brated scientist has been honoured by having his name
conferred upon humbler fauna," I explained.

But she remained dangerous, so I went and built the fire, and squatted
there, frying bacon, while on the other side of the fire, sitting side
by side, Kitten Brown and Angelica White gazed upon each other with
enraptured eyes. It was slightly sickening--but let that pass. I was
beginning to understand that science is a jealous mistress and that any
contemplated infidelity of mine stood every chance of being squelched.
No; evidently I had not been fashioned for the joys of legal domesticity.
Science, the wanton jade, had not yet finished her dance with me.
Apparently my maxixe with her was to be external. _Fides servanda est._

* * * * *

That afternoon the heavy artillery held a council of war, and evidently
came to a conclusion to make the best of the situation, for toward
sundown they accosted me with a request for the raft, explaining that
they desired to picnic aboard and afterward row about the lake and
indulge in song.

So Brown and I put aboard the craft a substantial cold supper; and the
heavy artillery embarked, taking aboard a guitar to be worked by Miss
Dingleheimer, and knitting for the others.

It was a lovely evening. Brown and I had been discussing a plan to
dynamite the lake and stun the fish, that method appealing to us as the
only possible way to secure a specimen of the stupendous minnows which
inhabited the depths. In fact, it was our only hope of possessing one of
these creatures--fishing with a donkey engine, steel cable, and a hook
baited with a bat being too uncertain and far more laborious and
expensive.

I was still smoking my pipe, seated at the foot of the big pine-tree,
watching the water turn from gold to pink: Brown sat higher up the slope,
his arm around Angelica White. I carefully kept my back toward them.

On the lake the heavy artillery were revelling loudly, banqueting,
singing, strumming the guitar, and trailing their hands overboard across
the sunset-tinted water.

I was thinking of nothing in particular as I now remember, except that I
noticed the bats beginning to flit over the lake; when Brown called to me
from the slope above, asking whether it was perfectly safe for the heavy
artillery to remain out so late.

"Why?" I demanded.

"Suppose," he shouted, "that those fish should begin to jump and feed on
the bats again?"

I had never though