also, was fishing, and I was curious to 

 learn just how he operated. 



I soon found that the coon was not 

 without curiosity since he, just as eager- 

 ly, was watching my operations. As 

 the boat slowly approached the treetop 

 his sharp, beady eyes followed the move- 

 ment of my flies as the rod whipped 

 back and forth. It occured to me that 

 he might be seriously considering the 

 advisability of adopting a fly rod for 

 use in his fishing business. 



Just as the boat passed the treetop 

 and but a few feet from it, a good sized 

 trout appeared at the surface and with 

 a swirl and slap of his tail grabbed one 

 of my flies and made off with it toward 

 the bottom. Instantly the coon became 

 very excited. His body appeared tense; 

 his ring-banded tail swished from side 

 to side; his feet nervously stepped up 

 and down on the tree branch, like a 

 crouching cat who sees a mouse ap- 



14 



