4 
9 
He shook a small bush, and almost with 
the rapidity of thought each squirrel dis¬ 
appeared from s ight. 
“Why did you scare them?” asked John 
and Harry in a breath. 
“Oh, they will soon be out again,” re¬ 
turned Paul, and I wish to show you where 
I feed the fish. Gather all the bugs and 
worms you can, now, so we can have some¬ 
thing to give them.” 
“All right,” said John, commencing to 
search; “but I could watch those squirrels 
for hours. I should like to see them at 
play.” 
“So would I,” said Harry;” “but Paul 
will come with us again and then we can 
see them. Can’t we, Paul ?” 
“Yes, certainly. We will look at the fish 
now, and come another time to see the 
squirrels,” 
“Now,” said Paul, as they neared the 
creek, ‘ ‘keep very quiet and we shall soon 
see some nice big fellows.” 
He wound his way through the hanging 
branches of the hemlocks, growing on the 
bank of the creek, and at last paused where 
the water had worn its way through and 
sunder the dark slate rocks. 
The boys peered over the bank and saw 
.the water, not over a foot in depth, lying 
calm and clear as crystal. Very few fish, 
.and those mostly small were to be seen, 
but when Paul commenced to throw down 
the bugs and worms they had collected, 
numerous fish, some of them over a foot in 
length, came swimming from under the 
ledge. 
“There are two large ones—I call them 
the king and queen—in this pool,” said 
Paul. “Keep a good lookout for them, 
they are more shy than the rest. Ah!” said 
he, after scanning the stream, “there they 
come.” ^ i 
John and Harry looked where Paul in¬ 
dicated and saw a row of ripples in the 
form of a V., moving towards them from 
the upper part of the pool where the water 
was deeper. 
A commotion now took place among the 
school of smaller fish, and they were seen 
to dart away as though they knew an enemy 
was coming, and a moment later, two fish, 
both near twenty-five inches long, swam 
into sight and stopped side by side. Two 
finer specimens of the piscatorial tribe are 
seldom seen, and the boy's eyes sparkled as 
they viewed them. 
“What*beauties!” said Harry. “I did not 
think there were any in the creek as large as 
those.” 
“Wouldn’t it be fun to haul those fellows 
out, though ?” and in his eagerness to get 
a better view, John displaced a small rock 
which rolled into the water with a splash. 
There was a sudden movement in the 
water, a large wave rolled to the opposite 
side of the creek and receded, and when 
the surface settled down to its usual calm, 
there was not a fin in sight. 
John looked blankly at the water, as he 
realized what he had done, but Paul and 
Harry only laughed, while the former said: 
“Never mind, John, I’ll take you to other 
fishing grounds.” 
Yes, but I have given you all our bait to 
feed those overgrown specimens that have 
just disappeared.” 
“Oh, well, I think I can soon find enough 
to last you to-day, anyhow. Come !” 
Chatting gaily, the boys started for 
another pool. As Paul drew a short dis¬ 
tance ahead, John said: 
“Harry, I don’t believe I ever spent a day 
more enjoyable than this.” 
“It is indeed wonderful how proficient 
Paul is in imitating birds and animals. I 
like his company. You always learn some¬ 
thing by being with him.” 
“How changeable he is—not over five 
minutes in any one mood.” 
“He has many trials, too, poor boy, and 
he generally travels around by himself.” 
‘ ‘His ways are agreeable, at least, and I 
shall try and improve my acquaintance 
with him.” 
“You will not regret it,” said Harry; “and 
I promise you he will find other amuse¬ 
ments for us before the day closes.” 
And he did. To narrate all of them would 
occupy too much time. Suffice is to say 
that their acquaintance ripened into a 
friendship that lasted not only through the 
two weeks vacation, but for many years, 
and proved of mutual benefit to both. 
Paul still lives in the woods among the 
mountains, and proves himself an adept in 
guiding pleasure seekers to the best hunt¬ 
ing and fishing grounds, but none are more 
welcome to his haunts than John Ammon 
and Harry Bateman when they take their 
summer vacation. 
