was in a pan and poured out. I was never introduced to a 

 fish in my life except at the butcher shop. I wouldn't know 

 the manner of approach among strange fish. I wouldn't know 

 what to say, much less what to do." 



"Leave that to me," Pudge replied. 'Til teach you. I'll take 

 you where there's the best fishing on the known globe." 



Of course, I went. I locked my desk, took my two weeks 

 off, the two I was to have for vacation, and "Pudge" and I 

 climbed in a sleeper that started for the "head o' the lakes." 



"Aha! Fie on thee, O busy care!" I exulted as we drew 

 away from the lights of the city. "Swelter, you slaves!" I 

 shouted gleefully as we passed the pumping station by the 

 reservoir. 



"O Lordy! O whitened sin!" I think now as I reflect upon 

 those exultations. "O idiot that I was! O "Pudge!" 



Every time I let my thoughts return to that trip, I want to 

 murder someone in cold blood. Mind you, what happened up 

 on the Brule isn't Pudge's fault. Let me say right here and 

 now in open meeting let me rise like a fully accredited dele- 

 gate from the ninth ward with a large white badge on my coat 

 lapel let me rise and pay my respects to the Brule. It is a 

 great fishing stream; it is so full of trout that on good days it 

 keeps you busy taking them off the hooks, or flies, and it prob- 

 ably does afford as wonderful trout fishing as any stream in 

 America. 



But and I say it with full knowledge whereof I speak. But! 

 there are other things on the Brule which I am going to tell 

 about, but which "Pudge" didn't mention to me. If he had, I 

 probably wouldn't have been so wild to get there and event- 

 ually so wild to get away. But to continue my story: 



"Pudge" and I got our camp outfit and a guide in Duluth a 

 half-breed Chippewa named "Jim." He claimed to know all 

 the good trout holes on the map, and, to tell the truth, he did. 

 "Jim" agreed to take us to the places where the trout held 

 mass meetings, introduce us to the most promising and influ- 

 ential leaders, and assist in the massacre, for $2.50 a day. So 

 we took him on. "Pudge" had a note to the general manager 

 of the steamboat line, who agreed to stop the ship at the 

 mouth of the Brule to allow us to get off, and we left the 



