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diff --git a/40921-8.txt b/40921-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index af4fc64..0000000 --- a/40921-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4052 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Grim: The Story of a Pike, by Svend Fleuron - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Grim: The Story of a Pike - -Author: Svend Fleuron - -Illustrator: Dorothy P. Lathrop - -Translator: J. Muir - J. Alexander - -Release Date: October 2, 2012 [EBook #40921] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GRIM: THE STORY OF A PIKE *** - - - - -Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -[Illustration: "A wild chase was going on in the depths, and where it -passed the rushes bowed their sheaves."] - - - - -GRIM: THE STORY OF A PIKE - -Translated from the Danish of - -Svend Fleuron - -by J. Muir and J. Alexander - -Illustrated by Dorothy P. Lathrop - -New York MCMXXI - -Alfred A. Knopf - - - - -COPYRIGHT, 1919 - -By SVEND FLEURON - -COPYRIGHT, 1921 - -By ALFRED A. KNOPF, Inc. - -Original Title: Grim - -PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - - - - -To devour others and to avoid being devoured oneself, -that is life's end and aim. - - - - -CONTENTS - I: LIFE - II: IN THE SHELTER OF THE CREEK - III: GRIM GOES EXPLORING - IV: THE MARAUDERS - V: THE PEARLY FISH - VI: THE MAN-ROACH - VII: THE RASPER - VIII: THE ANGLER'S END - IX: THE WEDDING FESTIVAL - X: IN THE MARSH - XI: TERROR - XII: GRIM DEVELOPS - XIII: A FIGHT WITH AN OTTER - XIV: THE ANGLER FROM TOWN - XV: LUCK - - - - -ILLUSTRATIONS - -A wild chase was going on in the depths, and where it passed the rushes -bowed their sheaves. - -With a hiss it curves its neck and turns the foil upwards, snapping and -biting at its tormentors. - -She snaps eagerly at the nearest "worm," but it escapes her by adroitly -curling up. - -The bird darts upon her from behind with outstretched claws, and drives -them with full force into her back. - - - - -I: LIFE - - -Clear running water filled the ditch, but the bottom was dull black, -powdery mud. It lay inches deep, layer upon layer of one tiny particle -upon another, and so loose and light that a thick, opaque, smoke-like -column ascended at the slightest touch. - -A monster, with the throat and teeth of a crocodile, a flat, -treacherous forehead, and large, dull, malicious eyes, was lying close -to the bottom in the wide, sun-warmed cross-dyke that cut its way -inland from the level depths of the great lake. The entire monster -measured scarcely a finger's length. - -The upspringing water-plants veiled her body and drew waving shadows -over her round, slender tail. - -When the sun was shining she liked to stay here among the bottom -vegetation and imitate a drifting piece of reed. Her reddish-brown -colour with the tiger-like transverse stripes made an excellent -disguise. She simply _was_ a piece of reed. Even the sharp-eyed heron, -which had dropped down unnoticed about a dozen yards off, and was now -noiselessly, with slow, cautious steps, wading nearer and nearer, took -her at the first glance for a stick. - -All the ditch-water life of a summer day was pulsating around the young -pike. - -Water-spiders went up for air and came down with it between their hind -legs, to moor their silvery diving-bells beneath the whorls of the -water-moss. One boat-bug after another, with a shining air-bubble on -its belly to act as a swimming-bag, and for oars a pair of long legs -sticking far out at the sides, darted with great spurts through the -water, or rose and sank with the speed of a balloon. The young pike -peered upwards, and saw in the shelter of a tuft of rushes a collection -of black, boat-shaped whirligigs, showing like dots against the shining -surface. The little water-beetles lay and dozed; but all at once a -sudden storm seemed to descend upon them and they scattered -precipitately, whirling away in wider and wider circles, only to -congregate again just as suddenly, like a flock of sheep. - -The young pike disappeared from the heron's view in a cloud of mud, and -glided off to some distance, finally coming to anchor on a wide -submerged plain in a broad creek, shadowed by a clump of luxuriant -marsh marigolds, whose yellow flowers gleamed out from among the -clusters of green, heart-shaped leaves. - -There was never any peace around her. When one animal was on its way -down, another would be on its way up. And the bed of ooze beneath her -was in incessant motion. Sticks moved to right and left; hairy balls -lay and rolled over one another; there was a twisting and turning of -larvae in all directions. The active water-beetles were dredging -incessantly, releasing leaves and stalks which slowly and weirdly rose -to the surface. Air-bubbles, too, were set free, and ascended quickly -with a rotary motion. - -Here two large tiger-beetles were fighting with a poor water-bug. The -flat-bodied insect stretched out its scorpion-like claws towards its -enemies, but the tiger-beetles seized it one at each end, beat off its -claws with their strong palpi, and tore its head from its body. It must -have been almost a pleasure to find oneself so neatly despatched! - -Everything tortured and killed down here, some, indeed, even devoured -themselves. To lose arms and legs and flesh from their body was all in -the order of the day; and anything resting for but a minute was taken -for carrion. - -The big horse-leech had wound its rhythmically serpentine way through -the water. It was tired now, and had just stretched itself out for a -moment's rest, when the supposed pieces of stick upon which it lay -seized it, and voracious heads with sharp jaws attacked its flesh. It -was within an ace of being made captive for ever, but at last succeeded -in making its escape and pushing off, with two of its tormentors after -it. - -The young pike watched attentively the flight of the black leech. She -saw that _to devour others and to avoid being devoured oneself_ was the -end and aim of life. - -For a long time she remained quite still, only an undulating movement -of the dorsal fin and the malicious glitter of the eyes revealing her -vitality. Slowly she opened and closed her small, wide mouth, and let -the oxidizing water flow over her blood-red gills. - -It was not long before she had forgotten her recent peril, and once -more became filled with the cruel passion of the hunter. - -From the shadow of the marsh marigolds she darted under the newly -unfolded leaf of a water-lily. This was a very favourite lurking-place; -she could lie there with her back right up against the under surface of -the leaf, and her snout on the very border of its shadow, ready to -strike. The silvery flash of small fish twinkled around her, and -myriads of tiny shining crustaceans whisked about so close to her nose -that at any moment she could have snapped them up by the score into her -voracious mouth. - -It was especially things that moved that had a magic attraction for -Grim. From the time when, but twelve to fifteen days old, she had -consumed the contents of her yolksac, and opened her large voracious -mouth, everything that flickered, twisted and moved, all that sought to -_escape_, aroused her irresistible desire. - -In the innermost depths of her being there was an over-mastering need, -expressing itself in an insatiableness, a conviction that she could -never have enough, and a fear that others would clear the waters of all -that was eatable. An insane greed animated her; and even when she had -eaten so much that she could eat no more, she kept swimming about with -spoil in her mouth. - -On the other hand, anything at rest and quiet possessed little -attraction for her; she felt no hunger at sight of it, and no desire to -possess it: _that_ she could take at any time. - -----Meanwhile, the keen-eyed heron, wading up to its breast in the water, -comes softly and silently trawling through the ditch. - -Sedately it goes about its business, stalking along with slow, measured -steps. Its big, seemingly heavy body sways upon its thin, greenish -yellow legs, its short tail almost combing the surface of the water, -while its long, round neck is in constant motion, directing the -dagger-like beak like a foil into all kinds of attacking positions. - -[Illustration: "With a hiss it curves its neck and turns the foil -upwards, snapping and biting at its tormentors."] - -Sea-crows and terns scream around it, and from time to time three or -four of them unite in harrying their great rival. Just as the heron has -brought its beak close to the surface of the water, ready to seize its -prey, the gulls dash upon it from behind. With a hiss it curves its -neck and turns the foil upwards, snapping and biting at its tormentors. - -An irritating little flock of gulls may go on thus for a long time; and -when at last, screaming and mocking, they take their departure, they -have spoilt many a chance and wasted many precious minutes of the big, -silent, patient fisher's time. - -The gulls once gone, the heron applies itself with redoubled zeal to -its business. From various attacking positions its beak darts down into -the water, but often without result, and it has to go farther afield; -then at last it captures a little eel. - -It is not easy, however, to swallow the wriggling captive. The eel -twists, and refuses to be swallowed; so the bird has to reduce its -liveliness by rolling up and down in its sharp-edged beak. Then it -glides down. - -This time, too, fortune is disposed to favour the young pike. The -heron, coming up behind her, cautiously bends its neck over the -drifting piece of reed. It sees there is something suspicious about it, -but thinks it is mistaken, and is about to take another step forward. -When only half-way, it pauses with its foot in the air; and the next -moment the blow falls. - -Grim only once moved her tail. Then she was seized, something hard and -sharp and strong held her fast, and she passed head foremost down into -a warm, narrow channel. - -There was a fearful crush of fish in the channel, and much elbowing -with fins and twisting of tails. Something behind her was pushing, but -the throng in front blocked the way: she could get no farther. - -And yet she glided on! Very slowly the thick slimy water in the channel -bore the living, muddy tangle that surrounded her along; she felt the -corners of her mouth rub against the sides of the channel; she could -scarcely breathe. - -In the meantime the heron was flying homewards to its young, carrying -Grim and the rest of the catch. Out on the lake lay a boat in which a -man sat fishing. Experience told the bird it was a fisherman, but here -the bird was wrong. The man had a gun in the boat, and as the bird -sailed upwards a shot was fired which compelled it to relinquish a part -of its booty in order to escape more quickly. - -Grim was among the fortunate ones. Suddenly the crush in the long, dark -channel grew less, and the sluggish stream of mud that was bearing her -along changed its course. A little later the stream gathered furious -pace and carried her with it; she saw light and felt space round her; -she was able to move her fins. - -Then she fell from the heron's beak, from a height of about twenty -yards. She had time to notice how suffocatingly dry the other world -was. It seemed to draw out her entrails, and all her efforts to right -herself were in vain. - -Then she regained her native element; water covered her gills, and she -could begin to swim. - - - - -II: IN THE SHELTER OF THE CREEK - - -Grim was a year old when her scales began to grow. - -In her early youth, when she could only eat small creatures, she had -lived exclusively upon water-insects and larvae; but from now onwards -she had no respect for any flesh but that which clothed her own ribs. - -She attacked any fish that was not big enough to swallow _her_, and -devoured bleak and small roach with peculiar satisfaction. Now she took -her revenge on the voracious small fry that had offended her when she -was still in an embryo state. - -She had not been hatched artificially, or come into the world in a -wooden box with running water passing through it. No, the whole thing -had taken place in the most natural manner. - -In the flickering sunshine of a March day, her mother, surrounded by -three equally ardent wooers, had spawned, and the eggs had dropped and -attached themselves to some tufts of grass at the edge of the lake. The -very next day, however, little fish had begun to gather about those -tufts; one day more, and there were swarms of them. Eagerly they -searched the tufts and devoured all the eggs they could find; and so -thoroughly did they go about their business, that of the thousands upon -thousands of the mother's eggs, only two that had fallen into the heart -of a grass-stalk were left. - -Out of one of these Grim had come. The sun had looked after her, -hatched her out, and taught her to seize whatever came in her way. Now -she was avenging the injuries to her tribe. - -She possessed a remarkable power of placing herself, and knew how to -choose her position so as to disappear, as it were, in the water. The -stalks of the reeds threw their shadows across her body in all -directions; water-grass and drifting duck-weed veiled her; the silly -roach and other restless little fish flitted about her, sometimes so -close to her mouth that she could feel the waves made by their -tail-fins. Some would almost run right into her; but when they saw her, -then how the water flashed with starry gleams, and how quickly they all -made off! - -She liked best to hide where the water-lilies floated in islands of -green, for there the treacherous shadows--her best friends--fell -clearly through the water; absorbed her, as it were, and made capture -easy for her. If she found herself discovered, she would retreat with -as little haste as possible; for that sort of thing aroused too much -attention, and created widespread disturbance in the fishy world. - -If she lay on the surface, for instance, and suspected that she was -being watched from above, she became, as it were, more and more -indistinct and one with the dark water, letting herself sink -imperceptibly, at the same time beginning to work all her fins. In -ample folds they softly crept round the long stick that her body now -resembled, fringed and veiled it and bore it away. - -And just as she knew how to place herself, so did she know how to -move--cautiously and discreetly. - -Formerly she had measured only a finger's length, and now she was -already about a foot long; her voraciousness had increased in a -corresponding degree. She could eat every hour of the day. She would -fill herself right up to the neck, and even have half a fish sticking -out beyond. It was quite a common sight to see a little flapping -fish-tail for which her digestive organs had not room as yet, sticking -out of her mouth like a lively tongue. She would swim about -delightedly, sucking it as a boy would suck a stick of candy. - -One day she was gliding slowly through a clump of rushes, as lifeless -and dead as any stick. Her eyes seemed to be on stalks and spied -eagerly round, but her body exhibited the least possible movement and -eagerness. - -She turned, but even then holding herself stiff, and playing her new -part of a drifting stick in a masterly manner. As she did so she -discovered her brother, as promising a specimen of a young pike as -herself, with all the distinguishing marks of the race. - -Although cold-blooded, she was of a fiery temperament, and as she was -also hungry, she stared greedily and with cannibal feelings at the -apparition. Her appetite grew in immeasurable units of time. The food -was at hand, it stared her in the face; she forgot relationship and -resemblance, and bending in the middle so that head and tail met, she -seized her brother with a lightning movement. - -He was quite as big as she, struggled until he was unable to move a -fin; but the stroke was successful. - -She began to understand things, and grew ever fiercer and more violent -and voracious. Her teeth were doubled, and as they grew they were -sharpened by the continual suction of the water through the gills. It -was as if she understood their value, too, for she would often take up -her position on the bottom and stir up grains of fine, hard sand, thus -improving the grinding process considerably. - -It was mostly in the half-light that she now went hunting, in the early -dawn or at dusk. Her sharp eyes could see in the dark like those of the -owl and the cat. When the shadows lengthened, and the red glow from the -sky spread over the water, she felt how favourable her surroundings -were, and she became one with the power in her mighty nature. - -But in the daytime, she lay peacefully drowsing. - - * * * * * - -The creek in which she lived had low-lying banks. - -Among the short, thick grass, orchids and marsh marigolds bloomed side -by side, and the ragged robin unfolded its frayed, deep pink flowers -upon a stiff, dark brown stalk, that always had a mass of frothy -wetness about its head. - -Farther out, the muddy water and horsetails began, and beyond them the -tall, waving reeds, which stretched away in great clumps as far as it -was possible for them to reach the bottom. - -Where _they_ left off, the round-stalked olive-green bog rushes began, -wading farther and farther out, until in midstream they gathered in low -clumps and groves, inhabited by an abundant insect life. - -Beautiful butterflies danced their bridal dance out there, some bright -yellow with black borders, others with the sunset glow upon their -wings. Dragon-flies and water-nymphs by the score refracted the sun's -rays as they turned with a flash of all the colours of the rainbow. -Black whirligigs lay in clusters and slept; and on the india -rubber-like leaves of the water-lily, flies and wasps crawled about -dry-shop, and refreshed themselves with the water. - -In the still, early morning the reeds sigh and tremble. The little -yellowish grey sedge-warbler comes out suddenly from its hiding place, -seizes the largest of the butterflies by the body, and as suddenly -disappears again. A little later it begins its soft little sawing song, -which blends so well with the perpetual, monotonous whispering of the -reeds. - -Grim, down among the vegetation, only faintly catches the subdued -tones; she is occupied with an event that is developing with great -rapidity. - -A moth has fallen suddenly into the clear water. It tries to rise, but -cannot, so darts rapidly across the surface of the water, dragging its -tawny wings behind it. It puts forth its greatest speed, making in a -straight line for the shore. - -But the whirligigs have seen the shipwreck, and dart out on their -water-ski to tear the thing to pieces. They advance with the speed of a -torpedo-boat, and in peculiar spiral windings. A wedge-shaped furrow -stands out from the bow of each little pirate, and a tiny cascade in -his wake. - -The poor moth becomes wetter and wetter, and less and less of his body -remains visible as he exerts himself to reach the safety of the reeds, -where he can climb up into a horse-tail and escape, just as a cat -climbs into a tree to escape from a dog. - -Unfortunately he does not succeed; he is in a sinking condition, and -one of the whirligigs fastens voraciously upon his hind quarters. - -The successful captor, however, is given no peace in which to devour -his prey. He has to let it go, and seize it, and let it go again; and -now a little fish--a bleak--begins to take a part in the play. - -The fluttering chase continues noiselessly across the surface of the -water, and urged on by the whirligigs above and the bleak beneath, the -moth approaches the reeds. - -With muscles relaxed and dorsal fin laid flat, Grim lies motionless at -its edge, whence again and again she catches a glimpse of the little -silvery fish. - -Its delicate body is fat outside and in, plump and well nourished, and -to the eyes of the fratricide is an irresistible temptation, making her -hunger creep out to the very tips of her teeth. - -Her dorsal fin opens out and is cautiously raised, while her eyes -greedily watch the movements of the nimble little fish. - -Flash follows flash, each bigger and brighter than the other. - -Grim feels the excitement and ecstasy of the spoiler rush over her--all -that immediately precedes possession of the spoil--and delights in the -sensation. She begins to change from her stick-like attitude, and -imperceptibly to bend in the middle. - -The plump little fish is too much engrossed in its moth-hunt. -Unconcernedly it lets its back display a vivid, bright green lake-hue, -while with its silvery belly it reflects all the rainbow colours of the -water. - -Another couple of seconds and the prey is near. - -Then Grim makes her first real leap. It is successful. Ever since she -was the length of a darning-needle, she had dreamt of this leap, dreamt -that it would be successful. - -The sedge-warbler in the reedy island heard the splash, and the closing -snap of the jaws. They closed with such firmness that the bird could -feel, as it were, the helpless sigh of the victim, and the grateful -satisfaction of the promising young pirate. - -She was the tiger of the water. She would take her prey by cunning and -by craft, and by treacherous attack. She was seldom able to swim -straight up to her food. How could she chase the nimble antelopes of -the lake when, timid and easily startled, they were grazing on the -plains of the deep waters; they discovered her before she got near them -and could begin her leap! - -Huge herds were there for her pleasure. She had no need to exert -herself, but could choose her quarry in ease and comfort. The larger -its size, and the greater the hunger and lust for murder that she felt -within her, the more violence and energy did she put into the leap. But -just as the falcon may miss