158 NEIGHBOURS UNKNOWN 



not relentless. It yielded without too much 

 resistance, and the hopelessly entangled 

 prisoner came to the top. Lying there in the 

 meshes, he could at least draw breath. 



When, a little later in the day, he saw a boat 

 approaching up the lake with two of the 

 dreaded man creatures in it, he gave one 

 final mighty struggle, which lashed the water 

 into foam and sent the imprisoned fish into 

 fresh paroxysms ; and then, with the stoicism 

 which some of the wild creatures can display 

 in the moment of supreme and hopeless peril, 

 he lay quite still, eyeing the foe defiantly. 



One of the beings in the boat was that 

 lanky youth whose attempt to shoot the loon 

 had been such a conspicuous failure. The 

 other was the lanky youth's father, the 

 pioneer himself. At the sight of the trussed- 

 up captive, the youth shouted exultantly 



" It's that durn loon what's eatin' all the 

 fish in the lake ! I'll fix his fishin' ! " and, 

 lifting his oar from the thole-pins, he raised 

 it to strike the helpless bird. 



" Don't be sich a durn fool, Zeb ! " inter- 

 rupted the father. " Ye'll get more money 

 for that bird alive, down to Fredericton, than 

 all the fish in the net's worth. A loon like 

 that ain't common. He's a beauty ! " 



The youth dropped his oar and leaned 



