

 mosquitoes were very thick by the lake that afternoon, 

 and that night at the farm-house, but no one in those days 

 knew where they came from. 



