IN THE LAND OF NOD 105 



has made his last run and lies exhausted in the net. 

 He is fresh from the sea, beautiful as a dream, 

 the perfection of form and colouring. 



It was on Dixon's Pond that the Junior hooked 

 his first fish. Don't blame him for neglected op- 

 portunities, for he was not quite three years old 

 and this was his first chance. It was where an ice- 

 cold stream comes tumbling from the hillside into 

 the pond, and a kindly fate had decreed that a fir 

 tree should fall at just this spot. What a combi- 

 nation ! No wonder that this was a favourite tryst- 

 ing place for big trout! But it had its disad- 

 vantages, as any one will recognize who has under- 

 taken to direct the movements of a trout that has 

 a hook in its mouth and a tree-top handy. The 

 Junior hooked a lusty fellow and, with some aid 

 from the Senior, managed to get him to the top 

 of the water, and then there was a lashing and a 

 splashing that caused the small boy to open his 

 eyes in astonishment. Another instant and the 

 commotion was at an end, the trout was gone and 

 the hook left fondly clinging to a submerged limb. 

 Silence and then the Junior remarked philo- 

 sophically, " That fish spread his wings and flew 

 away." Let no one fancy that the young man 

 accepted defeat as his portion, for a little later he 

 captured, by his own unaided prowess, two trout 

 that must have weighed, together, at least four 

 ounces. These were carefully wrapped in paper 

 and formed a portion of his next morning's meal. 