its aim, so might she, and it made her -ashamed, like any other beast of prey; she did not repeat the leap, but -only hastened away. - -But when her prey was struggling in her hundred-toothed jaws and -slapping her on the mouth with its quivering tail-fin, then slowly, and -with a peculiar, lingering enjoyment, she straightened herself out from -her bent leaping posture. If she was hungry, she immediately swallowed -her captive, but if not, she was fond, like the cat, of playing with -her victim, swimming about with it in her mouth, twisting and turning -it over, and chewing it for hours before she could make up her mind to -swallow it. - -She ate, she stuffed herself; and with much eating she waxed great. - - - - -III: GRIM GOES EXPLORING - - -In the creek where she lived among rushes and reeds, a shoal of perch -had their abode. They were scarcely as big as she, but much thicker and -older. Their leader in particular, by whose movements the whole flock -were guided, was a broad bellied high-backed fellow, who knew the value -of the weapon of defence he possessed in his strong, spiny dorsal fin. - -He had a peculiar power of varying his colour so that it always suited -the light in the water and on the bottom. There were days when he -looked an emerald green, without any brassy tinge; at other times he -let the black flickerings along his sides stand out like the stripes on -a zebra's skin, and gave a brilliancy to his belly like that of the -harvest moon. That was for fine weather. There was life in the water -then! - -But common to them all were the rough, rasping scales that grew close -up round the carroty-red fins, and the round yellow eyes with -coal-black pupils, which seemed to rest on cushions and roll outside -the head so that the fish could see both up and down. - -The perch were quite as rapacious as Grim herself; they poached upon -her small-fish preserves, and often disturbed her in the chase. Had she -only been equal to it, she would gladly have devoured some of them, -too. - -One evening when she was so hungry that she under-estimated everything, -she saw her chance of attacking their dark-hued leader, but _Rasper_, -becoming aware of his dilemma, defended himself with the energy of a -bulldog. The combat was on the point of turning in his favour, when -Grim disappeared from view by taking a bold salmon-leap high into the -air. After that they always swam scowling past one another at a -respectful distance; but Grim was well aware that the striped swimmer -had no friendly feeling towards her. - -As she grew bigger, and felt herself more and more the powerful despot, -whose dental armature had been provided simply and solely for the -purpose of biting others, her hatred of the high-backed one -instinctively became greater. They were of such widely different -natures! - -Grim was passionate, fierce, and reckless in her attacks, and gave -herself up to the intoxicating pleasure of the chase until she grew -dizzy. She ventured all, and lost herself in rapacious lust. The -cunning perch seldom made a false step, but looked carefully ahead, and -was always cool and self-restrained in his behaviour; and yet he was -always ready--quite as ready as she--to attack, but had a masterly -perception of the chances of success. He would frequently dart towards -her, then suddenly stop and consider, and stand sniffing at her like a -dog. - -She was still only a hobbledehoy, flabby and loose-jointed, and not -quick enough in emergencies. She had only just found out where the -great ones of her own species liked to post themselves, and where it -behoved her, therefore, to be on her guard; but beyond this she was not -burdened with much experience. - -As a young fish she had never been out into deep water, but wisely kept -to the quiet parts--the channels and the broad waters of the creek, -where her strength was proportionate to the exigencies of her -surroundings, and where she instinctively felt that her great enemies -would run aground if they pursued her. Here she found shelter among the -reeds and the rushes. - -But there was something beyond; something great and strong, something -always disquieting; and this attracted her. - -She began to go farther and farther afield, and one day, when the water -was especially bright and clear, she set out on a journey from one end -of the lake to the other. - -The bottom of the creek was fertile, hilly country. Long slopes, -clothed with water-lily plants, and laden with yard-high, round-stalked -grass, ran out in parallel chains, framing, as it were, a corresponding -stretch of broad, deep valleys. Here and there were steep narrows, -passes through which the shoals of fish had to venture when going from -one pasture to another. - -She swam just below the surface of the water, and looked with interest -at the varied scenery of the bottom and all the unfamiliar and strange -things that presented themselves. How delightful it was to let herself -go and give her fins free play! - -She reached a rocky reef, and swam over a group of high, wild mountains -that rose steeply out of the black bottom ooze with rugged sides, -wooded in parts, and in others barren and naked. The mountains were -full of deep ravines, the ice of centuries of winters' freezing of the -bottom had furrowed them with crests and clefts, planed off the points -of the summits, and formed rounded tops or plateaux. - -Here and there in this rocky land with its numerous winding inlets and -sharp corners, a conspicuous stump stuck up. Several of them had a ring -at one end, and from a few waved a bit of rope. In the course of time -they had dropped down from the other world. They were lost boat-hooks -and anchors that had become hopelessly fixed; for the rocky reef was a -good fishing-ground. - -There were many crayfish in the lake, and Grim, as she swam, had a -bird's-eye view of them walking about, swarming over the bottom of the -lake in all directions, laboriously measuring out the kilometres in -crayfish steps. - -In several places there were whole towns of them, and in the -perpendicular cliffs on the deep side of the reef, there was a large -crayfish population. Here she noticed certain specimens, larger than -she cared about. They lay in wait among the rocks or in the depths of -the primeval forest, and caught what fish they could in their deadly -claws. Or they ran backwards through the water with claws and feelers -extended, step by step and with a beat of the tail; if the waves they -set up had not warned her in time, they might have run into her at any -moment. - -From the reef she passed on over a great sandy desert, where the worms -lay in rings, and the fresh-water mussels in colonies. She came upon -some unpretending and not very luxuriant plants with swinging stalks -that could turn with the current and the waves; but what struck her -most, and broke the monotony more than anything else, was the skeleton -remains of animals, boats, and a few human beings, that lay scattered -about. - -Where the substratum of the rocky reef still extended under the sand -without disappearing altogether, she saw these slowly-perishing remains -of the meteors from the air-world, lying scoured and clean as on a -tray. In the eyeholes of the skulls the crayfish sheltered when they -rested on their long journey over these perilous wastes, and perch -lurked in the shadow of the ribs. - -Farther out, where current and drifting sand alternately had the -mastery, things were incessantly being uncovered and reburied; and in -the middle of the desert waste, where there were quicksands, sometimes -an arm would project from the sand-dunes, sometimes a leg, or the -frontal bone of a skull bearing a huge pair of horns, or the prow of a -boat. Finally, the desert ended in a whole skeleton reef--the remains -of a drove of animals that a dozen years before had lost their way in -the drifting snow and the dark, taken a short cut over the ice, and -fallen through. - -Once beyond this, the fertile bottom, with black soil, plants and -little fish, began again. Then came a new, high-lying land, not stony -and rough like the first, but rich and luxuriant. It lay outside a -projecting point of land, of which it formed the natural continuation -under the water. - -On each side of the point a long creek stretched far inland, the -scenery under the water being a repetition of that above. A luxuriance -and fertility was visible on all sides; the water-grass waved in -stretches like corn in the fields, and the giant growths of the -water-forests were like the shady trees on land. - -On the dividing-line between these fertile regions and the sterile -tracts where, on stormy days when the waves ran deep, the drifting sand -laid bare old, fish-gnawed skeletons, or covered up new ones, there was -a big slough, which formed the beginning of a low-lying, wide-spreading -bog, in which the sources of the lake had their origin. - -There was always movement in the vegetation here. The mud rose and fell -as if waves were passing beneath it. Now and then the surface opened, -and jets of water as thick as tree-trunks shot into the air. There were -high and low jets, forming, as it were, trees and bushes of water, -which sometimes burst into bloom with large, strange-hued, fantastic -blossoms of foam and bubbles. - -In this slough lived the hermit of the lake, the giant sheat-fish _Oa_, -a scaleless, dark, slimy monster, which only on rare occasions, -generally in stormy weather, rose from her mudbed and revealed herself -to human eyes. Generally, she moved about on the bottom, living her -lonely life of plunder where the law of gravitation ultimately brought -everything that was no longer able to swim or float about. - -Centuries earlier, pious men had brought her progenitor, wrapped in wet -grass, here to the lake, and planted the family of _Silurus_ outside -their cloister walls, so that its oily, digestible flesh could serve -them as a good dish for fast-days. - -The experiment was only moderately successful, and this hardy old fish -was the last of her race. - -Oa had the body of an eel, but was as long and thick as a boa -constrictor. If she were ever caught, and placed upon a wagon, her tail -would hang out beyond even the longest wagon-perch. - -Her head was large and squat, with a huge shark's mouth and small, -blinking eyes. Six long, worm-like barbels, whose ends curled and -twisted, hung from the corners of her mouth; she felt her way with them -as she sedately crawled over the muddy bottom. She had neither neck nor -breast, but her capacious stomach hung down immediately behind her -gullet, like that of an old sow. It was always distended, and -apparently so heavy that its owner's back was quite bent. - -Oa was a sinister-looking skulker in dark places, a terror to every -poor fish that had been injured and could no longer swim nimbly about. - -Like a moss-grown tree-stump she lies buried in the mud when the still -inexperienced Grim swims in among the bottom springs, and again and -again unwittingly passes over her scaleless, dull green body. She is -quite invisible, only the two longest of her barbels projecting from -the mud, and incessantly curling and bending like two earth-worms -hastily making for the bottom at the approach of an enemy. - -Grim, who is always in want of food and cannot resist delicacies, -swoops down like a falcon at sight of the "worms," without noticing the -watchful gleam in the two little amber-coloured stones that lie -quivering on the muddy bottom. She snaps eagerly at the nearest "worm," -but it escapes her by adroitly rolling itself up. - -The active little pike is still too far off the big pirate's teeth; it -must be enticed nearer, so that she can be certain when she strikes. - -Grim does not respond to the invitation, however, but prefers to try -the other "worm," and when that, too, with a rapidity unusual in a -worm, curls up into a ball and goes to the bottom, she instinctively -grows suspicious, and sets her tail-screw going, just as the cunning -water-hyena throws off its mask of mud, and makes a wild dash at her. - -[Illustration: "She snaps eagerly at the nearest 'worm,' but it escapes -her by adroitly curling up."] - -Grim flees precipitately--so terrified that her cold blood almost -stiffens--and darts out of the black cloud that Oa in her eagerness has -raised. - -The entire hollow seems alive now; everything is gliding and rocking, -everything is moving beneath her; she seems to be swimming in black -darkness with an angry, gaping, sucking mouth close behind her. She has -to keep up full speed with her tail, and to paddle with all her fins, -fore and aft, to avoid being drawn in. - -When the water begins to clear, and daylight returns, she finds herself -in the middle of a shoal of gay little fish, which, at her sudden -appearance among them, scatter like a flock of starlings at the dart of -a sparrow-hawk down among them. She feels the seething and boiling from -the quick flapping of tiny tails; and involuntarily she goes with them, -swimming away as quickly as the most nimble of the shoal, to a large, -wide-spreading island of reeds. - -Here Grim remained for a month, during which time she calmed down, and -came to a full understanding of her own cruel, voracious nature. - -One day, when she was proceeding along the border of her new beat, she -came upon some precipitous cliffs, standing stone upon stone straight -up from the bottom, full of holes and openings. She swam into large, -slimy-green caverns and lofty grottos. It was the ruin of the old -monastery she had found. - -For the present she dared not venture back across the lake. The -encounter with Oa had given her a feeling that dangers lurked out in -the deep water, to which she was by no means equal. She turned into the -nearest creek, and lost herself in a series of large reed-forests. -Through them she went on into the bay until the world around her grew -narrower and narrower, the surface of the water and the bottom -approached one another, and the dreaded element in which she could not -breathe made known its superior force by many loud sounds. - -Here a great fringe of forest encircled the lake, and Grim turned -headlong back. - - - - -IV: THE MARAUDERS - - -Borne on a gentle breeze, a large crane-fly comes sailing out of the -wood. It likes to cool its long legs, as it flies, by trailing them -along the surface of the water. The whirligigs are after it, but it -easily avoids them. Then comes a sudden surprise: a fish pops up its -mouth, and closes its scissor-jaws with a snap on the insect's legs, -and it disappears in the centre of a rocking series of rings. - -The lake is perfectly calm, its green-black surface smooth and shining, -and full of drifting summer clouds. The reeds are reflected in it and -look double their height, and the trees mirror their branches there, -seeming twice as leafy; and a red house with a white flagstaff on one -of the banks becomes quite a little submarine palace. - -More crane-flies arrive, and circle after circle breaks the stillness -of the water, just as mole-hills break the uniform smoothness of the -meadow, as fishes' mouths dart up by the score side by side. - -It is in one of the valleys in the submarine mountainous region that -this shoal of thousands of bleak lies. It covers the area of a -market-place, and makes the water alive for fathoms down. - -On the one side rises the forest of weed, like a fir-forest on a -Norwegian mountain; on the other the thick green water-grass waves and -bends like the corn on some fertile plain in Hungary. In front and -behind, the valley winds on between the hill-sides until it widens out -and finally loses itself in the barren, sandy desert. - -Suddenly, at the end of the neighbouring valley, the water seethes and -foams. It is cleft incessantly from bottom to surface, bubbles rise and -whirlpools are formed, and a long strip of lake foams and spurts. - -It is not like a single large animal darting forward with rapidly -twisting tail, and leaving a wake and waves behind it; but a general -effervescence that makes the depths gleam with millions of scales. - -It is the perch, the marauders of the lake, on a hunting expedition! - -They go together in a large company, like soldiers in an army, rows of -them above, beside, and behind one another. There are hundreds upon -hundreds of them, and yet a single unit. - -With their uppermost layer only a couple of inches below the surface of -the water they hasten on. Then all turn at once, changing from the -long, narrow marching column into compact formation. A fresh signal, -inaudible, imperceptible to all but themselves, and once more, in a -trice, the narrow, smoothly-gliding hunting-column is reformed. - -Just as they twist and turn in the horizontal plane, so do they in the -vertical. They go suddenly and headlong from the surface to the depths, -spinning out from their compact mass a long, living thread. - -And the thread becomes longer and longer, and thinner and thinner, -while they pass through one of the narrows in the submarine mountainous -region. - -It is the shoal of bleak they are after. Now they are in the valley -where it lies. - -The lively little freshwater herring as yet suspect no danger; they are -in constant motion, occupied in snapping up the fallen, half-drowned -insects. Noses are pushed up, and little thimble-like mouths open; the -water streams in, and with it the food. An eager interchange from -bottom to surface goes on; for when the upper layer is satiated, it -likes to enjoy its feeling of well-being in peace, until voracity once -more makes them all rivals. - -The splash of the waves on the surface lifts the gluttons up and down, -while the ground-swell rocks the satiated to rest. - -The perch have quickened their pace; involuntarily the speed is -increased; they already scent their prey. - -Foremost of the company, with a dark-golden, high-backed leader at -their head, swim a couple of hundred of the finest perch. They are at -their strongest age, and in best possible condition, suffering neither -from too great a weight of fatness, nor from the nervous lassitude of -insufficient nourishment. They lead, and with frolicsome eagerness push -past one another, so as to be the first to arrive. - -After them comes the great mass of the horde, big, heavily-laden craft, -their round backs and swelling bellies testifying to their success in -their toil for material needs. There are perch among them of half an -arm's-length, and the thickness of the biggest of wrists. Sheaves of -silvery-gleaming rays flicker far out in their wake. - -The rest of the fierce horde are large and small mingled--hundreds of -perch of half-a-pound's weight, and rank upon rank of others well over -two pounds. - -For the present the whole flock keeps to the bottom, darting along with -dorsal fin erect, the stiff spines bristling menacingly. It is as well -to have bayonets fixed in case of the sudden appearance of a pike. - -All at once the van slips away from the rest, and the latter have to -exert themselves to catch up, twisting and turning their tails, and -unfurling the stiff sail of their dorsal fin. There must be nothing now -to check their speed; fair-weather sailing is over, and the -privateering expedition has begun. - -The certainty of booty fills them all. - -The vanguard has led the marauders well; they have come _under_ their -prey, and now shoot up among the unfortunate, unsuspecting bleak. All -order among the assailants instantly ceases, and each member thinks -only of its own mouth, and cares for nothing but getting it filled. - -Like yellow flashes of water-lightning the perch dart into the shoal of -little fish, and like grain among a flock of chickens, masses of bleak -disappear into their mouths. They kill and devour--and it will be still -worse when the rear-guard comes up. - -Now they arrive, and the alarm in the swarm of bleak below spreads with -magical swiftness to the upper layers, where the bewildered little -creatures make off at full speed. Gleam after gleam flashes up as the -little shining fish, uncertain of their way, twist and turn about. Each -makes itself as long and thin as it can, so as to show as little as -possible, and disappear, as it were, in the water. - -But now the fierce horde becomes still fiercer. The rear-guard -overtakes the fugitives and cuts off their retreat; and smack after -smack is heard after their charge. - -The swarm of bleak scatters in wild panic. Thousands of them, in their -terror, make for the surface, leaping into the air like jets from a -fountain. They tumble over one another and try in their bewilderment -which can leap highest and farthest. They rise like flying-fish out of -the water with a flash, and once more disappear with a splash into the -water. There is a splash when they rise, and a splash when they again -reach the surface of the water; making a sound like the falling of -torrents of rain. - -Hell is beneath them in the water! The yellow devils not only menace -them from the side; they come upon them from all directions. When they -descend in crowds from their flight into the air, they grow stiff with -terror on finding themselves face to face with great, amber eyes that -seem starting out of their sockets to go greedily hunting on their own -account. Then a mouth opens, shoots out a pair of concertina-like lips, -and changes into a funnel; and the poor little fish disappear into a -chasm, like threads into a vacuum cleaner. - -Above the spot a cloud of terns is circling. They fly low with -half-extended legs and drooping wings, ready to dart down. Sometimes -they make a catch, sometimes miss their aim, but have the good fortune -to take a fish that inadvertently appears close by; indeed the bleak -often leap straight into the birds' open beak. The birds hold them at -all sorts of angles in their beak, and fly away with them, shrieking -and screaming, pursued by their fellows. - -Poor little bleak! they were so