140 NEIGHBOURS UNKNOWN 



came to a point where the lake-bottom 

 slanted upwards swiftly toward a bushy islet, 

 over a floor of yellow sand that glowed in 

 the sun. Here he just failed to transfix, 

 with his powerful dagger of a bill, a big lake 

 trout that hung, lazily waving its scarlet fins, 

 beside a rock. The trout's golden-rimmed 

 eyes detected the peril in time just in time 

 and with a desperate screw-like thrust of his 

 powerful tail, he shot aside and plunged into 

 the shadowy deeps. The heavy swirl of his 

 going disturbed an eight-inch chub, which 

 chanced at the moment to be groping for 

 larvae in a muddy pocket beneath the rock. 

 Incautiously it sailed forth to see what was 

 happening. Before it had time to see any- 

 thing, fate struck it. Caught in the vice of 

 two iron mandibles, it was carried quivering 

 to the surface. 



All power of escape crushed out of it by 

 that saw-toothed grip, the victim might 

 safely have been dropped and devoured at 

 leisure. But the great loon was too hungry 

 for leisure. Moreover, he was an expert and 

 he took no risks. With a jerk he threw the 

 fish into the air, caught it as it fell head 

 first, and gulped it down. For a moment or 

 two he floated motionless, his small, fierce 

 and peculiarly piercing eyes warily scrutiniz- 



