Part 8 (2/2)
”A splendid place to fish, too,” said his uncle ”Now if you and John want to go around there, Rob and I will stay here and try it But you'll have to be careful in crossing that marsh at the head of the lake That's a beaver marsh--and just to show you how old our trail is that I was , you will probably find the marsh wasthe edge of the lake for quite a ways It's all full of bogs and beaver-dams farther up the valley, beyond the lake”
”Coo over there where we can get out a good long line”
These boys were all of the in their Alaskan hoer members of the party started out alone and presently, after so across the wet marsh, they reached the rocky point which they had mentioned
”My, but this is a pretty lake!” said Jesse, standing for a ti the beautiful sheet of water that lay before them
”It certainly is all alone,” said John ”I saw a trail back in there which I'll bet was made by caribou And there's beaver in here yet, I'm sure”
”Yes, and trout,” exclaiet so to use, John?”
”Let's try the Coachman--I've noticed that in thewhite, and the white wings look as good as anything to ht,” said Jesse, and soon they were both casting as far as they could from the shore
”Out there is a sort of reef or rocks,” said John; ”I'll bet there's fish there Now if I could--Aha!” he cried ”Got him! No!” he exclaimed, a minute later ”There's two!”
As a e, and he had laid out thirty or forty feet of line when there came a silvery flash from below, followed by a second one, as two fine trout fastened at his two flies
”I can hardly hold them, Jess,” said he, ”but my! don't they look fine down in that clear water? Rainbows, both of them, and about a pound each, I think”
It was so fish; but after a tiravel beach
”Now you try out there, Jess,” said he ”Cast out there where the bottoht,” said Jesse; and, to be sure, he had fished but a fewtold hireat, John, isn't it?” exclaiht!
We never had any trout up in Alaska that fought this hard Even the salht on Kadiak Island didn't pull much harder”
When finally they had landed Jesse's trout they stood at the beach and, holding up their prizes, gave a shout, which was answered by Rob fro in his hand which hite and glistening
”They're having good luck, too,” said he ”Well, now let's settle down and get abacon all the tiood casting-place on the rocky point, they so skilfully plied their rods that in a short time they had a dozen fine trout between the by this time, they also reeled up their lines and started back across the ood luck, eh?” said Uncle dick, as they adot about as h?” asked Rob ”I never saw fish of their size make such trouble”
”The water is very cold,” said Uncle dick, ”and that makes the fish very firm and active I don't know just what they eat, but I suppose there must be some little minnows in the lake Then there are soround feed once in a while”
”They're all rainbows, aren't they?” said Rob ”As near as I can tell, they look like the rainbows on the Pacific slope How did they get over here?”
”How did they get into any of the streams in the United States east of the Rocky summit?” asked Uncle dick ”nobody can answer that Of course, all the rainbows in the Eastern states are planted there But when you get up on the marsh of the Yellowhead Pass, where the water doesn't knohich way to run, you onder if sometime in the past the Pacific trout didn't swim into Atlantic waters--just as they are said to have done at the Two-Ocean Pass, south of the Yellowstone Park Nature has her oay of doing things, and, as she has had plenty of tis”
”I wonder,” said Jesse, as he looked around hireat ood time off by themselves in here They're awfully old, aren't they?”
”I'o on back to camp”