EMERGENCE OF A BULLY 55 



but the sun was hidden ; it was warm, but a 

 slight breeze made a dancing riffle. 



Scarce had the school entered the beguil- 

 ing region when a gay lure struck the water 

 before them. It lay motionless for a mo- 

 ment, then began a whirling course through 

 the water. It lifted, darted sidewise, 

 dipped; it slackened speed, only to dart 

 away. 



Gap saw the thing, and he was hungry. 

 What with the lean feeding days just passed 

 and the race, the white fiber of his stomach 

 was but a contracted pouch. And here was 

 food, enough to last long. 



He rose to it. But whether from sudden 

 aversion to his kind, or from inexplicable 

 love of shore, he closed on the lure and fol- 

 lowed it to land. 



An interval and the plug came back. It 

 was Leaper's turn. Not that he was so 

 hungry; for three delicious hellgramites 

 had been his luck the day before. But he 

 was curious. He wanted to know what this 

 thing felt like, acted like, tasted like. 



His tail swirled as he struck it and missed. 

 He struck again, determined to satisfy him- 

 self. He connected with the front of it with 



