122 THE LIFE STORY OF AN OTTER 



from its rigour. The pike, like the otters, 

 revelled in the frost ; but the tench, and the 

 eels that had not gone to sea, felt its pinch, and 

 the bream forsook their usual feeding-grounds. 

 Where these gregarious fish had betaken them- 

 selves the otters never knew, but the eels and 

 tench buried themselves in the mud and gave 

 much trouble in the capture. Still, disagreeable 

 though the process was, both these fish were to 

 be had by patient searching in the ooze — at least, 

 it was so at first ; then the ground ice, which had 

 gripped the stems of the weeds, spread and spread 

 as the cold increased, until it formed an impene- 

 trable layer over most of the bed of the mere. 

 This followed on the withdrawal of the sea-fish 

 to the warmer depths of the offing, inaccessible 

 to the otters, which were thus caused no little 

 uneasiness. 



It was the closing of the breathing- holes how- 

 ever a few days later that seriously alarmed 

 them, all but costing the dog-otter his life ; for, 

 never dreaming that he would be unable to 

 reopen them at will as heretofore and get the air 

 he needed, he made without misgiving for the 

 best hunting-ground, far in beneath the ice-field, 

 and after capturing a pike, swam unconcernedly 

 to the nearest vent-hole. A single bump of his 



