204 FLY-FISHING IN MAINE LAKES. 



But I will own up to the fact that I was exceed- 

 ingly nervous, well, 'awfully scared,' if you like 

 that better : there was mischief in the air, and I 

 knew it, and that was enough. You have felt, every 

 one of you, a certain something which you could not 

 explain, warning you of approaching danger : often- 

 times, though, unfortunately, the impression comes 

 too late. 



" Well, the time wore on. The stillness was pain- 

 ful, arid my eyeballs ached ; till at last, long after I 

 had thought that morning must be near, nature 

 could no longer bear the strain, and I fell asleep. 

 How long I slept, I knew not ; but when I woke, I 

 saw something calculated to make one shiver in 

 his boots, if he had any on ; and I had. 



" The door of my room was pushed open, as I 

 could plainly see by the faint glimpse of daylight 

 now fast approaching ; and Big Jake, followed by 

 Pete, was entering upon tiptoe, Pete remaining 

 just outside the door. How I happened to wake at 

 that particular moment, is another mystery ; for it 

 was afterwards proved beyond question that they 

 entered without a sound. 



" Big Jake, with a long, murderous knife in his 

 hand, advanced to my bed : instinctively I reached 

 for my pistol, and was ready in a moment, as cool 

 and collected then as if I had had an army at my 

 back. 



