or at the end opening
into the great wheel-pit, and throwing it back stood upon the little
platform built out, and looked down at the black water, which received
enough from the full dam to keep it in motion and make the surface seem
to be covered with a kind of thready film that was always opening and
closing, and spreading all over the place to the very walls.

It looked rather black and unpleasant, and seemed to be a place that
might contain monsters of eels or other fish, and it was to try and
catch some of these that I had taken advantage of the holiday-time and
come.

For I had several times called to mind what Gentles had said about the
fish in the dam and pit, and meant to have a turn; but now I was here
everything was so silent and mysterious and strange, that I rather
shrank from my task, and began to wonder what I should do if I hooked
some monster too large to draw out.

"What a coward I am!" I said aloud; and taking the stout eel-line I had
brought, and baiting the two hooks upon it with big worms, I gathered up
the cord quite ready and then made a throw, so that my bait went down
right beneath the wheel, making a strange echoing splash that whispered
about the slimy walls.

"Looks more horrible than ever," I said to myself, as I shook off my
dislike, and sat down on the little platform with my legs dangling over
the water.

But I could not quite shake off my dread, for the feeling came over me:
suppose some horrible serpentlike water creature were to raise its head
out of the black depths, seize me by the foot, and drag me down.

It was an absurd idea, but I could not fight against it, and I found
myself drawing my legs up and sitting down tailor fashion with my feet
beneath me.

And there I sat with not a sound but the dripping water to be heard, and
a curious rustling that I soon after made out to be Piter busy with his
bone.

A quarter of an hour, half an hour, passed away, and I did not get a
touch, so drawing up my line I restored the baits and threw in again,
choosing the far-off corner of the pit close by where the water escaped
to the stream below.

The bait had not been down a minute, and I was just wondering whether
Gentles was correct about there being any fish there, when I felt the
line softly drawn through my fingers, then there was a slight quivering
vibration, and a series of tiny jerks, and the line began to run faster,
while my heart began to beat with anticipation.

"He wa