A SUMMER BOATING TRIP 17 



dead and was quite white, the eel had so sucked out 

 his blood and substance. The fish, when seized, darts 

 against rocks and stones, and tries in vain to rub the 

 eel off, then succumbs to the sucker. 



"The lampers do not all die," said Denny, "be- 

 cause they do not all spawn;" and I observed that 

 the dead ones were all of one size and doubtless of the 

 same age. 



The lamprey is the octopus, the devil-fish, of these 

 waters, and there is, perhaps, no tragedy enacted here 

 that equals that of one of these vampires slowly suck- 

 ing the life out of a bass or a trout. 



My boys went to school part of the time. Did they 

 have a good teacher ? 



" Good enough for me," said Johnny. 



" Good enough for me," echoed Denny. 



Just below Bark-a-boom — the name is worth 

 keeping — they left me. I was loath to part with them; 

 their musical voices and their thorough good-fellow- 

 ship had been very acceptable. With a little persua- 

 sion, I think they would have left their home and hum- 

 ble fortunes, and gone a-roving with me. 



About four o'clock the warm, vapor-laden south- 

 west wind brought forth the expected thunder-shower. 

 I saw the storm rapidly developing behind the moun- 

 tains in my front. Presently I came in sight of a long 

 covered wooden bridge that spanned the river about 

 a mile ahead, and I put my paddle into the water with 

 all my force to reach this cover before the storm. It 

 was neck and neck most of the way. The storm had 

 the wind, and I had it — in my teeth. The bridge was 

 at Shavertown, and it was by a close shave that I got 

 under it before the rain was upon me. How it poured 