pretty to look at. An emerald green -colour extended from the back right over the head and nose; and the -rims of their eyes when they blinked could sparkle and shine like the -gem itself. Their shining breast was whiter than a swan's, and their -plump sides gleamed and sparkled like ice under a wintry moon. - -But from the time they left their Creator's hand they were intended to -serve as food for _others_. - - * * * * * - -A boat lay anchored a few hundred yards off. In it was an elderly man. - -An angler this. He had been out since early morning, and had a -delightful day. - -Not a single bite. But what did that matter? - -He was lying now at the bottom of the boat, dreaming. - -He was a regular visitor to the lake. His ancestors' love of a free, -out-of-door life had entered into his blood. - -It is well known that it takes three generations to make a gentleman; -but it would take three times as many to create, out of a race that -ever since the morning of time had lived out of doors, a generation -that did not care to handle either gun or rod. - -In his youth his gun had been his best friend; but the chase demands -much of legs and muscles and heart. When a man is no longer in his -prime, he should beware of paying ardent court to Dame Diana. In her -suite--it is useless to deny it--the old man is seldom looked upon with -favour: he has had his day. But Father Neptune clasps him rapturously -in his wet embrace, and sets the fish around his boat leaping and -playing. - -It was thus in his later years that his fishing rod had become the old -man's joy and companion. - -Season after season he made his weekly journey from town by rail, and -then drove out to the lake. He fished in the good old-fashioned way, -talked very little, and was always alone in the boat. - - * * * * * - -The weather to-day, from a fisherman's point of view, is the worst -possible. The July sun is shining hotly, and sends its beams deep down -into the water. - -The lake slumbers. There is a bottle-green hue above the deep water, -and a lilac shade in the shallows; but over the sandy bottom the colour -is drab. Far off a flock of wild ducks rising raise some little, gentle -waves, that look so blue, so blue! - -The angler, who is a big, sturdy man with large, black-rimmed -spectacles upon his voluminous nose, is in his customary -fishing-dress--an old straw hat with an elastic under the chin, his -coat off, and no collar, on his legs a pair of thick, yellowish brown -moleskin trousers, his feet in a pair of felt shoes, lined with straw. - -He generally stays all day, and it is still far from evening. - -He is now lying outstretched in midday drowsiness, enjoying the great -peace that rests on the lake. He has wound the ends of his lines round -his wrist; he waits patiently, and if towards evening he is fortunate -enough to haul in a pike, he will be filled with a quiet, intense joy. - -Suddenly he awakes with a start. He hears a rushing sound like that of -the paddles of a distant steamer striking and tearing the water; he -sees the terns flocking, and the surface of the water broken again and -again by bleak leaping high into the air. He takes up his anchor, and -rows up until he hears the smack, smack of the greedy perch all round -him, and knows he is in the middle of the whirlpool of fish. - -He gets four lines clear, and has enough to do in throwing them out and -pulling them in. He throws off his hat and waistcoat, and loosens his -belt--but even then he is drenched with perspiration. - -At last he can do no more, and drops exhausted on to a thwart. - -In less than twenty minutes he has caught more than fifty perch, -weighing from one to three pounds apiece; they are lying in a brassy -heap in the boat. - -Then he opens his wallet, takes out the bottle containing clear liquid, -and takes a nip. This he is accustomed to do every time he catches a -fish of any importance. He drinks to the health of the lake, the lake -with the fresh waves and the clear, bright water--the lake that -treasures his dearest memories. - - - - -V: THE PEARLY FISH - - -Between a cloudy sky and rough water the wind tore through reeds and -rushes. - -Grim was lurking at the edge of the bottom vegetation; she had not seen -fish-food since the previous evening. - -There is a splash in front of her, a broad foot is pushed obliquely -down into the water and forces a large, heavy "swimming-bird" past her. - -A little later there is a sudden gleam. A small fugitive of a fish -darts past as though taking advantage of the wake of the big bird, from -one reedy shelter to another. - -Grim has already eaten so many bleak and roach that they are beginning -to be everyday fare; and now, there goes a new kind of food, a fish -that shines all red and green and blue and black, with large, -glittering, beady eyes! - -At a distance she follows the tit-bit that swims through the water like -no other fish, turning incessantly round and round on its own axis. - -How hard it works! there is a bright starry light all round it, and its -tail-fin quivers behind in a long thick trail. - -She cannot look at it unmoved. "After it!" say her eyes; "after it!" -echoes her empty stomach. - -She does not succeed in seizing it across as she generally does, but -has to swim up and swallow it from behind in one mouthful. - -It is a curiously sharp-spined little fish! Now that she has it in her -mouth, it is not nearly so tempting to her palate as it was before her -eyes. Well, she has taken the trouble to catch it, so down it shall go! - -She cannot get it to move in her mouth; it will not stir! She takes a -firmer hold, turns with it, and hastens back into her hiding place. - -Then it begins to bite her in the throat! And now--she becomes quite -uneasy--her throat suddenly tries to go the opposite way to her tail! -What can be the matter? - -She forcibly sets her teeth into her refractory captive, when suddenly -she is pulled over. - -How strange! The simple little pearly fish takes the form of a master, -and drags her after it through the water; no matter how much she tries -to back, no matter what powerful strokes she makes to force it to obey -her will, she is obliged to yield and go with it. Her brain is -bursting; she cannot comprehend this powerlessness: the fish is in her -mouth and on its way down her throat, and yet it is dragging her along -with it. - -No! _No!_ And she sets to work and lashes the water into foam with her -tail; but the little pearly fish is inexorable; it is too strong for -her. - -There must be some strange witchcraft about it all! - -Instead of her swimming away with it, here it goes swimming away with -her, and on they go, nearer and nearer up towards the light and the -surface, which she instinctively shuns. All at once the pearly fish -leaps into the air with her. She wants to let go, to spit it out, but -she is too late; for the moment she is not quite conscious. - -Her eyes ache; she feels as if they would jump out of her head. Her -sight is gone, and a bright red mist surrounds her. She tries to swim, -but cannot get her balance; she tries to strike with her tail in order -to escape, but the water round her offers no resistance. - -A suffocating feeling seems suddenly to contract her gills; she cannot -open them far enough. She opens her mouth to let water in, but only -swallows dry wind. - -The next moment she is lying floundering in a boat, and then a human -hand takes her up. - -"A pickerel! undersized!" mutters the angler. And he carefully takes -out the revolving bait and weighs the fish in his hand. Alas! not even -a miserable two pounds! - -He takes out his sheath-knife and marks her dorsal fin; and then, in -the hope of finding favour with the gods on account of his magnanimity, -and catching the fish again at some future time, he tosses her over the -side of the boat, and Grim is given back to life. - -It was much the same feeling as when she was ejected from the heron's -throat; her intestines seem bursting, and her breath to be leaving her. -Then she reaches the water, where she lies floating on her side, and -slowly wakens as though from a long fit of unconsciousness. - -And in a trice she has disappeared into the depths. - -Her suspicion was aroused. The world was full of villainies, more than -those that she herself committed! - -Twilight was falling. - -The sun's fiery columns, that stood obliquely over the lake, suddenly -separated and flowed out, their glowing fragments lying like burning -oil upon the surface of the water. Then they were gradually -extinguished; the darkness of evening shed its deep blue tones over -them. - -Long and black, the shadows crept out from the banks; the little fish -made their way in to the shelter of the reeds, and the pursuing pike -went to rest. And while the surface still sparkled with a peculiar -mother-of-pearl brilliancy, the darkness of night already brooded -closely beneath the water. - -As quietly as a snail, a little crayfish was crawling over the bottom; -but it was more watchful than a polecat, and listened and felt its way -carefully. It came out from the rocky reef, and was now on its way over -the sandy plain in to the nearest bank. - -_Nipper_ was a robber, encased in coat of mail; he spared nothing that -he thought he was big enough to overcome. A sharp, serrated dagger -projected above his jaws, and the pincers of his large claws were -half-open, ready to fasten upon the unwary prey. - -He was a young crayfish, no longer than the span of a child's hand, and -with a tail no broader than a finger. His eyes were stalked, and the -long, wide-straddling feeling carefully searched the bottom for more -than a body's length in advance. The half-closed claws scraped over -rocks and water-lily roots in their efforts to drag the mailed body -along. - -Suddenly there was a shock to his feelers. Nipper suspected danger, and -struck with his tail; and at once beginning to go backwards, he -hastily, with his front claws, stirred up a cloud of mud all round him. -Step by step, long and rapid, he hastened, without changing his -direction, back through the water. - -It was only a false alarm, however; there was no otter or -water-rat--its worst enemies--close to the tips of it claws. It might -take things quietly, and safely set about its search for nocturnal prey -again. It stopped beating the water with its tail, and with extended -claws and tail outspread, it let itself sink slowly through the water. - -Sedately and circumspectly, and with extreme caution, he felt his way -before advancing over the bottom of the lake on his clawed legs. - -Nipper was descended from an old "backslider" that had been a monster -of the order of Decapoda, and had at last become so fat and heavy that -she could hardly swim, and preferred to crawl about. Like the rest of -her species, she had espoused a new male crayfish every other year; the -wedding generally took place in November, when out-of-door pleasures -were few, and everything, even the water, was cold and grey. - -When the happy honeymoon was over, she always suddenly broke off all -relations with her spouse, and withdrew into one of the roomiest of the -numerous deep, dark, basement flats through the winter, waiting for the -sun and the white water-lilies to bring out her little children. - -And they came! - -Next summer a swarm of little creatures crept out of the eggs that -adhered in scores to her tail. From their birth they had tiny claws, a -tiny rostrum, and tiny feelers; and they were all an exact copy of -_him_. Holding fast with one claw to their mother's poorly-developed -caudal legs, they hung as to a strap, while with the other claw they -fought among themselves as much as possible. - -It was a little world of malice, cannibal cruelty, and good, healthy -egoism that the old monster thereafter dragged about with her, and she -defended it--to her praise it must be said--on every occasion against -the violence and malice of the outside world, by interposing her own -body. - -Half without will of her own and unconsciously, she kept life in her -young. Every time she required food and drew it forward under her body, -the baby crayfish got a bit of it. On such occasions they let go of one -another, and struck out with his free claw, and hastily transferred the -morsel to his mouth. - -Nipper had hung to one of the outside "straps" and he was with his -mother on the night she went into a crayfish trap. He let go the strap -in order to cram himself with both hands, and he did succeed in -producing a feeling of extraordinary satiety; but when the trap was -suddenly hauled up, he was not quick enough in taking hold again; the -water drew him with it, and washed him out through the wide-meshed net. -In this way he lost the shelter that in the natural order of things he -could still have reckoned on beneath the caudal fan of his great -parent; but fate had nevertheless been kind to him. While old Madam -Nipper, boiled red like a lobster and with lettuce round her tail, lay -that evening curled up on a dish, her little nipper was surrounded with -all the wonders of life; and he went at them with greedy claws and -flapping tail. It was not for nothing that he had been born with the -art of going backwards. - -He had now lived through three winters, and was therefore not -altogether lacking in experience of life. He had successfully passed -the age in which his growth of no more than a few weeks made each -jacket-sleeve and trouser-leg too short, and had gone through nearly a -score of those dreadful "metamorphoses." They were terrible bouts, real -illnesses that cost both toil and suffering. The last was still fresh -in his memory. He had suddenly become uneasy, could not even rest in -his hole. It was the same with them all; the same unrest seized upon -all the inhabitants of the crayfish-town that extended over the rocky -reef. None of them any longer ventured out at sunset; they remained -indoors. Then the illness began with an irresistible desire to scrape -and rub oneself. It was impossible to hold out against it; one had to -let it go its way and follow a certain system. - -The "system" commenced with some wild movements of arms and legs. -Resting on the carapace and the big claws, the hind part of the body -was raised, and the tail spread, and then the thighs, legs, and ankles -were worked until a hole was made in the old, armour-like skin, and it -split up length-wise. - -The transformation took days, so one had to sleep now and then, and -rest often. Food there was none. - -One started up out of sleep, unable to rest for fear of being left in -the old skin and dying of starvation. Nothing for it but to go on, and -try to get over this most unpleasant process of moulting as quickly as -possible. - -Nipper, who was endowed with all the courage and impatience of youth, -was one of the most eager to push on the business. He quickly got rid -of the armour-plates on his legs, and was now working to get out of his -tight coat-of-mail, throwing himself on his back, and rubbing himself -backwards and forwards upon the floor. - -The coat-of-mail has already come away from the trouser-band, and he -can raise it from his body; he presses its stiff edges against a stone, -while he works himself backwards out of the old crayfish-case. First he -carefully releases both his stalked eyes, then come the feelers, and -then the big claws. Oh, but it hurts! And he shakes and twists himself, -sweating with exertion and anxiety. After all, it is going confoundedly -fast! Suppose a limb got into a tangle, or a joint refused to move! -Then it would break, as he very well knows: that kind of thing is a -part of the crayfish system! - -At last the whole thing was accomplished, and he felt stronger and -freer than ever. This evening he would kill! This evening he would eat -his fill! - -The darkness grew deeper The sinister shadows were already darkening -the banks, and the deep water, which before had shone with gleaming -mother-of-pearl, seemed now leaden-grey. There was not a water-lily -leaf to be seen on the surface; it was impossible to distinguish a -single green stalk. - -Down on the soft mud, beneath a rotten, wrinkled tree-stump, sat a -fresh-water mussel with its shells half-open. As the round feelers of -the crayfish came gliding tentatively round its foot, it became aware -of the approach of an enemy, and had already almost closed its -broadly-gaping shells when Nipper, at the last moment, managed to -introduce the end of one of his broad pincers, like the heel of a boot -in a door. The mussel worked its hardest, straining till its shells -creaked and splinters actually broke off in its efforts to crush the -hard armour-plating of the claw. - -Nipper lay as though petrified in front of his victim, and let the -mussel exhaust itself while he watched his opportunity to drive his -unimpressionable wedge farther and farther in. He had the patience of -Job, and knew that he only had to wait. - -It was not long before he had succeeded in making room for his other -claw, and now he was cutting and picking at the body of the poor -mussel, one claw holding the pearly shells sufficiently wide apart for -the other to convey dainty pieces of mussel-flesh to his mouth. - -At last the poor mussel's strength is quite exhausted. It gives up, and -Nipper's head and the front part of his body disappear inside the -shell. - -Nipper remained there the first part of the night, cramming himself, -but at last could not help regretting that a mussel went such a little -way. He took a short rest, and then towards morning set out confidently -in search of more. - -Unfortunately there were no sleepy, unprepared mussels to surprise; but -behind some stones in one of the deep, submarine mountain passes stood -a solitary fish, which had apparently got out of its course. - -The quiet little Nipper had not much experience regarding the way in -which a crayfish catches fish; he was more accustomed to snails and -mussels. He could also seize a younger comrade in his claws, and suck -him dry, leaving nothing but his coat and trousers; but the finned -animal, with fans on back, belly, and tail, the nimblest of all--how -did one catch it? - -He slyly pushes through a crack at the bottom of the cave, raises -himself on the points of his closed claws, and blinks with his -diverging eyes. He has turned back his feelers so that they shall not -betray him while he is investigating his immediate surroundings. - -Grim is standing motionless with her head towards the current, leaving -her forked tail to keep her, with slight movements, on the same spot. -She is tired and exhausted after her long struggle with the pearly -fish, and feeling rather languid and out of sorts. Her lacerated mouth -hurts every time she opens it to rinse it with fresh water. She has, -therefore, sought shelter in the rocky cave to compose herself and -recover. - -Something quivers along her breast and cautiously pricks her sides and -belly. It must be a waving grass-stalk! - -Then a gradually-increasing, continuous pressure is suddenly felt round -the thick part of her tail. - -With a sudden movement of her body she tries to shake off the supposed -reed, but at the same moment the pressure is felt like a bite from the -hard, sharp-edged beak of a heron. She struggles and writhes, and warps -herself out of the cave; and now she flies, fin-winged, through the -water. - -Nipper is hanging to her stern. He has only hold with one claw, but -hopes to get the other, which he is waving about, also applied. His -tail-fan works incessantly. - -Grim drags at full speed over stock and stone, and swings him out of -one gyration into another; through reed-beds and undergrowth, and far, -far into the forest of water-weed; but he hangs on still! - -He feels, however, that his prize is rather more than he can manage. -There is no time left for him to pick at the fish's flesh with his -other claw; he was growing quite dizzy, for he was not accustomed to -going _forward_ at such a pace! - -Then he stretches out his free claw to seize hold of a root, and thus -try to chain his captive to the bottom. - -But the trick does not succeed. The jerk that follows is so violent -that he loses his claw! - -He has now lost his chance, and lets go. - -Grim feeling herself relieved of his weight, and free in her movements, -darts away with the speed of a run-away engine. In addition to the -soreness of her mouth, she now has a pain in her tail. She will need -some time to recover from both. - -Things had gone against her, and to tell the truth she did not think -there was much fun in being a fish; but then she had to learn her -lesson, and once bitten, twice shy, both in and above the water. - -The recollection of the strange little pearly fish long remained in her -memory. Its stiff body, and continual turning about its own dorsal fin, -without a single stroke of the tail, were long imprinted on her mind; -and whenever afterwards the "tit-bit" appeared, her wounded mouth -assured her voracious stomach that it was wiser to refrain. - - - - -VI: THE MAN-ROACH - - -Years went by; and Grim grew into a splendid fish. Her long, flat -forehead was now continued straight into the strong duck-like beak of -the upper jaw. A hollow in the middle enabled it, as it were, to -project in canopies that hung down over her eyes, which thus acquired -an expression even more cruel and scowling. - -The cheeks stood perpendicularly on each side of the forehead, and -enclosed the cranium as between walls; it was as though she had had a -dent on both sides of her head. The back of her neck swelled up like -that of a bull, for here the muscles lay over the cranium in large, -thick curves, until down by the neck, they gave place each to its -branchial cleft, which was as large as a barn door. - -And what a mouth! It opened up far past the eyes! Generally, it only -stood ajar; but to look into it when it opened wide was like looking -into a barrel studded with nails. - -In the front