doctor to study fish
diseases, an engineer to devise ways and means for stream conditions, a
chemist to work on poisons in the water that comes from factories, and
all sorts of other things beside. It looks to me as though it had the
best of all the professions boiled down into one!"

"That's an exaggerated statement, of course," was the reply; "but you
seem in earnest. No," he continued, as Colin prepared to burst forth
again, "you've said enough."

The boy waited anxiously, for he felt that the answer would decide his
career.

"If your heart is set on the Fisheries," his father rejoined
thoughtfully, after a few minutes' reflection, "I presume it would be
unwise to stop you. But remember what I have told you before--I'm
perfectly willing to fit you for any profession in life you want to take
up, but only for one. If you begin on anything you have got to go
through with it. I'll have no quitting. As you know, I would rather you
had taken up lumbering, but I don't want to force you into anything, and
perhaps your brother Roderick may like the woods. You're sure, however,
as to what you want?"

"I want fishes!" said Colin firmly.

"I've been looking up the question a little since you wrote to me from
Valdez," Major Dare continued, "because I saw that your old desires had
increased instead of dying out. You know, Colin, I want to help you as
much as I can. You realize that there's no school of fisheries, like the
forestry schools, don't you?"

"Yes, Father."

"And that if you go into the Bureau the only way you can learn is by the
actual work, hard work and dirty work, too, it will be often."

"Yes, sir," the boy answered, "I was told that, too."

"I wrote to the Commissioner," said Major Dare, "and explained the whole
position to him. He answered my letter in a most friendly way, and
showed me just what I've been telling you this morning. He pointed out
frankly that the Bureau had so much to do and so little money
appropriated to do it on, that such a thing as a 'soft job' wasn't known
in the service."

"I'm not looking for that," said Colin, a trifle indignantly.

"I don't think you are, my boy, but you want to be sure before you take
the plunge," was the warning answer. "You oughtn't to wait until you are
in college before you make up your mind."

Colin looked across the table at his father and met his glance squarely.

"There's nothing else that I want to do," he said firmly, "and I do want
that. Of c