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A Sudden Tumble
house. School was in session at the time, see the load till within fifty yards of it. and the door stood open.
The road was but a narrow one.
We bore down in grand style, at the "Gee, Buck!" yelled the bare-armed rate of a mile in three minutes, or less, teamster who was driving with a pitchand were soon nearing the turn. All fork. But his gee-ing came all too late to do us any good. We were already in the beach, on the east shore just below Metaditch. There was a tangled mass of rank luk Brook. Back a little from the beach. raspberry bushes, bull-thistles, and mug- there are scattered pines, stubs and low wort across the gutter on the lower side. bushes; but the sand extends for a long "Karzy," Moses O., and "No. 6," went way amongst the pines. Altogether it is into that-on the fly. Stein, a few lengths a pleasant spot. There is a splendid ahead, brought up in the school-house chance to go in bathing. We tested it wood-pile; while the captain went plump directly, but found the water somewhat into the school-house entry-came very chilly. near riding bodily into the arms of the school-mistress, a very comely young woman, who was coming to the door to see what was going on.
Two herons were started up here while we were landing. They flew off at a slow, loping flight, to the tops of some tall pines, a mile below, where they they had their nests.
It was all the work of about three seconds; and, meantime, "Rike" (the short The site selected for our tent was for Wayne), who saw his best chance on back a few rods from the shore, where the the other side of the road, had shot along pines broke off the rather too fresh wind. the gutter past the off ox, and went clear It was an A tent, ten by eleven feet. Two of the load, all right. But his rapid pas- forked stakes, a pole, and some tent-pins, sage frightened the steers. In spite of were all the preparations needed to pitch their driver's yells they sheered suddenly it. These were soon cut and driven, into the little open yard of the school- when our little white canvas-house sprang house, and came near lodging the high up as if by magic under Fred's experiload against the house. The wood-pile enced hands. Hard by was a big pine stopped them, too; but the doorway was stump, weathered, gray and dry. Against/ completely blockaded with the rack-cart this a fire was kindled. Rike and Harold and hay, so that our friend Harold and cut fuel with the two axes Fred had taken his bicycle were shut in there along with along. Water was brought in a tin the school-mistress and her pupils for bucket; and in the course of twenty some minutes. What they said to each minutes our guide offered us each a tin other has not yet transpired. He did not pint dipperful of very good coffee, which seem to us to make such prompt efforts to get out as one might have supposed he would under the circumstances. with soda crackers, cheese, canned beef, and mustard, made a fairly relishable lunch.
Yet no visible harm was done to any For our dinner that evening, we were one; and we parted from our suddenly- promised something better, for which formed acquaintance with mutual civili- Fred was already improvising a table ties, some five minutes later. But the from a stray hemlock board and some captain was observed to look back wist- stakes set in the ground. From the outfully as we trundled away. set our guide seemed to recognize the We wanted to try camping out, "Karzy" fact that people up in this lake country (that is, Karsner), in particular. So Fred develop enormous appetites as if by took us in a sail-boat, with our outfit, to enchantment, and governed his move- Metaluk, or Metallic, Point, down at the ments accordingly. He put beans in "Narrows." Here there is a fine sandy soak, to cook during the night in an old SCENE AT "THE NARROWS." (239) a iron tea-kettle, buried in ashes and live him, the very king of gray hackles might coals, and began to wash at least a peck flutter and flap, untouched, within of Irish potatoes. finger's length of the lily-pad which serves Convinced that he was on the right as his shelter. But there is one dainty track, and fully understood his business, he never rejects. Be it chub, or shiner, we set off to fish and hunt. Stein and or even the small fry of his own species, Harold crossed the "Narrows," to shoot this handsome cannibal, like the cormopartridges in the woods on the opposite rant that he is, makes haste to take it in side. The rest of us went to catch trout whenever opportunity offers. It is rare, up Metaluk Brook. indeed, when a big trout's stomach fails Both the Brook and the "Point" are to yield his captor evidence of a fishnamed after "Old Metaluk," an Indian dinner. This weakness of the trout is chief, who is said to have lived here with often turned to good account by parties his squaw, "Molly Molasses." who bait strong hooks with live fish, and We went round into the mouth of the leave them 'set' in the water over night. Brook in our boat, then landed and began Such fishing is condemned, however, as to fish along the banks. It is a good- unsportsmanlike, and no respectable fishsized brook. For a mile or two it flows erman likes to be known as practising it. through a bushy, and in places rather For that matter, too, trolling is looked sandy meadow, but farther back changes upon as not exactly the square thing, the to a very picturesque mountain torrent. rule of fish-craft being that the fly ranks There are several fine, deep "trout-holes" first in honor, then rod-fishing with a here along; and at one of them Karzy single hook." caught a trout actually did!
This opinion of trout nature is indorsed The rest of us didn't; but we did a great by one of the native guides of this region, deal of earnest fishing. For bait we used in the native tongue: "Drefful notional angle-worms from the Upper Dam Farm critters, traout be, olluz bitin' at whodger dooryard, also flies and pork. Yet despite haänt got. Orful contrary critters-jess all our allurements, the trout manifested like fimmels. Yer can cotch a fimmel a surprising amount of indifference to us. with a feather, if she's to be cotched; if It may have been our fault, or our inno- she haänt to be cotched, yer may scoop cent inexperience. Trout are "pecooliar." ther hul world dry an yer haänt got her. One expert says of the trout of these Jess so traout." waters:-"This speckled trout is not to It was late when we got back to camp. be trifled with. He must be approached The sight of the blithe fire among the cautiously and deceived with delibera- pines, with its strong odors of pitch, was tion. Although possessed of a shark-like very cheery. Pleasant, too, was the odor appetite, he is a stickler, for form, and of Fred's cooking. He was frying steak. objects to unseasonable food with the Rike and Harold sat by. They had repertinacity of a religious devotee. When turned in advance of us and had already he wants flies, the plumpest of angle- formed an opinion of the game. One red worms may be dragged before his very squirrel was their whole bag. "And for nose without quickening the play of his this I bought a hundred and seventy-five pectoral fins or the easy sway of his tail, dollar gun!" quoth Rike, exhibiting the and when it is no longer fly-time with game.
Karzy laid his trout-the size of a clothes-pin-alongside the squirrel. The guide smiled as one not wholly unaccustomed to such instances. "Shall I cook all this for your breakfast?" he inquired.
It But dinner was a success. always is up here, I fancy-if there is anything to eat.
As we ate, we heard the loons (the Great Northern Diver) calling to each other out on the lake; and a colony of frogs, in a little pond-hole hard by, set up a terrific conclamation. Once we heard a distant yell, which the guide said was made by a bear.
It had grown cloudy and lowering. But our cheerful camp-fire made all bright. It seemed rather odd, however, to be sitting on logs in a forest, with night and a storm coming on. "What would my mother say to me?" Moses O. remarked thoughtfully. "She never allowed me to sit out of doors at this time o' day, for fear I would catch the 'shakes.' Ever have the 'shakes' so far east as this, guide?" "Not that kind," said Fred.
For an hour or so, our guide entertained us with accounts of hunting and camping out, proving himself a capital hand at a story. So numerous, indeed, were his tales, that I should despair of giving a tenth of them in the brief space allowed me for recording our week at these lakes.