of the lower jaw, the teeth stood thick as pins in a -pincushion. They were small and pointed, and sloped backwards, so that -they served as barbs. In along the sides came the long, -widely-separated incisors, whose purpose was to enter into and hold -fast the prey. They were more than half an inch in length, rounded and -blunt, and resembled the teeth of a rake. - -The upper jaw was provided with a far more terrible armature. Whole -rows of harrow-like teeth stood out, making a diabolical grater of the -palate. They continued far down the throat, and even came forward over -the tongue. Woe to the body that became jammed here! It was only -released as mince-meat. - -But the throat that swallowed the victim was by far the most horrible -contrivance. - -It resembled the drawn-up mouth of a sack. Down through it lay great -rolls of swallowing-muscles, studded with grasping protuberances. In -the midst of them the oesophagus was discernible, its aperture -incessantly opening and closing with a suction that inexorably drew -everything down with it. - -And her external equipment corresponded to her internal. The wonderful, -dark colours of the shallows drew a broad stripe along her great back. -About the forehead and along the back of the neck, the water-grasses -had laid a ground-wash of their own deep green; and her sides were -veiled by the flickering streaks of the reed-beds. Patches of gold, -like the sunshine falling through the glassy surface of the water, -shone out between the transverse stripes on her sides; and over the -branchial arch and the belly lay the pure whiteness of the water-lily. - -Yes, she was adorned in all her splendour. Her scales gleamed with the -rays of the sun and moon; and when, with the rapidity of lightning, she -made a dart, it seemed like the twinkling of stars in the dark night of -the deep waters. - -From this time onwards, her voracity knew no bounds. The desire for -food, which she had possessed from her earliest days, and which had -lain like a germ in the very heart of her nature, was given free play -by means of the terrible weapons that Nature had placed at her -disposal. No one else should now get a bite; she would be alone in -clearing the waters of food. - -She now as readily seized her prey lengthwise as cross-wise; indeed, -she even preferred, when hungry, to make straight for the head; by so -doing, she wasted no time in turning it, but could swallow it at once. - -By nature she was very reserved, and had no desire for companionship; -but her mental abilities were by no means small, and she was well able -to make various observations, and profit by their lessons. Nor was she -deficient in memory, as she distinctly showed every spring when going -to spawn; she always found her way up the brook to the wide fen. - -She was very sensitive to every movement in the water, and in a way -_heard_ with ease the boats, "the big birds." They always splashed so -much with their oar-feet, or whisked their tail round in the water. She -had often wondered at them! She had discovered that, like the grebe, -they carried their young on their back; and, like all the other fish in -the lake, she supposed them to be a part of the unrest up on the -surface. - -Long before they came near her, she was distinctly aware of their -approach. - -If she were high in the water, and the bird suddenly rushed down -towards her, she darted to one side and hastened out of the way. It was -different when the boat came slowly gliding along; then she only moved -so as not to be run down. - -But it was many a day before she came to understand that it was they -especially who wanted to harm her. - -One evening the old angler was rowing home late from his -fishing-ground. The moon had risen, and shed her silvery light around -his oars. They dipped down rhythmically, and came up with the silver -dripping from them. Suddenly he noticed that one of them struck -something, and the shock passed through the oar up into his arm. He was -dragging something heavy, and could not bring the oar forward; and then -he pulled the head of a pike up above the water. At the same moment the -fish dropped, and the oar was free; but Grim was wiser after that. - -As the years passed she developed into a powerful ruler, and -increasingly felt herself to be the divinely-favoured inmate of the -lake. _She_ was not one of the rabble! She hunted large and small, and -lorded it over the inhabitants of the lake as far as she possibly -could. - -By more frequent and longer expeditions, she increased her knowledge of -the lake, and learned the routes to all the reefs, creeks and banks; -and she ascertained that in certain directions her world was immense. -It was only the surface that she shunned, and the deepest depths; for -there were great crayfish--to whom the Creator had been so good as to -set their maxillary half at the end of a pair of long, jointed -claws--and there, too, lived Oa, the dreaded fish-monster. - -Grim's territory lay half-way between these. - -In the pure light of early dawn, when the night flies and moths, drowsy -and intoxicated with their nocturnal visits to the flowers, fell by -hundreds into the water on their way home; when the swallows relieved -the bats, and the whirligigs in the sheltered nooks began their -noiseless scurrying over the water, beneath which the water-plants were -beginning to appear in green, yellow and rust-red colours; when the day -dawned down where Grim had her home, and the wide surface above her was -filled with light and radiance--then she hunted most keenly, and felt -most voracious, and then there was terror in her splash and snap. - -One morning early, a breeze is ruffling the surface of the lake, and -winding, white-foamed currents are eating their way out among black -shallows. The terns are diving down after small fish, and along the -rush-bordered banks the rising sun is treading the water. - -Grim is abroad, pushing herself forward like a shadow along the bottom. -Her cunning crocodile eyes are turned up so that they project from her -head. - -A number of roach are thronging about a clump of rushes, examining -leaves and stalks just as long-tailed tits search tree-tops and bark; -they are inside it and outside it, sucking up the water-snails and -insects. - -Grim stops with a jerk. She scarcely moves her ventral fins, and -breathes very gently. At each breath she cautiously opens her mouth and -draws back her tongue, thus filling the spiked barrel with water; then -she carefully closes it again, shoots her tongue forward, and emits the -water through her gills. - -The little fish gambol unwittingly close to her mouth. Her upturned -eyes look still higher, and see the gleam of their white-scaled -bellies. - -Now she is ready to spring. - -There is just a movement of the extreme tip of the tail. Only the -shifting shadow-lines that the reeds cast over her body indicate that -she is moving forward. She peers about continually, peevishly, and -evilly. Only one thing troubles her; she can never decide which fish -out of the swarming multitude she will take. True, she has made a -special study of the way to direct her attack--as the ardent hunter his -aim--where the throng is thickest; but the roach are nimble, and she -seldom gets more than one at a stroke. - -Slowly and imperceptibly she rises, while all the fin-tips wag and wave -in lingering enjoyment. - -Suddenly a little scarlet roach-eye discovers her black back, which up -to the present had looked just like part of the bottom, and they fly -away from her in a panic of terror. In one moment the rushy margin is -empty. - -An accident that may happen even to the best of us! And Grim has to -move on to fresh hunting-grounds. - -Among the floating forests of green feather-foil go big, broad-scaled -bream. They follow close in one another's wake, and lie on the surface, -letting the sunlight play upon their golden scales. Their fat bellies -with the lobster-red fins, and their large, cod-like mouths, give an -impression of simpleness. Yet they are cunning enough, and very -cautious in all their behaviour. - -Several of them are covered with cuts and wounds on the back and sides, -and it is evident they have already made acquaintance with a pike's -mouth. The body of one of them is still bloody, and threads of flesh -and torn scales make it look quite woolly as it moves through the -water. - -They come from deep down at the bottom, and shine with mud and slime -and water-moss. They whisk along with much movement and many strokes of -the tail. Reeds and rushes swing and sway as they stop for a moment to -rub themselves against them. As they pass through the open water, -between the masses of vegetation, where the sun suddenly shines upon -their amber scales, Grim hastily conceals herself in the forest of -weed. - -The pliant water-plants, with their long stalks, accommodate themselves -to the current, hanging westwards for an hour, only to turn just as -unresistingly the opposite way the next. Stiff collars of leaves, like -life-belts, hold up the naked stalks, and form a close, flickering -thicket about the lurking lynx. Without the slime on her body, she -would never get through. - -Soon the fat-bellies are before her; they are slouching along in little -companies, with a thick, greenish, juicy rim to the corners of their -fat mouths. - -Her purpose strengthens, her powers are doubled, but she is able to -restrain herself: the moment has not yet come. - -Not until the last "water-cow" is straight in front of her does she -reveal herself; and the water flashes and bubbles as Grim twists and -turns in her efforts to come up with her prey. - -The flank attack, however, does not come altogether as a surprise to -the "cow"; it has been prepared for it in this narrow passage, and -therefore kept close to the bottom. As a stone bores its way into the -ground, so does it plunge into the mud, stirring up the water, and -digging itself in, so that Grim gets only mud and grains of sand -between her teeth. - -Another accident which only sharpened her appetite and made her -ungovernably fierce; and just then a little roach swam past. - -Grim started. Her embarrassment at her failure almost disappeared, and -she involuntarily stiffened as she stood. She could see with half an -eye that the little roach, which was limping along without any -frolicsome jumps and twists, would be an easy prey. - -What luck! Roach were generally lively little fish, and not easily got -hold of; and although they formed part of her daily fare, she had to -use all her powers and unfold all her energy in order to catch two or -three, at the most five, a day. It was only in May, when they lay in -bundles among the rushes, amorously flicking their tails, that she had -her fill of them, taking as many as a score in the day. - -Now only patience, a little more time to wait; for this time she would -make sure of her fish! - -Just then there is a movement in one of the clumps of weed. The -dusky-hued perch with the high back forestalls her. Right before her -nose he darts like an arrow after the fugitive, but hesitates at the -very moment of striking, stops, and sniffs. - -"Oh! so he daren't! He wants to have the whole company with him!" - -Grim's eyes are alight with the eagerness of the hunter, and her stiff -tongue quivers in her mouth as, with widely opened jaws, she springs -upon her prey. - -The roach is good enough! It wriggles between her teeth and tickles her -cheeks and chin with slaps of its little tail; and yet ... it has an -inexplicable strength like that of a little pearly fish that she dimly -remembers. - -She grows angry. Is an insignificant little fish like this going to -resist _her_ will? The silly little thing is ready to go any way but -the one _she_ wants it to go; she can hardly get from one thicket of -weeds to the other. She becomes so angry that she feels the blood -burning in the back of her neck, and with a sudden vigorous effort, she -gives the roach a violent tug. - -That helps; the fish becomes manageable, its strength vanishes. She is -triumphant. Yes, she knew, of course, how it would be! - -Grim had been fortunate in her misadventure. True, it was a man-roach -that she had bitten into, but she had fortunately broken the line, and -now went off with a long trace dragging after her. She had swallowed -the bait, but what made her horribly uncomfortable was that in doing so -she had got a long, thorny water-plant fixed to her upper lip. - -They were the barbs of the triple hook that she took for thorns! - -At that moment she sees another little roach shining. It is just as -languid as the previous one, and makes the same tempting impression. -Instantly she makes a dash at it. - -The same comedy was gone through, the same incomprehensible strength in -a puny roach, and the same work to get the refractory fish into her -power. - -Well, she managed it at last; at last she had her mouthful. - -This one she swallowed too, but once more she had to spit out something -sharp and prickly that hung to her upper lip on the opposite side. - -It was a long time before Grim managed to wear away the two triple -hooks from the corners of her mouth, and in the meantime she swam about -with the rusty things like an extra set of monster eye-teeth sticking -out of her mouth. The pieces of line that trailed behind her often -caught in things and chained her in an incomprehensible manner to reeds -and rushes; but at last she pulled out one, and a little later the -other, and a hard, gristly, leather-like skin formed where they had -been. - -She gained some experience from this incident; henceforward, she -regarded solitary, sickly-looking roach with keen suspicion. She would -still take with confident voracity large roach and small; but she very -reluctantly took a halting, languid fish like those that had pricked -her so horribly that morning. Their drooping fins and heavy, wriggling -flight had fixed themselves clearly in her mind's eye. - -Her peaceful youth, in which she had only had the heron and the -crayfish and her own kind to fight with, had long since passed, and -henceforth she was to see more and more of the angler's implements. - - * * * * * - -But the old sportsman, whose tackle was wearing out, had to overhaul -and renew his stock. It irritated him beyond endurance, and for a long -time he felt ashamed of himself. From the resistance it had offered he -felt quite convinced that the pike he had lost was at least worth a -bronze medal. He would not tell anyone where it lay, but would take it -himself when he had the opportunity. - - - - -VII: THE RASPER - - -The horde of marauders were chasing through the lake again, and behind -them came the pike. These last did not go together, like the perch, in -serried ranks at a furious hunting pace, but slunk along one by one -from stone to stone, and from weedy clump to weedy clump. - -Grim is with them, and like a seal she helps herself to the flying -bleak which in their terror rush blindly into her jaws. It is quick -work, but nevertheless not quick enough. The gluttony of the perch -angers and irritates her; she feels her belly growing larger, and her -throat widening. She has room for more fish, mountains of fish! - -With a jerk of her body she comes nearer, and is now right in the -whirlpool of bleak and perch. - -Quivering and trembling, the little fish fly in all directions as she -tears among them, and with strong beats of her tail to right and left -pursues her victims. Her eyes gleam, and her thin lips quiver with -insatiable desire. - -A big, high-backed perch coolie makes a capture right in front of her. -In his eagerness he makes such a commotion in the water that it looks -as if it were full of thick, shining snakes. Snap! Snap! There goes a -bleak right before her nose! - -This is more than she can endure! She dislikes this insolent lake-dog -in a still greater degree than when, as a young pike, she stayed in the -shelter of the creek. His cunning and deceit, his ability to save -himself and to get her into a scrape, has of late frequently irritated -her. - -A moment later, while she is in the middle of a spring, he happens to -be pushed by his comrades right in front of her mouth. Her jaws are -already opened, and the water is streaming in like a mill-race; she -sees the bleak-fat upon the mouth of her plump opponent, and her -ferocity and murderous lust are doubled. - -Then she gives way to the innermost need of her being. With an enormous -development of energy, intoxicated with the joy of capture, she attacks -the Rasper with the full strength of both her serrated jaws, opening -them so wide, and dashing at him with such force, that they engulf him -to far down his plump hog-back. The hundreds of little teeth with which -her palate is paved have the same desire, the same purpose; to bore -right in and hold fast. - -Just as the pike's attack is at its height, the Rasper suddenly raises -his twelve-spined dorsal fin. During his chase of the little fish, it -had lain neatly folded like a fan along his back; now it is transformed -into a murderous weapon, and its bony ribs into a bundle of hidden -sword-blades, now stiff and sharp like polished bayonets, now -elastically pliable like rapiers. - -Joyfully Grim takes the big lump into her mouth. She feels that it -pricks her, but the cavity of her mouth is not troubled with any -exaggerated sensitiveness. - -Splendidly heavy and solid the Rasper feels as he lies upon her tongue! -And yet--his rough, tile-like scales, and the very small amount of fat -and slime on his skin, make it unusually difficult for her to get the -lump down. - -He is hurting her now. She quickly takes a better hold, even letting -her prehensile teeth come into play, and the long board-like tongue -warp in co-operation; but no matter what she does, or how wide she -opens her mouth, her efforts are in vain: the high-backed one refuses -to move beyond a certain point. - -Incomprehensible! Impossible! - -She tries again. Besides her tongue and her prehensile teeth, she -brings the muscles of her throat into play, and the bones of her head -expand like a snake's. Colours dance before her eyes as the gullet -opens and closes, trying to draw in the perch's head. But to no avail. -The wedge remains immovable. The big mouthful is _too_ big! - -So there is nothing to be done, but give it up! Grim opens her mouth -wide, relaxes her prehensile teeth, which, as readily as an adder's, -turning on their hinges, return to the perpendicular; she opens her -throat-muscles as far as she can, and even pushes with her tongue. -"There! The torture in the spiked barrel is over. The prison is -graciously open to the great perch." - -The Rasper, who, all through the battle, has been lashing out with his -strong tail, which is hanging out of the pike's mouth, and throwing -Grim from one side to the other, suddenly notices the loosening of the -strait-jacket, and backs with a jerk. He thinks he is free, so easily -does he swim now, although the darkness before his eyes is just as -thick and oppressive. - -He is still in the pike's throat, and cannot get away, for he has his -twelve stiffest dorsal spines bored into his enemy's palate; and the -more he worries and works with his dangerous opponent, the deeper and -more firmly do the spines fix themselves. - -In the meantime Grim, true to her pike-nature, has for a few moments -lost nearly all her energy. The spines begin to hurt her, and her -mouthful on the whole to incommode her. She cannot get sufficient water -over her gills, and what does filter into her mouth in spite of the -gag, is needed by the gag itself. She can feel it breathing inside her -mouth; incessantly, with every indication of excitement, its -gill-covers open and close, and take the lion's share of the water. - -It is impossible for her to bear this suffocation any longer; she must -have air; and in ungovernable rage she begins to lash out with her -tail. Now it is she who takes the upper hand, and pushes the hog-backed -one before her through the water. - -Thus the combat continues. Now it is Grim who has the mastery, and -shakes her opponent so that the perch's tail slaps her weakly on the -cheeks, and fetches her blow after blow upon the back of her neck. Now -it is the Rasper's turn to use Grim as a ferule, running her against -stones and water-plants on the bottom, and whirling her round. - -But no matter how much they exert themselves, it is without result; -they do not succeed in getting away from one another. - -Faint and dead-beat, they fall over on their sides. The blood in their -red gills scarcely circulates, their strength is ebbing, and there is -no longer any question of either being _leader_. They only take it in -turns now to splash a little with their tails and try to right -themselves. - -Grim, who is lying with her gills outside in the free water, is still -alive and in possession of all her senses, but the Rasper is half dead. - -Then they float up and drift over the surface of the water like dead -fish. - - * * * * * - -Thunder is rolling over the lake. - -A scorching sun and oppressive heat have long foreboded the storm that -is brewing, and now at last it has burst; the clouds and the water have -met. - -The celestial salute begins rumbling and crackling a long way off in -the farthest corner where the reed-forests rally round the mouth of the -brook. The lightning ploughs long, white-glowing fibrous sparks out of -the sombre, purple horizon, from which the showers come chasing and -sweeping over the lake, casting dark, threatening shadows before them. - -Under the fringe of forest on the lee-side, where all the grebes have -crept together, one of the "big birds" is lying at anchor. She is -riding out the storm while the whirlwinds are playing touch over the -deep water. She has no lines or fishing-tackle out; she knows well that -all angling is in vain. - -The water seethes and boils on all sides; the grey troughs of the waves -are full