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Secret of the Woods by William Joseph Long
page 35 of 145 (24%)
For a full hour I watched them breathlessly, marveling at their
skill. A small fish is nimble game to follow and catch in his own
element. But at every slide Keeonekh did it. Sometimes the
rippling wave would shoot all over the pool, and the bubbles
break in a wild tangle as the fish darted and doubled below, with
the otter after him. But it always ended the same way. Keeonekh
would slide out upon the ice shelf, and hump his back, and begin
to eat almost before the last bubble had tinkled behind him.

Curiously enough, the rule of the salmon fishermen prevailed here
in the wilderness: no two rods shall whip the same pool at the
same time. I would see an otter lying ready on the ice, evidently
waiting for the chase to end. Then, as another otter slid out
beside him with his fish, in he would go like a flash and take
his turn. For a while the pool was a lively place; the bubbles
had no rest. Then the plunges grew fewer and fewer, and the
otters all disappeared into the ice caverns.

What became of them I could not make out; and I was too chilled
to watch longer. Above and below the pool the stream was frozen
for a distance; then there was more open water and more fishing.
Whether they followed along the bank under cover of the ice to
other pools, or simply slept where they were till hungry again, I
never found out. Certainly they had taken up their abode in an
ideal spot, and would not leave it willingly. The open pools gave
excellent fishing, and the upper ice shelf protected them
perfectly from all enemies.

Once, a week later, I left the caribou and came back to the spot
to watch awhile; but the place was deserted. The black water
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