'And I Was Present! 5 



I tabulated and kept track of various lakes and ponds 

 where our institution released the fry of game fish. In 

 checking over a list I was interested to note that some 

 years before a Tammany politician had succeeded in 

 getting five hundred thousand lake trout fry placed 

 in one of the ponds in Central Park." 



He paused, lit a cigarette and noting that he had the 

 close attention of his auditors, proceeded : 



" Later I read in a sporting magazine that the old 

 institution I had served was being closed down. I 

 happened to remember the incident of the fry that had 

 been deposited in the park. It was in the month of 

 May and I had been much disappointed that business 

 had prevented my annual fishing trip to Lake Rossig- 

 nol, Nova Scotia." 



Again he paused and apologetically went on: 



" Perhaps you gentlemen did not know that I had 

 done a little fly-fishing in a small way?" 



He now had the undivided attention of his hearers. 

 Their eyes revealed an expression of calculating 

 shrewdness. Was it a wolf in sheep's clothing they 

 had been entertaining? E. O. P. continued: 



" A preposterous idea occurred to me. I had a most 

 compelling temptation to investigate that pond with 

 my fly-rod and see if perad venture any of those lake 

 trout fry had developed and were still alive; so, one 

 Sunday morning before daylight I took my rod, and 

 in my runabout, slipped up to the Park. There was 



264 