of bursting bubbles. Little slate-coloured showers dart about, -and plough up the surface of the water like the scratching of a cat on -the skin; they dash themselves against the reedy margin and the edge of -the wood, cutting broad lanes through them. - -All the fish have left the shallow water for the depths where they can -lie far enough below the surface to escape the movement of the waves. -Only the sheat-fish, the old water-hyena, is out roaming. - -The wild weather puts life into Oa; it brings her great opportunities. -The fish cannot see in the rough water, they are thrown out of their -course, at one moment jumbled together, then separated; and one and -another come to grief. It is corpse-weather today. The angry waves stir -up carrion from the bottom, or carry it out from bridge and bank. She -always gets so hungry in stormy weather, and feels as if she must go to -the surface for air. - -Feeling her way with her sensitive barbels, she glides out of her hole -on the east side of the submarine mountain slope. Like a huge eel she -wriggles up to the surface, where she lies in wait, slowly drifting -with the current. - -Grim's white belly is not turned down now. The colour that makes the -fish look one with the water would then have hidden her well enough for -any one looking up from below. Now her flecked sides and black back -make a distinct stripe in the water. - -A cunning expression comes into Oa's little eyes. The queer fish with -two tails attracts her. - -The storm is abating; the last heavy shower is over. A patch of blue -sky peeps out like a smiling eye between the frayed, swollen clouds. -The lake sinks to rest, and even the pennons of the rushes hang loosely -from their stalks; but in the distance can be heard the low rumbling of -another storm. - -The boat takes advantage of the lull, and is on her way home. - -Oa, hearing the swish of her bow, has only time to make a few hasty -snaps at the big perch's already swollen belly; her thick, fleshy lips -are still pulling at the Rasper's intestines as she slowly dives down -into deep water. - -The gulls and terns, which have begun to gather about the spot, are -filled with renewed hope, and swoop down upon their prey with -vociferous cries. Involuntarily the angler's attention is attracted to -them. - -He takes out his glasses, then rows nearer; and in another moment he -has the two fish in his landing-net. - -What a haul! A pike that has gorged itself on a giant perch! And it can -only just have happened, for as soon as he has them in the boat he puts -his nose to them and smells that they are fresh. - -The perch, it is true, looks rather poorly, but that is probably -because the gulls have been at him already; and he carefully begins to -release it, and is greatly pleased when he discovers that the big, -voracious pike, which is quite lively, is one of his marked fish. - -Grim is furious, and tries to bite and snap while the happy angler -makes a guess at her weight by swinging the landing-net up and down in -his hands. Ten pounds at the very lowest! No throwing this one back -again! - -So she was once more in man's power, between his fingers and nails. The -light made her eyes prick and smart, the dry air stopped the course of -her blood and her scales rose in terror and pain. For the third time -she was as it were in the heron's throat! - -Then at last she awoke, her sight returned and the breath to her red -gills; her brain became clear, and she no longer felt that -uncomfortable pressure on the back of her neck. Life was once more -coursing through her veins. - -She was in water, and with a stroke of her tail she made for the -bottom. Oh! She had run her nose against a "stone!" She turned away and -tried to go to one side, but there was another stone; there were stones -all round her. - -The fisherman had put her into the well of his boat. She would be all -right there--for the present! - -The well was full of small fish, which at her appearance immediately -crowded together in a corner. She scowled at them, but although her -stomach was empty, she felt no desire to eat. She remained perfectly -still in the darkest corner of the well, and took note in her own way -of what went on around her--the angler's tread on the planks of the -boat, his rattling with the oars and gear, his shouts and hailing of -other sportsmen gliding past, fastened themselves in her memory. Now -and again a "bushy plant" came down and waved its stalks and leaves -about her head. She wanted to get away from the bush, and started with -a stroke of her tail, but she ran straight into the landing-net. She -could not tear the bushy plant, its numerous thick tendrils were so -absurdly strong; and it increased her suspicion and gave her fresh -experience. - -Deep down, Oa follows the boat and listens to the ripple of the water -against the keeled breast of the great "swimming bird." The old hyena, -who had fed on the carrion of the lake for more than fifty years, knew -all about the fishermen. With her little blinking, bronze-coloured -eyes, that lay floating at the sides of her head, right out where the -nostrils are generally placed in mammals, she gives careful attention -to the refuse that the fisherman throws out when he cleans the dead -perch. - -She dares not venture up to the surface. The sun is shining again, and -there is no archipelago of water-lily leaves under which she can hide -her head. She must wait patiently until her perquisites descend. - -She also hears the splashing of the bird, and shouts and strange thumps -on the boat-planks; and she keeps her blue-black pupils fixed -expectantly upon the great dark shadow up there. - -Who knows, some day perhaps a young one might drop out! - -As the angler neared the shore he lifted the lid of the well, and stood -rejoicing over his catch. He saw the pike throw up her head, and was -glad to find her still as lively as ever. - -And to think that Heaven should at last reward him for his magnanimity! -For the mark on the dorsal fin showed distinctly that this fish had -been in his hands before. - -Grim saw glimpses of the open water from which the dark land-shadows, -in the form of the sides of the boat, shut her off. It must be a ditch -she had got into, a pool; such mishaps had befallen her before on her -annual wedding-tours up in narrow channels and bogs. - -Well then, she knew what to do, and she crouched in a corner, where she -lay awaiting her opportunity. - -The angler should have replaced the lid before taking his usual nip. As -it was, he was standing quietly leaning back with crooked arm, when -suddenly, with a tremendous leap, Grim sprang out of the well and over -the side of the boat, and with a splash disappeared into the lake. - -"Funny thing, very funny!" said a traveller a little later in the -railway-carriage, to whom the angler had wrathfully related his story. - -But the angler himself saw nothing funny in it at all. - - - - -VIII: THE ANGLER'S END - - -It was so natural for Grim to be once more splashing freely in the -lake; it was so natural for her to be feeding on roach again. She -should have learned a lesson from her adventure in the air with the -man, but the qualifications were lacking. - -Her senses, and her power of discrimination, however, had become -keener, and she grew more timid and watchful in regard to splashing and -noise; indeed, she quite lost her appetite when she was frightened. - -The time was past when she would confidently approach the shadow of a -boat, she was exceedingly cautious now when she saw the "great bird" on -the water. - -By this time she weighs about eighteen pounds, and measures the length -of a grown man's leg from hip to heel; her dorsal fin measures more -than two hand-breadths, and it would take a large hand to span her -back. - -She loves peace and quiet, and feels very irritable under the influence -of others. - -On the approach of storm and bad weather, which she perceives a long -time in advance, she generally retires into deep water, where the noise -of the waves cannot reach her. She feels indisposed and ill, and -remains motionless in her watery lair. Day after day she stays thus, -without feeling hunger, or any desire for action. She sleeps and lets -all her nerves and muscles rest; only her gills and fins keep working -mechanically. - -At such times the angler may try to tempt her with spoon or other -artificial bait, or with live fish, but she will not touch them! One -tempting little decoy-fish after another may whisk past her nose, but -both palate and stomach easily withstand the temptations that are -placed before her surfeited eyes. - -But when the weather calms down and the waves once more grow less, she -comes to life again, and is then well and rested. The storm has cleared -her blood; she needs food and exercise, and is biting madly. - -One afternoon the angler is sitting in his boat with all his rods and -lines out; he is smoking a pipe and listening to the loud "karr-karr" -of the grebes. - -As usual he is alone in the boat. - -He has anchored off his favourite bank, a narrow reef which, in the -shelter of the wood, runs far out into the lake. This fishing-ground, -which in windy weather is the richest in the lake, he has discovered -himself. - -It was hard work getting out to it! The gusts of wind came down upon -him unexpectedly as he bounded over the water in his little -green-painted boat. Suddenly the lake assumed a wilder aspect, the -great wave-mountains were broken up into small pieces, and the valleys -were filled with wrinkles. The boat quivered, and the angler started -and let the main-sail down, while the black wind from the frayed clouds -raged under the heavens. - -Now the weather is clearing, however, and the lake is calming -down--real fishing weather, thinks the angler, and he hums the old -angler's song: - - "When the wind is in the east, 'Tis neither good for man nor beast; -When the wind is in the south, It blows the bait in the fishes' mouth." - -The terns, with their long forked tails and black caps rise and fall in -the air around him. They are good Samaritans to all the half-dead bait -he from time to time throws overboard. The poor little ill-used things -hastily make for the shadow of the boat or take up a position beside a -floating weed. They want to hide because they feel weak; they do not -want to go down into deep water to Oa. Then the terns snap them up, and -put them down their little red throats. - -Three or four of them are pursuing, with shrieks and snarls, another -which is flying away with a little bleak, like a piece of white stick -in its jaws. It reminds the fisherman of a heron he once shot at, and -which sent out a shower of such half-dead little fish. - -At that moment he has a bite at one of his lines. The line runs off the -reel at a great pace, and the rod, which rests on the row-lock, but -with its thick end wedged under a board at the bottom of the boat, -bends like a flag-leaf and dips its point down into the water. - -He seizes the rod and lifts it. The line is running out at full speed. -He carefully checks it, making the resistance stronger and stronger, so -as to prevent the fish from breaking the line with a sudden jerk. - -Grim has taken the bait, and is now darting about with it. She had been -hungry after three days' storm and wind, and had therefore rushed -blindly at the lure. Alas, it is another of those prickly fish, she -notices at once, one of those confounded tit-bits that are only to be -looked at, but which neither teeth nor throat are ever glad to deal -with; and she opens her mouth and chokes and spits. - -She gets rid of the fish she had snatched; she sees it, half dead and -with long rents in its sides from her teeth, floating on its side with -a reddish yellow eye turned up towards her through the water. But the -prickly thorn that she took in at the same time is fixed in her jaw. - -She darts hither and thither, turning and twisting. Now she is down in -deep water, rubbing her wounded mouth upon the bottom, now she darts, -with the bubbles in her wake rising above her, round a clump of -water-lilies. - -The angler sees an island of leaves as big as a dining-table disappear. - -Then she is off again. The reel shrieks and hums as if a giant -grasshopper sat chirping in it. All at once, Grim leaps out of the -water high into the air, so that her golden, black-streaked body, with -the panther-like spots and the trickling water-drops, casts a gleam -over the lake. - -Never had the good man seen such a fish! The very waves that it raises -as it returns to the water, breaking the surface like a submarine, show -him that it is--as he is accustomed to express it--"one of the good -old-fashioned sort." He continues to gaze open-mouthed at the place -where it disappeared, while a flurry of rings spreads out in all -directions. - -A little later a whirlpool appears on the seething water, and he -catches a glimpse of a dorsal fin with the hinder point missing. Then -the old fisherman rejoices. A marked fish, one of his oldest, perhaps -his biggest! - -He winds in, lets the line run out, and winds in again. His big body is -perspiring with his exertions, and he has to stand with his legs wide -apart and his feet firmly fixed whenever the mighty fish gives one of -its sudden jerks. - -While this is going on there are bites on two of the perch-lines, and -the angler can see they are not small fish either. The lines, which are -lying loose over the gunwale, run out at a great pace, so that the -winders hop and dance about at the bottom of the boat. One of them is -jerked over the edge, so that fish, hooks, and line are lost; the other -he tries to make sure of by setting his foot upon it. - -Like the back of a cat about to spring, the rod bends under its -floundering burden. The old man has to keep on incessantly slacking and -tightening the line; hoping to tire out the fish that was dragging his -rod from one side to the other. - -He notes the smallest movement of his captive. It is still in full -vigour, and there are many water-plants and stalks in the way. Will he -be able to draw it from the deep water with his fine, fragile line? - -Suddenly Grim turns and darts in beneath the boat with such force that -the rod must either break or follow her. The angler chooses to let it -go in the hope of picking it up on the other side. - -It happens as he expected: the rod appears, floats up; he leans over -and reaches it. - -The fight and nervous excitement recommence--the quick, exciting -contest between man and fish. - -The wind plays its autumn hymn upon the rushes, and ruffles the water -between the yellow-spotted water-lily leaves, while the sun's rays, as -they come and go, light flaming torches among the trees and reeds. They -gleam, they sparkle, they flash; and great, heavy, September clouds -drift over the lake. - -At last the shrewd fisherman has the upper hand, and cautiously draws -his captive close up to the boat. He bends down, with his knees upon -the gunwale, and leans over with the landing-net, in his right hand. - -Grim suddenly finds herself close to the great "water-bird," and gives -a violent jerk. The fisherman reaches out with his arm, and the upper -part of his body as far as they will go; but he forgets that he is in a -boat and on unsafe ground, loses his balance, and falls overboard with -a splash, upsetting the boat as he does so. - -No one sees the accident, and his heavy waders drag him quickly down. - -Grim darts this way and that, winding the line round him and drawing -him to the bottom. And then, among the rocks of the reef, the line -breaks; the angler's body drifts in among the reeds. - - * * * * * - -Towards evening the sky becomes overcast and the troubled water looks -thick and muddy. Little waves leap up, stand for a moment at their -height as if trying to keep their balance, and then give up the attempt -and roll down. - -A solitary little sunbeam still now and again brightens up all the -grey-veiled colours, and then the water takes the hues of a -fallow-deer, and the water-lily leaves become floating patches of -rainbow. - -In the muddy valley between the bottom-springs, Oa is beginning to -move. She blinks her cunning eyes, and their blue-black pupils become -large and round. Then she sets out on a nocturnal expedition across the -lake, steals into the rocky grottos of the cloister-cells, and finds a -new hiding-place beneath the wreck of a boat--a new arrival. With her -snout just in the rent between the bottom and the gunwale, she lies -like a dog in its kennel, until night closes in and all is dark and -silent. - -Then she lets herself slowly drift along the edge to the reedy borders -of the lake, taking every drowned dog or cat as gifts from the -Creator's hand. - -Everything that has no longer the power to keep above the water, all -that is dead and drifts about, belongs to the crayfish and to her. - - * * * * * - -The Nipper had already found the body when Oa arrived. - - - - -IX: THE WEDDING FESTIVAL - - -Spring has come, and the pike are about to spawn. Grim, the great -she-pike, has been lying motionless for days among the bottom -vegetation, waiting the call of the sun. And now it has come. One -morning it suddenly bursts through and lights up the forest of stalks -in the yellow, weedy margin. In the little open spaces between the -tufts there is life and movement, and a sound of splashing everywhere; -dark scaly bodies rise slowly out of the water. Then the young fish -gambol, their fins beating like wings in the sunshine. - -Grim's cold heart, too, feels the spring, and it warms her icy blood. -She swims about, full of gentler feelings, she notes an attraction in -the shallow water close inshore, the grass of the ditches, and the -sheltered pools of the marsh. And suddenly she recollects her bridal -chamber, far up at the end of a broad, sun-warmed ditch fringed with -flowering willow and drooping birch, with flickering sunlight and -shadow, and the splashing of lively wooers. - -Spring comes on apace, the sun's rays piercing ever deeper into the -water, where the plants shoot and rise out of the ooze with herculean -strength, mass themselves, expand, and throw wide arms abroad. From the -stubbly reed-bed rise fresh stems; and all the fallen willow wands that -are floating about put forth leaves and take root. - -Soon the banks grow green, and in the sour mud of the creek, where in a -short time water-soldiers and duck-weed will form hanging islands, -brown toads and green frogs are beginning to bark and croak. - -All kinds of fish are gambolling with joy and delight; and at last -comes Oa, the old recluse. Without evil intentions she approaches the -bank, and in the flaming dawn she lays her hundred thousand eggs among -the thronging mare's-tails and grasses. But there is no bridegroom near -her, for none exists. Bleak and little roach revel in her roe; and when -she has spawned her heart once more grows cold, and she sinks back into -the deep water, gloomy and sullen as before. - -Grim becomes more and more eager. Her deep-blue pupils, surrounded with -a brass-coloured ring, shine like sapphires in an amber setting; the -clayey tones along her sides and flanks change to green, and her -gill-covers take on a deep orange hue. - -Little by little she feels herself attracted by the numerous eager -little male pike that incessantly frisk about her, and are already -resplendent in their magnificent golden bridal attire. She receives -with delight the attentions of the one that for the moment pleases her -most; towards the others, and especially those whom she does _not_ -like, she is capricious in the extreme, and will eat them if she has an -opportunity. - -As her spawning-time draws near, she grows heavy and swollen with her -roe, and at the same time more irritable and uncertain in temper. She -eats nothing, and thinks only of swimming over a flat grassy bottom, -where she can rub her distended belly over the soft grass, arching her -back like a dog in the consciousness of well-being. - -The lake, whose banks are for the most part steep and reedy, never -tempts her when she is about to spawn. She prefers to make her way up -the brook to a number of large flooded peat-bogs and meadows. - -She generally reaches them by a round-about way. At one place where the -brook makes a bend and forms swampy ground with miles of reed-forest -along its banks, a broad belt of rushes runs through some low-lying -meadow-land for some distance. The belt twists and turns, and all the -year through, withered rushes lift thin, seedless tassels above the -rest. In summer it is grown over, and is little more than a deep -bottomless ditch; but in spring, a sudden thaw will swell it to a wide, -full channel. - -Here, under flowering blackthorn and budding alder-trees, the waters of -the bog and the lake are mingled. - - * * * * * - -One cloudy, misty night, Grim, followed by three ardent male pike, the -largest not half her size, makes her way through the ditch. Other -suitors have already appeared; the great migration before spawning is -in full swing. - -In and out she moves, among the shallows and banks of water-plants. -Sometimes there is only a channel in mid-stream to follow, sometimes -she has to go through a long, narrow passage beneath an over-hanging -bank, until she reaches open, submarine plains in broad creeks. Her -ardour and determination to overcome all difficulties help her, -notwithstanding mud and a rotting dam. - -At last she is through, and swimming about at her ease. - -The marsh water shines golden black, with a tinge of bronze. Grim is -never weary of rubbing against the soft, muddy peat. - -Half-decayed remains of dead stalks form a network all over the great -cushion at the bottom, and fresh remains of cell-tissue and organic -things just dead are always on their way down. But from the depth new -life rises once more; the sun is ever setting free tiny, green, mossy -balls of slime that lie moored, as it were, to