THE TWO BOYS 31 



gave a sudden wriggle, slipped through the hands 

 of its captor, and fell back into the river. Woe of 

 woes! For the time, life was not worth living. 

 The biggest fish he had ever caught had gotten 

 away! In spite of the most heroic efforts his chin 

 began to quiver and then came a burst of tears. 

 " Never mind," said the older boy, " you'll catch 

 another just as good." 



That day and that particular event came back 

 with startling distinctness more than thirty years 

 later, and on the banks of the far-famed Nepigon. 

 The boy had long since come to be a man, and was 

 camped with two congenial friends at the lower 

 end of " Pine Portage." There had been long 

 days of ideal trout-fishing and nights filled with 

 refreshing sleep. One day an old man ap- 

 parently near to the Psalmist's limit of years with 

 his son in the prime of life, came up the river with 

 their Indian guides and stopped for a few hours to 

 try the Pine Portage pool. While the younger 

 man fished from the canoe, the father stood upon 

 a rock that jutted out into the river and began 

 casting. It was not long before he hooked a fish 

 which gave every indication of being a big one. 

 The old man fought him well. The son stopped in 

 his casting to look on, and the campers came down 

 to the shore to watch the battle. Out of the depths 

 the gallant fish flung himself clear of the water, 

 and then all saw that he was of unusual size. The 



