THE BULLY OF THE OSWEGATCHIE 251 



all his mighty protests, until he felt himself en- 

 wrapped and almost smothered by something, he 

 knew not what. The Bully of the Upper Oswe- 

 gatchie never knew what happened after that. He 

 could not see the painfully anxious face of the 

 Preacher endeavouring to balance himself on a 

 peeled log and haul a big trout out of the brush by 

 a sheer pull. He had no knowledge of the fervour 

 with which the Preacher embraced him, or of the 

 perilous journey to the shore along that treacherous 

 pathway. He could not see the comrade of the 

 Preacher when, excited by the splashing made by 

 the Bully in his efforts to get off the hook, he 

 jumped into the stream in his anxiety to be of help. 

 When the rest of the party came up, there upon 

 the grass lay a noble fish, and the proud Preacher 

 was fairly sizzling with eagerness to tell all about 

 the capture. There was nothing with which to 

 weigh the Bully, but he measured a plump twenty- 

 two inches in length and Fide Scott placed his 

 weight at a good five pounds. That Preacher 

 fairly split the buttons from his coat, swelling with 

 pride when the guide exclaimed : " I've lived along 

 the Oswegatchie for fifty years and he's the biggest 

 trout I ever saw took out of the river." 



