the big compound microscope, too--and
more without it," acknowledged Studley.
"Fancy last week we caught a huge pike
which had jumped clear out of the water,
on to the bank, after a water-hen!"

"Where was that? How--how big
was it?" The girlish questions mounted
helter-skelter.

"The pike? Oh! he weighed about
fifteen pounds. It was right over there,
on the other side of the lake," pointing
to the spot where the party interested
in egg-boats had landed that morning.
"He--he gobbled the hen, too."

"Did he?" But he might have been
threatening to gobble her, judging by the
start which the girl gave at the moment.

Her heart jumped down to the water's
edge as abruptly as did the cliff beneath
her.

Her eyes were on a boat rowing out of
the sunset's eye directly across the lake
from that very spot.

There was but one individual in it and
[[218]]

p217 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p218w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p219

v?