THE BULLY OF THE OSWEGATCHIE 245 



to catch the chubs than his own blood relations, he 

 filled himself with the former, and then took a nap 

 under the shadow of a big stump, the top of which 

 stood a little way out of the water. 



A little before sundown, when he was quite re- 

 freshed and had begun to think of taking a little 

 turn about the pond in search of adventure, he 

 heard the sound of many voices, and, looking out 

 from his hiding-place, saw a company of trout mov- 

 ing in his direction. In the lead was his foe of 

 the morning. There, surrounded by an admiring 

 crowd, came the biggest trout that Bully had ever 

 seen. His under jaw projected far beyond its mate 

 and had an ugly upward curve. He was broad 

 across the back and thick through and moved with 

 all the pride of a conquering hero. " Where is he? 

 Show him to me. I'll make mincemeat of the in- 

 solent intruder." The booming voice of the big 

 fellow left the Bully in no doubt as to the identity 

 of the approaching monster. It was the fighter of 

 whom he was in search. 



The Bully would have been scared if that pos- 

 sibility had not been denied him. Instead of fleeing 

 in fear he came out from under cover and shouted : 

 " Are you talking about me ? You big bluffer ! 

 I'll make you food for the crows." If the truth 

 must be told, both the combatants used language 

 that was not only exceedingly scurrilous, but shock- 

 ingly profane. In this gentle exercise the Bully 

 had the best of it and the pond trout became so 



