THE MATING OF BROWNIE 187 
children were almost ready to drop with weariness 
when at last came the sound of water falling, the 
sound and the sweet, clean smell of it! Five 
minutes later they all fell into the pool below the 
big spring which gushed from the base of a ledge, 
and began a rapid descent, through more cold 
pools and over slippery rocks, while the water 
deepened, and through the dim forest overhead 
the sky grew rosy. 
That day they came into a shadowed pond in 
the woods, with a bottom of black mud, the accu- 
mulation of ages of leaf mould, and here they 
found horned pout in profusion, and, better yet, 
eels! There were so many horned pout that they 
never bothered to eat a whole one, merely taking 
a bite from the tenderest, meatiest part. That 
night, weary and well fed, Pa led the way to a 
steep, overhanging bank, where there was room 
for all the family in the mould and sand just 
above the water and under a sort of thatch of 
matted roots and sod. He knew this place of 
old, and here they curled up in safety, and slept. 
Brownie was glad to sleep, you can be sure. His 
legs ached, and he had the heaviness of food upon 
