THE PROFESSOR AND THE LAND OWNER. 



93 



note the change in the face of Lyle, who 

 began to stammer and apologize. 



"Not Professor Lawmaker, Manhattan 

 Law School?" and to the other's nodding 

 assent, his tones of dismay. 



"My son is one of your students," 

 brought smiles and laughter when the Pro- 

 fessor said, 



"In re Salmo fontinalis curia advisari 

 vult. The trout shall be cooked by Tomas 

 and the costs shall be a bottle of wine to 

 be contributed by Mr. Lyle." 



"No," said Mr. Lyle, "y° u shall stop at 

 my house over night and be sentenced to 

 fish all day to-morrow ; and Mr. Jones shall 

 keep you company for losing my case." 

 And Mr. Jones added, 



"I ought to have known better." 



In the drowsy heat of the afternoon sun 

 the Professor dropped his paddle, pulled 

 his hat over his eyes and lay back in the 

 canoe, leaving further progress to Tom- 

 as, while in utter content he smoked to 

 keep the insects away. Disturbed by the 

 swaying, rocking motion of the canoe he 

 sat up to note the pool created by the wa- 

 ters of a creek rushing into the river. 

 Then, attracted by the beautv of the 

 spot and its liKelihood of sport, he picked 

 up the rod and began to cast. Near the 

 point a large rock betokened an ideal place 

 over and around which he cast. Then, see- 

 ing a jam of logs and a drift n*ar the 

 shore, he sent flies in long casts all round 

 the likely spots. Had the Professor, how- 

 ever, taken pains to look at Tomas' face, 

 "he would have paused, for down the cen- 

 ter of the stream floated patches of yellow- 

 ish matter ,and along the edges of the 

 banks, clinging to the water plants, were 

 masses of the same material. 



"That is not good for trout," said To- 

 mas, in tones that meant much. The Pro- 

 fessor's answer was to pick up his paddle, 

 and with its deeper swirl the canoe left the 

 main river and shot up the creek whence 

 the sawdust was coming out. The noise of 

 the mill grew louder, and the shriek of the 

 saw made the Professor stiffen. His face 

 set and grew grimmer as he saw masses of 

 sawdust being thrown into the stream by 

 a man on the bank. The canoe glided up 

 the shore. 



"May I ask who is the owner of this 

 mill?" queried the Professor. 



"I reckon you kin," replied the man, 

 tossing the sawdust into the stream. 



"Will you take me to him?" softlv asked 

 the Professor. 



: 'Taint likely," answered the sawdust 

 tosser. 



"I would like to speak with him," said 

 the Professor. 



"Well, guess it's as easy from where you 

 T)e as another place." 



"My dear sir." the Professor's soft tones 



might have warned the sawdust tosser 

 to desist as he went on, "don't you think 

 it is quite unwise to throw that stuff into 

 the water? It will kill all the fish, and it 

 destroys the value of the stream. You 

 know even cattle can not drink the 

 water " 



"Well, that's none of my business." 



"Oh, yes it is, because you ought not to 

 use your business or your land to the in- 

 jury and detriment of your neighbor. Sup- 

 pose an acid factory ran its refuse into the 

 river above you, so you could not even use 

 the stream to float your logs. Or the 

 fumes blew across so the men could not 

 work in your mill. You would feel in- 

 jured. You see you are not doing by your 

 neighbor as you would like to be treated." 



"My neighbor don't run this mill for 

 me!" and then another great heap of the 

 stuff was sent into the stream. "I don't 

 know of any easier way than this, and I 

 don't know as that boat of yourn is goin' 

 to take it where it won't do no more 

 harm." 



"No, that craft could scarcely take it all 

 away, though I should be tempted to offer 

 it to you if that would abate this nuisance," 

 returned the Professor. 



"Nuisance! Look here, don't you call 

 names. I'll do as I please. This is my 

 house and my land; and this creek is on 

 my land, and the water is mine. So I'll 

 just do as I please. You've 'bout said 

 enough, so clear right off the premises." 



"Oh, no," said the Professor. "You may 

 own the bed of the stream and the lands 

 on both sides, but that does not give you 

 the ownership of the water, much less the 

 right to destroy what the Lord has put 

 there for mankind. You are not the owner 

 of this water, even though you may try to 

 prevent any other creature or human being 

 from enjoying it." 



"Now, you quit. Git right out, or I'll 

 call my men and set the dogs on you," an- 

 grily cried the mill owner. 



"The dogs are in bad company," retort- 

 ed the Professor. "I will get off your 

 land. Now listen to me for your good and 

 peace of mind. The dominion of this good 

 State, for the purpose of protecting the 

 fish within its waters and to preserve them 

 for the common enjoyment of- its citizens, 

 wisely and beneficently extends to all wa- 

 ters within the State, public or private, 

 wherever these animals are habited or ac- 

 customed to resort, although flowing over 

 lands exclusively owned; and the waters 

 are still subject to the power as well as to 

 all laws of the State regulating fisheries. I 

 am going to call on your neighbors to see 

 if they will not obtain an injunction agrainst 

 you which will put a stop to this wicked 

 destruction. If that can not be done, be- 

 cause more of your sort live here, I will 

 call on the Attorney-General of the State 