a single fine umbilical -cord, and twirl and sway down on the bottom. All at once the cord -breaks, and they rise through the water in a cluster like bubbles, and -expand into large, fringed umbels. - -The willow-wands on the knolls are in flower, and behind the points of -land the coots are quarrelling, while the snipe fly round and round in -the air, and let the wind play upon their feather-harps. - -Then comes the day when she is ready to spawn. A peculiar, and to her -inexplicable, desire to bury herself in the rushes and reed-stubble -fills her, and she likes to run her big body far up among the grass and -sedges, where she can scarcely swim or turn. With joy she feels the -thrill right up her flanks. - -She has never been very sensitive, least of all when it did not concern -herself; and now she looks unmoved upon the excited males as they snap -and butt at one another. Unfortunately she has no appetite, or she -would have eaten the most tempting of them. - -The spawning soon begins, and the fish leap one about another in a -cluster; Grim loses all consciousness of her surroundings, while she -sheds her golden stream of five hundred thousand clear, yellow eggs. - -No sooner, however, is this accomplished than she comes to her senses, -and suddenly feels an overpowering hunger after her tender abandonment. -Her gently waving tail-fin turns stiff as a wind-filled sail, and with -a quick, powerful turn she slips her spiked jaws over the nearest beau, -and slowly transfers him to the vacant place within. - -Over an hour the wedding-breakfast lasts, and then the great lady swims -off complacently with a flap of her late lamented bridegroom's tail -still sticking out of her mouth. - -Later on, on her way back through the road of rushes down to the lake, -her blood is cold and her will dormant. - -The spring was unusually dry; the water from the thaw had sunk in at -once, and the brook received little additional water; and when Grim -reached the old, half-rotten dam, she found it had been replaced by a -new one. - -Here she remained together with a number of other fish that gradually -collected at the dam, and tried to get through. For two days she was -unable to get either forwards or backwards; several times she attempted -a leap, but, without success. Then she changed her mind, and went back -to the marsh while there was still time. - -She was shut in! - - - - -X: IN THE MARSH - - -A wide stretch of marshland, thickly covered with vegetation, and -difficult of access, with numerous large pools, full of tussocks and -rushes. Century-old peat-pits ran side by side, connected with little -watercourses or half-overgrown ditches. - -Willow and cotton-grass covered the hillocks, and naze and headland ran -out into the black water, in which were islands, sometimes fixed, -sometimes floating. - -Whole little floating fields of frog-bit and pond-weed would shoot out -from a bank, and completely cover the bronze-coloured water; green and -smiling they looked, and tempted the foot as a trustworthy bridge; but -at a single touch with the tip of one's boot, the whole mass quivered -and trembled. - -Down in the deep water where the black horse-leeches pushed their way -along, and monster larvæ with bent back and open jaws stood motionless, -watching for prey among the refuse, grew the oddest water-forests. They -were neither hard nor stiff; their stems consisted of slender stalks -held up by the water. - -There were bluish green, luxuriant "fir-forests," and whole groves of -palm-like bushes with red flowers upon long stalks. At the edges there -were climbing plants, which formed a matted web of stalks and fibres, -and bulged out in swelling clouds. - -What a curling and bending in everything down there! What pliant -shapes! And everywhere there were little, fat, pug-like bastard carp, -dozing and opening their mouths without ceasing, making double chins in -their enjoyment, and rolling their eyes ecstatically. - -From the deep, clear lake with its shining waters, Grim had now come to -these low, swampy banks. At first the change was somewhat sudden; but -she possessed the ability of her kind to adapt herself rapidly to her -circumstances. - -Nor did she at first have much difficulty in obtaining food. There were -young bream and eels, as well as the "pugs" to go on with; but by -degrees, as she grew bigger and the years went on, she had to make -herself more and more omnivorous in order to exist. She was living, in -a way, like a whale in a lake. - -In the winter especially things were difficult. In the lake, which had -been her home for more than thirty years, it had been easy to manage. -It was too big to be frozen over; even in the severest cold the bottom -springs kept large areas open. But this was not the case with the -marsh, for here the "air," during a long frost, became very close. The -water took up the marsh-gas from the decaying remains of animals and -plants on the bottom, and could not give it off and renew itself with -oxygen. - -Grim had then to go where flags and knotgrass pricked tiny, almost -invisible holes in the ice. She found them by the gleams of light, and -noticed that she could breathe freely at such places. - -With this exception she generally kept at the bottom during the cold -season, burying herself in the warm, fallen vegetation. There she lay -and slept, her blood circulated more slowly, and for days together she -required no nourishment. - -But the torpid state was not complete; now and then she had to move, -and then she satisfied her hunger with mussels and snails, and would -also examine the mud-shafts of the peat-pits. - -Here in the muddy labyrinths she came upon tench, olive-green fish, -with black back. Their scales were very small, and their whole body -covered with a thick layer of slime. They were coarse fish, with thick, -leathery fins. Formerly she could never endure them, and had made use -of them chiefly as a kind of healing remedy when she lived in the lake. -When her mouth was full of pricks and scratches from fish-hooks, she -would go into the mud to consult them and to get a healing plaster -stuck upon her wounded snout by rubbing it against their slimy sides; -but now, when hunger sharpened her appetite, she had to turn her former -benefactors to another use, and get as much as possible out of the -consultation. She therefore ate them with pleasure. - -In the summer she seldom touched them, but fattened herself on -everything that came in her way. She would take a snake that swam -across, a frog, a mouse; and if a water-rat made its appearance, she -shot up under it, and sucked it in at one mouthful. - -In this way she got on fairly well for a few years. - -One year, however, there was an unusually dry summer, and in order to -find sufficient water she had to move from peat-hole to peat-hole, and -often had to live for weeks at a time in the pools left in the deeper -hollows. Fortunately for her, as the water sank, all the inhabitants of -the bog gradually came together in these basins. She came across perch -and carp; and eels, leeches and toads were also, like herself, -imprisoned here, until the rain should once more bring an abundance of -water. - -She continued to develop, but otherwise than before; ferocity and -cruelty were replaced by cunning and ingenuity. And like all the other -pike in the bog, she soon learned to swing herself over the ridges from -one hole to another, and even to cross land for short distances. - -She had the choice between dying of hunger and finding an expedient. - -It seemed as if that passage, long ago, from the flying heron's beak to -the smooth surface of the water had hardened her gills and enabled them -to bear the strong, drying oxygen of the air for a longer time; for she -often ventured over ridges and peat-dams wider than a high-road. - -When she could bear her hunger no longer, she ran herself aground and -up into the grass, and then, bending herself together, leaped on in the -direction of the new water. As soon as she was in the dry air, she -could feel which way she ought to take; the neighbourhood of water -affected her sensitive skin and drew her the shortest way. Everything -flickered in a golden mist before her eyes, as she crept on, bending -and leaping. - -It was in the early hours of morning, when the grass was wet with dew, -that she made these expeditions overland. - -On one of these occasions she got into a large, deep pit, where the -crayfish population that annually migrated from the lake had their -stronghold. All over the perpendicular, blackened sides of the -peat-cutting living crayfish claws opened at her. - -Day after day for six months she went hunting here, and had enough to -do with making her way into the hard, perpendicular walls in which the -nippers had their holes. She knew from her experience in the lake that -the crayfish could neither steer nor change their course when, with -flapping tail, they darted backwards through the water, and were -therefore easily caught when once she had hunted them out. - -Only one ancient, mussel-scarred fellow, coal-black all over, and with -one large and one very tiny claw, eluded her most ardent endeavours. It -sat in a rocky hole, far in, its spear-armed head with the stalked eyes -resting pensively upon its two unequal claws. - -Once or twice it happened that she was aroused from her torpor at night -by feeling a firm, hard grasp upon her body, and she darted round in a -circle like a dog after its tail; but the Nipper always knew when to -let go. - -One day she was also obliged to leave _this_ hole. She managed to break -down the ridge between her and a neighbouring pit, where she enjoyed a -few months' ease and comfort. Here she passed the winter, and cleared -the mud of every tench, every leech, and every snail. - -When spring came she ate everything that came in her way. At this -season frogs and toads made their way in multitudes to the pools. The -frogs lay croaking and croaking, and the toads barked and growled, all -of them full of love and delight, and therefore an easy prey. - -Later on she revelled in frogs' eggs, and swallowed great quantities of -the fat, black yolks. Sometimes, too, she could feast on some long -threads that were stretched about the reed-stubble; they were the eggs -of the big toads, threaded like beads upon a string, and laid in the -water to hatch. - -On the whole she was glad of the frogs and toads; they kept on -reappearing, afterwards too, when the little tadpoles began to swarm. - -She could no longer afford to be fastidious; she had to take -everything, and not let a crumb be wasted. - -During the summer nights she was busy at the surface. The big, heavy -moths, which often, in thoughtlessness or carelessness, settled on the -water or on some floating straw, became her booty. She ate them, wings, -straw and all, like a hungry man trying to satisfy his appetite with -prawns. - -No wonder that the teeth in her huge mouth gradually developed into -something like the whalebone in the mouth of a whale - -But a stomach with the cubic capacity of a _hectolitre_ needed more -than this! - -The bog is veiled in a steaming mist, which hangs like cloud-lakes over -the reeds. The moisture penetrates everywhere, and trembling drops hang -from everything; and the thousands upon thousands of spiders' webs show -up in all their marvellous workmanship. - -Thickets of willow and drooping birches cast black shadows all along -the ridges and banks, and large, thick swarms of gnats hang silently in -the air. Only a leaping fish or a bathing swallow disturbs the deep -morning stillness. - -The great bog-snail, with its horse-like head and bat-like ears, has -come out of its shell and is feeling everything that comes within its -reach, groping its way along, and then with a jerk dragging its spiral -shell after it. Now it fastens itself to a little dead fish and sucks -out its eyes, and finally comes to rest upon the broad leaf of an iris, -the point of its shell still trembling with the movement of the water. - -A boat-bug that has grown tired, and drawn in its oars, also composes -itself to rest. Slowly it sinks to the bottom of the water, where it -settles down comfortably and with discrimination among caddis-worms, -planorbis, and young salamanders. Even a water-beetle that is in a -hurry and, with its head in the mud, is fussing about everywhere, is -roughly tossed aside by the powerful palpi. - -Up on the clear surface swims the grebe. Its back is dark, the head, -with the beautiful ruffle round its neck, poised high; but breast and -belly are a glistening slivery white. It never goes on shore, never -even ventures into shallow water; for it must be where it can dive -without hindrance. On its back it carries its tiny young, holding its -wings protectingly round them as they lie buried in its back-feathers -as in a cushioned hollow. - -The male swims beside them and dives after food, which he puts into the -gaping mouths of the young as they chirp and flap their little stumpy -wings. - -Grim knows the divers well, and they know her--or so, at least, they -think. - -This morning, however, in her insatiable hunger, she sets her teeth -into a webbed foot and upsets the little boat, so that all the young -ones fall out. With the greatest possible speed she gulps down the -whole flock, and then, more or less appeased, goes to the bottom, -having learnt feathers do not disagree with her at all. - -Until next morning she found herself just as hungry again. - -Then she was fortunate enough to gain fresh experience about feathers. - -In the early dawn, while the rays from the rising sun shed their -peculiar colours over the bog, and made it shine with green and yellow, -with purple and indigo, she made a dash at a fish on the surface, -without suspecting that up in the air above her there was a winged -rival, who also desired the booty. - -The tern swooped headlong downwards as Grim leaped headlong upwards, -and the mouths of the two spoilers closed at the same moment over the -little fish. Grim, however, opened her mouth the wider, and closed it -with the greater force, and she bit with a voracious violence as great -as if she were about to eat the carcass of an ox. - -She got the fish and the tern's head in the same mouthful, noticed that -she was well laden, and backed downwards, drawing the bird with her -into deep water, where she swallowed her strange prey. - -What an immense blessing fish with feathers were! For several days she -felt so thoroughly satisfied! - -From that time she considered every creature upon the surface of the -water as her lawful booty. No sooner did a wild duck drop on to the -water in its evening flight, than Grim darted up after it from her hole -in the mud. At intervals of a day she took both the grebes and cleared -the creeks of coots and a couple of young storks that had come for the -purpose of learning to fish. - -But still the craving for food allowed her no rest. She had to be -constantly extending her domain and finding new territory. - -See the marsh now that July has come!--July, luxuriant, mature, with -clouds for hips and swelling breasts, and a sun that seems weary of -journeying. Like sea-birds that have no air under their wings for their -flight, come puffs of wind, throwing themselves into peat-bogs and -marsh-pools. The air is one continuous drowsy hum of flies and gnats; -and the reed-warbler is in full voice. - -Grim lies dozing in the tepid water, and sees the world above her -indistinctly and uncertainly as through thick grass. She only notices -that out of the shining blue up there, there now and then appears a -little dark shadow. It comes down suddenly, pauses for an instant as it -touches the water, and is gone again. - -It is something alive, she guesses--something for _her_! - -Wherefore she disguises her torpedo-body, and awaits her opportunity. - -A moment later the vegetation trembles, the thick masses of sphagnum -moss bulge out like clouds, a storm rises on the bottom. The heap of -moss lifts, the surface of the water rocks and is suddenly broken by a -splash as Grim darts up at the very moment that a swallow, with a -graceful swing, skims a gnat off the water. - -The surface grows calm, the bubbles float off and burst before reaching -the bank, while Grim sinks back into her bed with the bird on its way -through her gullet. - -The water-beetles and gnats were jumbled together in one muddy mass. - -Thus the struggle for food was daily sharpening her wits. - -Formerly she had resorted to the islands of water-lilies to catch fish; -now there _were_ no fish, but experience had taught her that here the -birds came to drink. With her nose just under the margin of the leaf, -she stood ready; and she captured many a water-wagtail, now the white -with the moon-silvered feathers, now the yellow--yellow as newly-opened -marsh-marigolds. - -It sometimes happened, too, that she got a wood-pigeon, or a peewit, or -a snipe; and once she took an old, full-grown heron. She seized it by -the leg and backed with it, drawing it out into deep water, where it -drowned. - -But the heron tried repeatedly to spit her upon his beak, and in this -way she lost one of her eyes. - - - - -XI: TERROR - - -In the largest of the old peat-holes with their dark brown water, a -single large fish could be seen, in bright sunshine, lying motionless -among the rushes under the bank. - -From time immemorial it had lived in this bog-pool, and seldom left its -waters. A wild duck, carrying pike's roe among its feathers, had -planted it there long ago. - -_Terror_ was not quite so big as Grim, but was longer and leaner, with -the head and teeth of a shark. - -Many a time had she and Grim fallen out with one another, and fought -viciously in their struggle for food. The scars left by their bites lay -in deep furrows down their flanks, and were covered with colourless -scales arranged in spirals and circles. - -Of late, however, they had wisely avoided one another, keeping each to -her own large pool. - -During her first year in the bog, Grim had been followed by several -powerful male fish, and a number of younger males swam round about. The -second year there were only a few of them left, and in the spring, when -the heavens again began to give light and warmth, both she and Terror -had been obliged to finish their spawning alone. - -Many a happy bridegroom had slipped down their throats; and now, -between them, they had cleared the whole bog. - -Languid and emaciated, they had now gone into deep water to rest, until -the desire for good and abundant nourishment suddenly became intense, -and inflamed their courage and foolhardiness. - -One morning, before daylight had penetrated into the water, Grim -catches a glimpse through it of the swarthy belly of the old fish. -Driven by hunger, she has come a little way out of her hole, and is now -lurking at the edge of the vegetation just above. - -Large pieces of ice and slushy snow are drifting about in the pool, but -along the banks and the edges of the tussocks, whither the spring has -brought flocks of frolicsome peewits, the heat of the midday sun has -already made open water and currents. - -Suddenly Grim is unpleasantly reminded of her rival's presence by -seeing her orange-coloured flanks gleam as she makes a charge, and like -a dart she shoots up. As they now meet, after their happily-accomplished -delivery, they are both fully aware of the purpose of the meeting: -they mean to devour one another. - -Fin by fin they set off, scowling maliciously at one another. Grim is -close to the body of her rival, and as they move on she pushes her in -over the edge of the reeds. - -During the winter the reeds have been cut, but the crooked-edge, -sharp-pointed stumps are left standing just below the surface, like a -stiff brush. The marsh-pike keeps getting her body over the brush, -which with every movement tears her tail and belly, and all at once -rouses her dull, sluggish nature out of its indifference. She blows up -her gills and angrily extends her fins, while a thick shower of -sparkling gold and silver scales whirls through the water to the -bottom. - -She slips away from the reed-bed, and swift as lightning turns upon -Grim, but the old pirate is not to be caught by a bog-trotter. She -sacrifices half her dorsal fin, which is mercilessly torn into -streamers down the spines. - -Then Grim takes a turn under Terror, dashes up from below with open -mouth at her opponent, and fastens her teeth in her adversary's belly. -Terror tries in vain to make use of her teeth. Again and again she -makes the attempt, her saw-toothed jaws opening and closing with a -snap. But Grim goes on shaking her, while shower after shower of scales -flutter around them in the water. - -They roll over one another, the ice-floes break, and thousands of small -crystals clink and tinkle. Now they are up in the slushy snow, where -the dirty, yellow water seethes and bubbles round their lashing tails; -now they disappear in a flickering zigzag down to the bottom. - -With the tenacity and energy with which Grim is always animated when -after prey, she now wrestles with Terror. She pinches the unfortunate -fish, tortures and worries her, and keeps it up without interruption. -It is not the sort of battle to weary her. She holds her prey between -her jaws all the time; it strengthens her purpose, lights the fire in -her eye, and encourages her to unceasing perseverance. - -The greater the opponent, the greater is her reward and satisfaction. -Her stomach desires what tongue and teeth already feel so near; she -_must_ succeed in getting this huge morsel--as she once did with her -little brother--to lie unresistingly in her mouth, so that she can have -the pleasure of turning it about and begin to swallow it. - -Terror twists and turns in her efforts to get a bite; but Grim has been -fortunate in taking hold so far forward that there is no room left for -her to bite. Terror has only her tail-end