w I mark it as a day of great adventure. Since then I have
battled with salmon in northern waters, I have felt my line strain
under the tarpon's despair, I have heard my reel sing with the rushes
of the bass, yet I do not believe that a whale with my harpoon in his
side, as he thrashes the sea, would give me the same exulting thrill
that came with a tiny trout's first tug at my hook. Filled with so
exciting a prospect, I did not look back as we swung down the hill from
the farmhouse. I dared not, lest I should see my too solicitous mother
beckoning me home to the protection of her eyes. Though I clutched the
harness and bounced about on my uncomfortable seat, the horse's rough
gait had no terrors for me when every clumsy stride was carrying me
nearer to the woods. As we rattled into the long street of the
village, it seemed to me that all the people must have come out just to
see us pass. The fresh beauty of the spring morning might have called
them forth, but from the proud height where I sat looking down on them
they had all the appearance of having heard in some mysterious way that
David Malcolm was going fishing. They hailed me from every side. Even
the Reverend Mr. Pound added to the glory of my progress, leaving his
desk and his profound studies of Ahasuerus to stand at the open window
as we passed.

With boyish exultation I called to him: "I'm goin' a-fishin', Mr.
Pound--fishin' for trout."

In Mr. Pound's personal catechism his own chief end was to utter
trenchant and useful warnings to all who came within reach of his
voice. Even to a lad riding forth under careful guidance to fish in a
little mountain stream he had to sound his alarm. The soft fragrance
of the May-day air, and the restful green and white of the May-day
coloring had brought to the minister's face a smile of contentment in
spite of his melancholy ponderings over the weaknesses of Ahasuerus; he
looked on me benignly from his window until I spoke, and then his face
clouded with concern.

"David, David," he cried, stretching out his hand with fingers
wide-spread, "don't fall into the water."

There was a mysterious note in his reverberating tones, which expressed
a profound conviction that not only should I fall into the water, but
that I should be drowned, and looking at his solemn face I could feel
the cold pool closing over my head. I tried to laugh away the fear
which seized me, but chill, damp currents seemed to sweep the shaded