the nibbles were distinct and gratifying. Once
or twice the bait was apparently gorged and carried off in the upper
stories of the hotels to be digested at leisure. At such times the
professional manner in which the Devil played out his line would have
thrilled the heart of Izaak Walton. But his efforts were unsuccessful;
the bait was invariably carried off without hooking the victim, and
the Devil finally lost his temper. "I've heard of these San Franciscans
before," he muttered; "wait till I get hold of one,--that's all!" he
added malevolently, as he rebaited his hook. A sharp tug and a wriggle
foiled his next trial, and finally, with considerable effort, he landed
a portly two-hundred-pound broker upon the church roof.

As the victim lay there gasping, it was evident that the Devil was in
no hurry to remove the hook from his gills; nor did he exhibit in this
delicate operation that courtesy of manner and graceful manipulation
which usually distinguished him.

"Come," he said, gruffly, as he grasped the broker by the waistband,
"quit that whining and grunting. Don't flatter yourself that you're a
prize either. I was certain to have had you. It was only a question of
time."

"It is not that, my lord, which troubles me," whined the unfortunate
wretch, as he painfully wriggled his head, "but that I should have been
fooled by such a paltry bait. What will they say of me down there? To
have let 'bigger things' go by, and to be taken in by this cheap trick,"
he added, as he groaned and glanced at the fly which the Devil was
carefully rearranging, "is what,--pardon me, my lord,--is what gets me!"

"Yes," said the Devil, philosophically, "I never caught anybody yet who
didn't say that; but tell me, ain't you getting somewhat fastidious
down there? Here is one of my most popular flies, the greenback," he
continued, exhibiting an emerald-looking insect, which he drew from his
box. "This, so generally considered excellent in election season, has
not even been nibbled at. Perhaps your sagacity, which, in spite of
this unfortunate contretemps, no one can doubt," added the Devil, with
a graceful return to his usual courtesy, "may explain the reason or
suggest a substitute."

The broker glanced at the contents of the box with a supercilious smile.
"Too old-fashioned, my lord,--long ago played out. Yet," he added,
with a gleam of interest, "for a consideration I might offer
something--ahem!--that would make a taking substitute