to strike with, and with it -she sweeps up clouds of mud sufficient to hide an elephant. - -The battle lasts for more than three hours, and all the ice in the pool -is broken into fragments. By this time Grim's miry opponent is -exhausted: success has crowned the efforts of the old fratricide, as it -has always done in this kind of contest, ever since she was the length -of a darning-needle. Then in a trice she turns the harassed victim -over, and suffocates her by wedging her head into her own throat. But -it takes her four days to get Terror through the mouth of her draw-bag. -At last she had a fish again that went some way! - - - - -XII: GRIM DEVELOPS - - -Grim was now about five feet long, and weighed something like fifty -pounds. As with all pike that live in small lakes, her head had grown -inordinately. Her daily fight for food necessitated constant use of her -head-muscles, which had developed accordingly. In her mouth alone a -wooden shoe could easily have been hidden. - -The old bright colours along her back and belly were now quite altered. -The body vied in blackness with the evil-smelling mud of the bog, and -broad, golden-bronze streaks shaded the dull sides. Out in the sunshine -she had quite a rusty, coppery appearance. - -She was a mythical pike, one of those old-time fish about which the -late lamented angler had told wonderful tales in his day. Even the -regular mane of scales of a finger's length, from the back of the neck -down over the pectoral fins, was not wanting. - -But her eye was evil, a mixture of yellow and green, cold and deceitful -as the foam of the bog-waves; it always shone with a fierce hunger, and -even on the rare occasions when the hunger was appeased, the expression -of that eye was one of insatiable voracity. - -She has succeeded in clearing the bog-holes nearest to her own quarters -of every frog, water-rat, and wild duckling; and she has eaten up all -the swallows that have come to drink as they flew. Again she has had to -travel a good way overland, until at last she has come to rest in a -wild, wide pool, which she has never before visited. - -Here she has had a fresh, welcome success. She has overcome and -swallowed another big, muddy specimen of a bog-pike, even heavier than -Terror; the fellow had just bolted a smaller one of his own species, -and in it lay a full-grown mallard. - -Food! Food! - -It is true she always felt her stomach rather heavy, for in the course -of time she had got it paved with the most remarkable things. Besides -various hooks and wire traces, there was a large key that once, in her -youth, when she had been standing beneath one of the great water-birds, -had come darting like a roach through the water. There was also a -dessert-spoon acquired under similar circumstances, a plummet, and, -lastly, a watch-chain, from the ill-fated angler's vest. All these had, -however, become encysted, and were not for consumption; at the very -most they were an aid to digestion! - -She has been a week over her last splendid catch. - -She makes another and another; but after a couple of months she has -emptied this bog-pool too. What now, and whither? - -One evening she works her way in among flowering iris, club-rushes, and -marsh-grass, and peers enviously up at the big dragon-flies that are -chasing fat flies not an inch above her head. She grows hungrier than -ever, and sets to work to devour black horse-leeches in place of eels, -and the roots of certain water-plants, which she tries to persuade -herself are worms. - -In the warm, still, summer evening, the shadows shoot from the banks -and ridges, framing the blood-red sunset hues in ebony. Had there been -but a few roach left, they would have been playing ducks and drakes -over the smooth water. - -A reed just beside her moves, and from her hiding-place at the edge of -the rushes she sees the reed-warbler flitting about up above. The -crafty expression comes into her flat eye; she calculates her distance, -and makes a spring. - -The first time the bird is too quick for her, but the next time her -effort is crowned with success; and the third time she closes her jaws -on the reed-warbler's foster-child, a large, red-eyed young cuckoo! - -Grim was an artist in her way, and had her own peculiar tricks. Since -the day when she had leapt out of the angler's boat, she had developed -into a regular flying-fish. - -Food! Food! The constant refrain both above water and below. To have -something in the maw--to have _much_--as much as possible. Food! Food! - -The pool is very deep, with perpendicular, overgrown sides, save in one -place where the peat had once been dragged up a slope, making a gradual -transition from water to land. The stiff clay is covered with the -foot-prints of cattle, and the herbage on the mounds round about is -cropped. - -This is a watering-place. - -Often, when in a famished condition, a transport of hunger which makes -her lash her tail-fin round madly in a ceaseless search for food, she -has stopped suddenly at the sight of a pair of big, thick legs stirring -up the mud. It is a grazing bull or heifer that has come to the -watering-place, and has splashed out far enough to be able to feel cool -water under its nose. - -One day when this occurred, the big-jointed legs and broad chest of the -bull inspired Grim with hope, and her over-excited imagination began to -conjure up the possibility of at last getting hold of something worth -catching. - -She steals forward, and her obliquely-set eye, which can look upwards -with such ease, fastens, as though cast in that position, upon the -great horned head of an ox. - -She pushes on among the black cat's-tails, hidden under the long-ribbed -fans of weed, until she is just in front of the drinking animal, and -can see through the glimmering surface of the water the sucking, fleshy -nose. - -At this she can no longer control her voracity. Where her stomach -wills, her body must follow after. Her shrewdness may warn her, and -experience urge her to caution, but in vain: when her stomach wills, -she rushes into the fray. - -The ox throws up its head with such violence that Grim is dragged up -with it halfway; but she does not relax her hold, and when she sinks -back into deep water, she takes a large piece of the ox's snout with -her. - -The marsh, with its miles of reed-beds, was a favourite haunt of game, -for coolness in the midsummer heat, and for warmth in the winter cold. -Here were peaceful spots to hide when chased by men with the report of -guns and the barking of dogs. And Grim knew how to benefit by this -abundance of game. - -Just as it had long been her way to snatch her prey by springing out of -her element, so she now created a new means of support by lying in wait -at the drinking-places like a crocodile. - -Several times she molested horses when watering, and on one occasion -she bit off half the tongue of a poor calf. - -One afternoon a roe-deer comes down with its young. The day is hot, and -they run far in, one of them, unable to stop, going in up to its chest. -Grim darts up, seizes it by the body, overturns it, and then drags it -out with her. - -Another day a small dog suffers the same fate. It is caught by the -fore-leg and drawn down, while a storm of rings spreads out on all -sides. - -All she had dreamed of in earliest youth has been realized; no prey is -now too large for her. - -When she moves slowly in the deep water, long waves rise above her, and -whirlpools gyrate upon the coffee-coloured water; and if she shoots up -on to the grass after a frog or a water-rat, and churns the water into -foam, the whole pool is filled with breakers. - -Grim is a remnant of primeval ages, a creature from the time of the -great swamps. - -Late in the autumn, when the dock was turning red, and the stiff spikes -of the mare's-tails were bent like withered grass, black autumn showers -filled the marsh to overflowing. The wet mud lay far up over the -meadows and pastures, and poured like rivers through the ditches. Pool -ran into pool, and the peat-cuttings, which lay side by side, only -separated by high, narrow ridges, became one huge pit. It was a regular -deluge. - -Grim swam far and wide, and almost fancied herself in the lake once -more. She found her way into new oases where food was abundant, and -made great inroads upon the numerous eels and tench that were flocking -up from the brook through the ditches and channels. That autumn she -really gained ground, and had something with which to withstand the -winter. - -But one day in October it happened that an osprey that had got out of -its course strayed in over the marsh. The morning mist had just -disappeared, but the sun was not quite up, when the grey-brown bird was -seen sailing high up in wide circles, its mottled breast gleaming in -the sunlight; and with a black, hooked beak beneath a pair of sharp, -sagacious eyes. - -The bird had come far and had not yet breakfasted; it came down nearer -and nearer to the ground. All the little birds in the reeds began to -cry out, and the coots sought shelter in the larger clumps of reeds. -Like a kestrel, the bird kept at tree-height above the water, sailing -backwards and forwards, keeping a sharp watch below. - -There was frost in the air, and the great, hungry fisher probably had a -presentiment of the bolt that would soon close its larder. In any case -it was quite determined to take both little and big, and leave nothing. - -It sailed on perseveringly from pool to pool, over the rushes in the -muddy water and the bog-myrtle along the banks, moving slowly, with -hanging claws. - -Grim comes up from deep water on her morning round, making the most of -her time while the shadows still conceal her and veil her movements. -Now and again she stops and lies in wait among the water-plants, with -her torn, dorsal fin, still but half healed, standing a little above -the water. - -On one of these occasions the osprey discovers her, and without -recognizing what sort of a fish it is, hovers above the spot. - -More than once it descends in vain, but is at last successful. -Unobserved by Grim, the bird darts upon her from behind with -outstretched claws, and drives them with full force into her back. It -feels its claws sink in, and the pleasant struggling of something -alive. - -[Illustration: "The bird darts upon her from behind with outstretched -claws, and drives them with full force into her back."] - -Its body is partly in the water, but the wings are quite clear, and it -flaps vigorously, knowing it must lift its treasure with a quick -movement. - -A shudder passes through Grim. At the first moment she fancies herself -attacked by some scaly enemy, and shakes herself and whirls round, -snapping fiercely. But there is nothing to get hold of; the surface of -the water seems, as it were, to hold her fast. - -The osprey screams and beats his wings, sending up fountains of spray -all round. Like others of his species, he is accustomed to master even -the largest booty, and he still entertains the highest hopes and will -not let go. - -Then all at once danger is imminent! The rash captor notices that the -sustaining volume of air beneath his wings is growing less. Now his -wings are beating the water. He tries to get rid of his prey, but -cannot get his claws out quickly enough; and the next moment he is -drawn down and, to his terror, feels--what he has never quite -believed--that water is not after all his true element. - -Life is quickly departing from the hitherto victorious bird; the bold -flyer, who has darted down hundreds of times and let the water close -over his light, oiled feathers, to rise a moment later in a shower of -spray and ascend proudly to dizzy heights, now sways, suffocated, -ruffled and limp, upon feet whose claws seem rooted in fish-flesh. - -Grim lived all that winter with the eagle on her back, and felt -strangely hampered in her movements. The bird gradually decomposed, and -at last was only a skeleton that sometimes appeared weirdly above the -surface. - -In the spring the whole rotted away, but Grim never got rid of the -claws. To the day of her death they remained embedded in her back. - -She now began to find more dangerous enemies. Her various predatory -attacks, which had not all passed unobserved, attracted an -ever-increasing amount of attention. In the surrounding districts, -where she was spoken of as a serpent and a dragon, myths began to be -formed; she had once more to guard against man. - -They fired guns at her, and once she got a couple of stray shot in her -side, but otherwise escaped with only a fright. Traps were set out, but -they were fortunately much too small to allow of _her_ getting into -them. - -One day she lay burrowing in the mud, so far down that not even the -tiniest ripple reached the surface. There were indications -nevertheless. From time to time little green-bearded, slime-covered -pieces of reed came up vertically through the water, and lay flat as -soon as they reached the surface. A farmer's lad, out spearing eels, -sent his fork down eagerly. He missed his mark--as the shot had done -before. - -One day, in the early summer, however, Grim came very near to finding -her match. - - - - -XIII: A FIGHT WITH AN OTTER - - -The harrier was sitting on her newly-hatched young, and the pair of -crows were feeding theirs for the last time; it was the time of the -owls--and the nightingales. Silent and weary, the cuckoo came from the -meadow-land to the bog, where the twilight enveloped it and hid it on -its branch. - -The willow-thickets and the rushes settled gradually into cool and -shade; only along the promontories and banks, where the dragonflies -hunted, did the mid-summer sunlight still hold its ground. - -The water began to sparkle with strong, bright colours, and patches of -yellow, scarlet, and blue floated about, shot with brilliant flakes of -emerald and purple, which gave darkened reflections of the birch-tops. - -Only a few moments before, all the sloping banks of the bog had been -held by the sun; it shone upon the flowers of the wild chervil and upon -a narrow strip of orange gravel that had been scraped out of one of the -banks. - -But now it was gone. The fully-opened hawthorn flowers reluctantly gave -up their sunset blush, and shudderingly paled before the approaching -gloom. - -Suddenly the nightingale up in the thicket becomes silent, stops in the -middle of its highest trill, and begins to snarl. - -A large otter with low-set ears cautiously raises its head above the -strip of gravel. It sniffs long and continuously, as it stretches its -round, shaggy neck out over the ridge. - -Above the distant banks on the other side of the bog, the first glow of -the full moon peeps out. Like a monster toadstool, it grows up out of -the horizon, sending up a cloud of purple into the air. Up and up it -goes, and when almost half its disc is visible, a group of firs, whose -tops stand out against it, change to a giant poppy just unfolding. - -For a moment the flower stands out perfect, large and round at the end -of its slender, black stalk, and then the illusion is shattered: from a -toadstool the poppy has turned into a moon! - -Then the otter comes right up out of the earth, with body and tail and -four legs, and shuffles down the slope. A couple of herons, fishing at -the edge of the bog, bend their necks and make off with hoarse, shrill -trumpetings; and a herd of splashing heifers, scenting the approach of -a beast of prey, begin to growl and snort. - -The otter came to the bog every two or three months, when it was tired -of hunting fish in the lake. - -A rover's blood flowed in its veins. Nature had endowed it with a -peculiarly active power of assimilation, which was probably necessary -if it was to keep warm in the cold water; it needed daily its own -weight in fish, and therefore had to be incessantly changing its -hunting-ground. - -It was timid and suspicious, but a great glutton. - -Pike, which it used especially to catch in the bogs, were somewhat dry, -it is true, but after all, one could not have salmon and trout every -day! - -After having labouriously shuffled over a piece of land, and reached -the largest of the big pools, it allowed itself to glide noiselessly -from its slip--a path trodden in the grass--into its true element. - -A few minutes later there was an unusual disturbance in the water, -which splashed high up about the dunes and foamed over the banks. A -wild chase was going on in the depths, and where it passed the rushes -bowed their sheaves and the flags their fans. Black mud was stirred up -in whirlpools; seething bubbles came to the surface and burst. - -The otter, with a newly-caught fish in its mouth, had been on its way -out to a little island, intending to have its meal under a sallow, when -it was suddenly attacked and robbed of its prey. It caught a glimpse of -the indistinct outline of a great fish, and exasperated at such -audacity, determined to go in chase of the robber. - -An attempt to get beneath Grim, in order to seize her round the gills -or by the belly, was unsuccessful; at the decisive moment Grim had -turned aside, so that the otter had to set its teeth where it could. -And it needed a well-placed grip to hold such a giant fish. - -The instant it has taken hold--a little behind the neck--Grim darts -into deep water with her assailant. The otter backs, extends his fore -and hind legs far out from his body, and spreads his web, so as to -offer as much resistance as possible. Just as the weasel lets itself be -carried away by the hare in whose neck it has fixed itself, so now the -otter allowed himself to be dragged through the bog by the lynx of the -waters. - -Grim soon sees that this pace is wearing out her strength, and pauses -for a moment. - -As she does so, she feels as if an eel were winding its pliant body -round her chest. She rolls round, unable to use her fins. She quickly -regains her balance, however, frees her body from the pressure, and -sets off, with sudden twists, and leaps from the bottom to the surface, -turning so suddenly that the fish-snatcher's body swings out and hangs -down in the water. - -But the otter only keeps a firmer hold. He is used to these desperate -rallies, which always become fiercer and more violent as the quarry is -on the point of giving in. He takes care, however, in turning, not to -let any of his legs hang in front of the pike's mouth; he is too well -acquainted with the teeth of the fresh-water shark! - -Up and down, the two well-matched opponents dive incessantly. - -Whenever Grim goes to the surface, a puffing and growling is heard. The -otter hastily gasps for breath, and tightens his hold with his -fore-claws; but when they are on their way down to the depths, and -air-bubbles, like silver beads, roll through the water behind him, he -has only to hold on and let himself go. - -Once Grim is lucky. An old snag sticks up in the water, and, in -turning, the otter's body is dashed against it. It sends a shock -through the animal, but as Grim for the moment has exhausted her energy -and succumbed to one of the well-known fits of weakness common to her -species, the otter once more apparently gets the upper hand. - -Thus with varying fortunes the battle rages for some time. - -They lie fighting on the surface--a golden-streaked, slimy, scaly fish -twisted into a knot with a dark, hairy, furred body! - -Once more there is a pause in the fighting. - -Unobserved by Grim, who has just fallen into one of her apathetic fits, -the otter endeavours carefully to float the pike up under one of the -large mounds, in order to drag her up with an effort of strength on to -dry land; but the attempt fails utterly: he is simply unable to manage -so great a load. - -Now Grim's strength returns once more. With a powerful stroke of her -tail, she disappears with lightning rapidity from the surface, and goes -to the bottom with her rider, whose merry-go-round jaunt makes his head -swim. She is trying to get hold of his leg or body, and therefore -twists round with him so that he flaps like a loose piece of strap on -an axle; but she is not sufficiently supple to reach him. Her back -aches, her flexor muscles hurt. At last she has met with an opponent -who puts her judgment, her ingenuity, and her endurance to the extreme -test. - -Down on the bottom, sticking out from the bank, are the roots of the -willow-bushes on the edge. In her mad rush down, Grim has come near -these, and instinctively seeks shelter beneath them. At full speed she -runs her long body into the network and sticks fast, rapidly twisting -her tail-screw both ahead and astern. - -The otter treads water now on the right, now on the left side of her, -and tries, by utilizing the roots as steps, to lift her up with him. -But in vain; he cannot even stir the huge fish! - -His teeth are still far from having forced their way through; it seems -as if, short and rounded as they are, they cannot reach the bottom. But -he makes tremendous exertions, whipping his tail in under the -peat-bank, while with his hind paws he seeks for support in clefts and -cracks. Suddenly he feels one of his feet seized. The grasp tightens, -so that his whole leg aches; he tries to draw in his foot, but it is -held immovable. - -A monster crayfish, that has become so stiff with age that it can -scarcely manage to strike a proper blow with its tail, has made for -itself, in fear of Grim, a reliable place of refuge in the hole. For a -long time it has patiently followed the battle through its feelers, and -hoped that some morsel would fall to its hungry stomach; now, with -gratitude to Providence, it closes its great claw upon the warm-blooded -fisher. - -A growing uneasiness steals over the otter. He had once been caught by -the tip of one claw in an otter-trap. The trap was heavy, and had -dragged him under water; and he had only escaped at the last moment. -With the grasp on his leg, his lungs begin to warn him, his throat -contracts, and his