Excerpt: ...could ever bring them near the surface, so he knew nothing of them but that they were fat and looked very desirable. But it was the trout that chiefly concerned him. They had none of the fat placidity of the suckers. One or another of them, with Pg 149 his gold and silver and vermilion glinting up through the pellucid gloom, would be forever on the move, quartering the bottom for caddis and beetle, and now and then sailing up toward the surface to investigate some floating atom that may chance to be a fly. ...
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Excerpt: ...could ever bring them near the surface, so he knew nothing of them but that they were fat and looked very desirable. But it was the trout that chiefly concerned him. They had none of the fat placidity of the suckers. One or another of them, with Pg 149 his gold and silver and vermilion glinting up through the pellucid gloom, would be forever on the move, quartering the bottom for caddis and beetle, and now and then sailing up toward the surface to investigate some floating atom that may chance to be a fly. Sometimes it was a fly, or a moth, or a caterpillar or some edible berry. And sometimes, too, the slow circling of the current in the pool would bring it close to that still watcher on the root before it caught the eye of the feeding fish. Then the sinews of the watcher would grow rigid, his claws protrude from their sheaths, a little green flame flicker spectrally in his eyes. As the trout came slanting up on scarlet fin, shouldered the surface apart, and sucked down the morsel, out from the root above him would flash a wide-taloned paw, unerring, inescapable, scooping him from his element, and in half a second he would be flopping convulsively among the wintergreen leaves, far up the bank. In the next half of that fatal second the lynx would be upon him with an exultant pounce, holding down his slippery struggles with both forepaws, and biting through the back of his massive neck. Pg 150 The lynx being so silent and discreet a fisherman, his fishing never disturbed the pool at all, or cast any shadow of doubt upon its reputation as a haven of security and repose. The victim simply vanished, without any fuss. Of the other dwellers in the pool not one knew how he had vanished; not one cared; not one was troubled with apprehension. One hot morning as the great cat lay on the root, staring down into the depths with his fierce moon eyes, he was disappointed to observe that on this particular day even the trout were too indolent to stir. The heat...
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Seller's Description:
Used-Good. Good hardback (no dust jacket) Undated-probably a reprint c.1920. No inscriptions or annotations; pages clean if yellowed; page fore-edge a little foxed; hinges cracked but neatly repaired; binding tight; red cloth with dulled gilt spine titles, and impressed design with a moose head on front board; spine faded; a good reading copy.
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Seller's Description:
No date. Ward Lock. Book-Good, front and rear hinges cracked, pp255-266 loose, rubbed, blind stamped pattern on front board, gilt titles on spine. 8.5x6. 267pp. Illus inc frontis by Paul Bransom.