eyes seem on the point of bursting. Up! Up! With or -without his prey! - -He has let go of Grim, and now makes his escape from the hole with so -sudden a jerk that the old crayfish accompanies him; but the dread of -water, which no living being that breathes with lungs can quite -overcome, has taken possession of the otter. With all possible speed he -slips out from among the roots, and is already rising; and as he -approaches the surface and finds the blessed light beating more and -more strongly upon the mud about his eyes, he hastens his flight, -until, with an eager sniff, he reaches the surface. - -Grim is close behind him, and as the otter lands, there is a loud -splash. It would have been all over with the brown beast if the old -crayfish, on its way down from the surface, where it had at last let go -its hold, had not dropped like a stone straight into Grim's mouth. Grim -has now to content herself with sending her opponent a cold, dull, -fishy glance, and let the Nipper continue its journey down into her -draw-bag. - -The wound that the old giant pike had received was not a dangerous one. -True, there were two rows of deep cuts made by a pair of thick, -round-toothed jaws in the flesh on one side of her back; but they -healed like so many others that she had had in her time. Her back, -however, was tender for days after, and she found it a little difficult -to leap. - -The impudent, four-footed fisher never went hunting again in _her_ -water-hole. The otter felt quite sure that it was only by good fortune -that it had not been annihilated by its great, dangerous rival. - - - - -XIV: THE ANGLER FROM TOWN - - -The lake had changed since the old angler's death; its former peace and -poetry were gone. The big swimming-birds had multiplied tremendously, -and dashed about restlessly every day, swallowing the fish by means of -constantly improving implements. - -One of the latest of these was a ten-horsepower motor-boat, manned by a -little, sinewy man, thin and elastic, and with a superabundance of -energy. He was a journalist by profession, and editor of a paper; the -hurry and unrest of a new age burned in him; whether he wrote or -refreshed himself with sport, he did it with the same strength and -enthusiasm. - -Grim's first captor had been an old-style votary of the rod and line; -he loved to cast anchor in some quiet spot, light his pipe, and sit -watching his lines. The journalist from town was of the very opposite -temperament, constantly rushing about and hauling in and making fresh -casts elsewhere. - -He had taken a house for the summer by the lake, and among the -red-currant bushes in the garden he had set up his little aquarium, -which contained a couple of crayfish, a few perch, and a young pike. - -Every morning he dug up worms for his aquarium-fish, and fed them -carefully. - -If neither pike nor perch touched the worms, and the crayfish did not -take them either when they sank to the bottom, he tranquilly devoted -himself to his work all day; but if the reverse happened, then the -leading article would be short; the editor was occupied elsewhere. - -One day, when he was sitting in his office in town, the telephone rang. -His wife was at the other end of the wire, and told him that the pike -was feeding like mad. - -He thrills at the news. His paper has long had news about Grim, the -mysterious monster. The expedition is all prepared, his tackle is in -order; he has only been waiting for the signal from the aquarium. - -A few hours later the enthusiastic little man, after a forced -bicycle-ride under the scorching sun of a suffocating July day, finds -himself among fragrant iris and bog-myrtle. Accompanied by a local -peat-digger, who, from fear of the monster, has armed himself with a -gun, he turns off by one of the paths. - -The wind is blowing through the local jungle, and rustling its myriads -of leaves with a sound that to the editor's ears resembles the -continual crumpling of a huge newspaper. The stiff, bluish-green -rushes, with their black joints, bend caressingly about him, and the -strong, spicy scent of wild mint, mingled with the sharp, acrid vapour -from the bog, ascends to his nostrils. - -For a moment he stands among the rushes, drawing deep breaths as he -listens enraptured to the deafening music of nature. The larks are -carolling above his head, and the wild ducks rise with a great deal of -splashing and fuss; now a snipe comes sailing past and sinks in a long, -concave curve. - -A sunbeam finds its way into the jungle, and showers a cascade of -shifting, dancing patches of light over him. He perspires and pants, -and wipes his forehead; he blows his nose after the manner of primitive -man; he has once more become the kind of being that the Almighty called -Man, when He placed him on the earth. - -At an opening in the rushy margin, where an old, fern-clad ridge runs -out into the water, he gets his rod ready. - -And now let Grim beware! Here comes a fisherman with shrewdness and -intelligence! His clothes are the colour of the heron's feathers, his -rod painted sky-blue, and his line is grey-green like the long stalks -of the water-plants. - -He creeps along the mossy, boggy bank, taking care to avoid all -disturbance of the water. The pike is timid, and easily put to flight, -watchful and agile; if he only breaks a reed, if he only lets a -snail-shell drop into the water, it will perceive him. He finds out -places where he thinks the fish is lying, and expectantly drops his -bait beyond the edge of the reeds on the point of land. - -The peat-cutter follows him at some distance. He has strict orders on -no account to utter a syllable, and to tread with extreme caution and -care. He has his gun all ready, for he is thinking with misgiving of -all the stories he has heard about the fabulous "serpent." He -recollects that Sidse, old Anders' girl, has seen it. She was watering -the cows when it shot up out of the deep water with a splash, and shook -itself like a dog. She had distinctly heard the jingling of the scales -in its mane. - -And Ole, the wheelwright, too. - -"Such a head!" he had said. "As big as a calf's! And the skin round the -corners of its mouth all in great, thick folds!" As to its eyes, he had -said they were yellow like those of a hare. - -He must remember to tell _that_ to the newspaper-man. - -At that moment he hears a warning whistle, the signal to stop and -remain where he is, so as not to spoil possible chances by his sudden -appearance. - -An electric shock has darted through the sportsman, and for a moment he -stands as if petrified, in keen suspense. - -He has felt a bite, and with lowered rod he slowly and carefully lets -out plenty of line. - -The pike has taken the bait, or so he firmly believes; but he waits -minute after minute, and the line never moves. - -Alas! the hook is caught in something! His best and strongest hook, -selected from among hundreds for this very expedition! In vain he -employs every artifice; he cannot free it. He will have to give up his -fishing and abandon the line. - -What an embarrassing story to have to tell! People have such nasty -tongues. And the peat-digger over there! No, that would be too much! -Besides, this suffocating heat has long tempted him to have a bath out -here, so he promptly strips and goes in. He is swimming along the edge -of the reeds where there is a little open water, when all at once he -feels his left leg seized. It is as though a pair of garden shears had -suddenly cut into it! - -Involuntarily he begins to shout and kick, but the next moment he is -dragged out and down towards deep water. He feels the teeth of the -monster sinking deeper and deeper into his leg, and is on the point of -losing his senses as he cries aloud for help. - -The peat-cutter hurries up with all possible speed, just in time to -catch the outline of a long, black shadow, working under water. At -haphazard he fires off both charges. At the same time the editor -shrieks still more horribly, and raises himself in the water. A cold, -sharp edge, as of a knife, is drawn along his body, as Grim, frightened -by the shots, disappears beneath him. - -Other peat-cutters come up, and together they pull the unfortunate -editor ashore. The blood is spouting from his leg in several places, -but one of the men ties his trouser-strap round it. Some one telephones -for a doctor, a carriage is fetched, and the editor is then driven to -his home. - -The wound was a serious one. The doctor had to wash and bandage it. On -the outer side of the calf, the deep marks of Grim's upper teeth were -visible, in two rows at a distance of more than a hand's breadth from -one another, wound after wound, going deep into the flesh. It was -clearly the bite from the jaws of some great animal. - -The oracle's prophecy that the editor would get a bite had in truth -been fulfilled! - - * * * * * - -This occurrence put fresh life into the stories circulating in the -district about the escaped crocodile, or the serpent, or the dragon, -that always frequented black bogs. - -The monster must be removed. For a long time cattle and horses had not -been safe when they came to the watering-places; and now it attacked -people when bathing! - -What sort of an animal was it? - -People demanded that the local board should provide them with an ocular -demonstration. - -Several of the holes were emptied, but they were the wrong ones. -Through others nets were drawn with a team of horses at each end. Grim -was almost caught two or three times, and only saved herself by -burrowing into the mud, and letting the net pass over her. - -Then they set to work to drain the whole bog. They started the old -windmills from the peat-cutting time, whirled all the screws about, and -pumped the water from one large pool into another. - -Grim was imprisoned, and at last lay buried in slush. Had they only -gone on for another day they would have discovered her; but, -fortunately for her, the wind dropped, and when it seemed to be all -over with her, the high dam which kept in the water of the neighbouring -pool broke, and all their labour was wasted. - -After this the enthusiasm and interest cooled. - -Who said it was a crocodile? Had anyone seen it? Was it not more likely -to have been an otter? For the local board did not believe in serpents -or in dragons! - - - - -XV: LUCK - - -He climbed over some barbed-wire fences, and in doing so made a large -number of ventilation holes in his nether garments. - -The primitive fishing-tackle that dangled behind his back consisted of -a piece of rope with a couple of beer-barrel bungs for a float, and a -length of strong, home-twisted iron wire for a trace. The great hook, -which must have been intended to catch whales with, was a clumsy steel -one that the village smith's apprentice, who was just finishing his -time, had made for him; the rod was a short, thick beanpole. - -Little Rasmus was an angler with no shrewdness or intelligence worth -mentioning. In his hand he carried an old, battered water-can, in which -were his bait--a few bastard carp, caught by trawling with an -osier-basket in the village pond. They had not been treated _secundum -artem_; they had not spent the night in a tub under a running tap, and -had not felt any salutary coolness of the gills from having small -pieces of ice dropped into their tepid water from time to time. No, a -little grass and mud at the bottom of the can was all they had had in -which to keep themselves alive. - -Rasmus tried several, and at last found one that could just flap its -tail. From habit, and for luck, he spat upon it. - -The pools were smooth and clear in the cool September air. To look down -into them was like looking through a magnifying-glass at the bottom, -where brown-shelled, fresh-water mussels and white-shelled planorbes -were discernible among the water-grass and mosses. The reed-tassels, -that had formerly been so blue, were now brown and downy at the tip; -and all the flags among the rushes trembled under the weight of their -heavy seed-pods. - -Rasmus quickly made ready his line and went out. - -"Aatch!" cried a snipe, as soon as he set foot in the bog, and a little -later he put up seven or eight more, which fluttered along in uneven -zigzags over the muddy herbage, and then suddenly rose in steep, -winding curves. With interest the boy watched them in their rapid -flight, saw how they hastened the strokes of their wings and circled -round the bog, until one by one they broke from the rank and -disappeared in a downward dive. - -At the end of a ridge, which ran out in a blunt promontory in one of -the pits, he tried a throw, and stood for a little while waiting; but -as the bait had found a hole in which to hide, and the big bung-float -lay still, he pulled it up, and went, with his rope-line gathered over -his outstretched arm, to a new place. - -He came into a thicket of meadow-sweet and wild raspberries. -Late-flowering blue forget-me-nots covered the ground. He plucked one, -smelt it, but threw it away as the sound of a great splash reached his -ear. - -By balancing along a plank he got on to a little solitary island -surrounded by duck-weed. The plank swayed very much under him, and the -island sank alarmingly beneath his weight; but he could see that it had -borne people before, and he was on it now! A bushy grey willow grew in -the middle of the island, and a spike of purple loose-strife raised its -head above it. - - * * * * * - -Grim was lying in a flat, muddy bay, hidden in a large clump of -mares'-tails. A fat, lazy carp was half swimming, half floating in the -open water in front of her. Had she not been in the bog with its -scarcity of food, the very sight of such carrion would have made her -sick; as it was, she took it with thankfulness, and ran at it with such -greed that she gulped it straight down, and got a large steel hook far -down in her stomach. - -For a moment she felt it was an uncomfortable mouthful; the flabby -morsel must have gone down the wrong way. Well, she would disgorge it! - -But she could not, and there was a thick stalk like a water-lily stem -that kept tickling her throat. She was going to spit the stalk out, -when she noticed that it was rooted in a tuft of reeds. - -"Rubbish!" thought Grim, as she flourished her fins and twisted her -tail; for she meant to get out of this warm corner. She set her teeth -and started off. The mares' tails broke and the rushes curtsied as she -crashed along; everything rocked--the bank and the bay, the reeds and -the island; it seemed to the boy as if a pig were running round and -rooting about under the water. - -The enthusiastic fisherman in grey-weather cloth, with sky-blue rod, -silk line, and running tackle, had never had the luck to catch this -monster; and here was little Rasmus with his bean-pole, his steel hook -and his tethering-rope, and his tackle held! - -Grim pulled at the line till the rod was half under water. The boy had -all but let go, when a sudden violent jerk upset him. He had no time to -save himself, and with the rod in his arms he fell into the -willow-bush. The rope tightened so that the strands creaked and -groaned; but the rod was fast in the bush. - -Rasmus thinks of making for the shore by the plank, but sees, to his -terror, that the island is afloat. The fish on his hook has pulled it -away from its anchorage, and is now dragging him out into the deep -water. The water bubbles about the rope and foams out from the island, -as if it were the bow of a racing-yacht. Sometimes the little raft -heels over horribly, so that Rasmus's wooden shoes are filled with -water. He has quite given himself up for lost, and is repeating the -Lord's Prayer. - -In the meantime, Grim is dragging him, like a second Tom Thumb, from -one end of the pool to the other. She twists and turns, dives down head -first to the bottom, only to shoot straight up a few seconds later to -the surface to lash it into foam and waves. Great bubbles and myriads -of atoms of horrid, black peat-sediment float like swelling clouds in -all directions. - -Now and then the boy catches sight of a wrinkled, moss-grown back about -as long as a bull's. It looks to him like one of the ancient oaks of -the bog coming up to lie and float on the surface. - -Gradually, as the large, pointed steel hook enters farther and farther -into Grim's intestines, and makes her cold, red blood flow the wrong -way, her movements become less and less rapid. - -The water makes things dim; she no longer sees clearly, and runs full -tilt into banks and clumps of reeds. She feels delightfully surfeited, -and darts about the pool with the sensation of dragging with her the -greatest booty she had ever taken in her life. How it seems to fill her -stomach! At last, _at last_ she is satiated, so that her throat seems -ready to burst and her jaws to part asunder; and all at once she -notices the same strange over-burdened feeling that she had had that -day many years ago, when in greed she had swallowed the big perch. - -Wildly and recklessly she drags on the rope, careering around with her -little captor; but every time she jerks him off an island, or through -thickly-matted vegetation, she drives the point of the iron nearer to -her heart. At last, in the fever of death, she rushes right in to the -bank, and runs the boy aground on an island of reeds. - -She lies floating just below the surface, and Rasmus, who now and then -between the water-plants catches sight of her greenish-yellow belly and -black-spotted tail-fin, cries out in terror. - - * * * * * - -The old pike of many adventures is wandering in her mind. Is it the -big, black perch that she has at last succeeded in consuming? Is it the -bull with horns? Or is it one of the big swimming-bird's young? - -Yes, _that_ is it! This time she has succeeded in getting hold of its -long leg, and has at last swallowed it and has it safely in her -stomach. - -But it weighs her down, so that she can no longer keep in a horizontal -position. Yes, she feels that distinctly; it is so tremendously -satisfying that her tail is sinking and her head rising, and now all at -once she rises slowly and stiffly from the water. - -The boy almost goes crazy at the sight, and involuntarily covers his -eyes with his hands, so fantastically horrible does it appear. Out of -the black, muddy water and the purple, poisonous-green plants from -which the gases of decomposition release great, bladdery bubbles, -stands out Grim's huge, crocodile head, cold and staring. - -The flabby, wrinkled skin of the throat vibrates with her violent, -convulsive gulps, and the lower jaw of more than arm's length is pushed -out beyond the upper, exposing to view the extreme points of a row of -long, dagger-like teeth at the shrunken corners of the mouth. - -The monster now turns slowly on her axis, her big, expressionless, -watery eye, looking, with its dirty grey colour, like an unwashed -window in an empty, deserted house, projects, fixed and blind, from her -huge head. - -The iron has reached her swimming-bladder, and robbed her of the power -of navigation. She grows dizzy, and like a great float at the bite of a -big fish, she goes down silently and straight. - - * * * * * - -A man busy ploughing heard the boy's cry, and running up, learned what -was the matter: a monster of an animal, that Rasmus could not pull up, -had sailed over half the bog with him! - -The man fished up the plank, and helped the boy ashore. Then he fetched -his horses, harnessed them to the line, and drew Grim slowly, but -surely, up on to the bank. - -She lay that night moored to a birch-tree. Life was long since extinct. - -A message was telephoned to the innkeeper, who collected items of news -for the editor's paper, "that Peter Jenn's son had caught, under the -strangest circumstances, a specimen of the great sea-serpent. It -resembled a prehistoric toad rather than a fish of the present day." - -The following day the whole district gathered at the spot, and the -schoolmaster appeared with a man of science who had been summoned. - -"Why, it's a pike," said the professor, as soon as he saw it, "an -unusually large and old specimen, it is true, but still only a pike." -And it must be confessed that he felt a little hurt at having been -called out on so long a journey for nothing. - -For many years afterwards Rasmus was the hero of the village, and from -that day he never went by the name of Rasmus Jenn, but was called -Rasmus Pike. - -THE END - - - - -THE BORZOI-GYLDENDAL BOOKS - -The firm of Gyldendal [Gyldendalske Boghandel Nordisk Forlag] is the -oldest and greatest publishing house in Scandinavia, and has been -responsible, since its inception in 1770, for giving to the world some -of the greatest Danish and Norwegian writers of three centuries. Among -them are such names as Ibsen, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Pontoppidan, -Brandes, Gjellerup, Hans Christian Andersen, and Knut Hamsun, the Nobel -Prize winner for 1920, whose works I am publishing in America. - -It is therefore with particular satisfaction that I announce the -completion of arrangements whereby I shall bring out in this country -certain of the publications of this famous house. The books listed -below are the first of the _Borzoi-Gyldendal_ books. - -Jenny - -A novel translated from the Norwegian of Sigrid Undset by W. Emmé. - -The Sworn Brothers - -A Tale of the Early Days of Iceland. Translated from the Danish of -Gunnar Gunnarsson [Icelandic] by C. Field and W. Emmé. - -Grim: the Story of a Pike - -ALFRED A. KNOPF, _Publisher_, NEW YORK - - - - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Grim: The Story of a Pike, by Svend Fleuron - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GRIM: THE STORY OF A PIKE *** - -***** This file should be named 40921-8.txt or 40921-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/0/9/2/40921/ - -Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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