of his flight, like the run of a cat's-paw breeze across a
sleeping lake, and the clear blue of his crest against the deeper
blue of summer sky. Under him his reflection rippled along, like
the rush of a gorgeous fish through the glassy water. Opposite my
canoe he checked himself, poised an instant in mid-air, watching
the minnows that my paddle had disturbed, and dropped bill
first--plash! with a silvery tinkle in the sound, as if hidden
bells down among the green water weeds had been set to ringing by
this sprite of the air. A shower of spray caught the rainbow for
a brief instant; the ripples gathered and began to dance over the
spot where Koskomenos had gone down, when they were scattered
rudely again as he burst out among them with his fish. He swept
back to the stub whence he had come, chuckling on the way. There
he whacked his fish soundly on the wood, threw his head back, and
through the glass I saw the tail of a minnow wriggling slowly
down the road that has for him no turning. Then I took up the
caribou trail.

I had gone nearly through the alders, following the course of a
little brook and stealing along without a sound, when behind me I
heard the kingfisher coming above the alders, rattling as if
possessed, klrrr, klrrr, klrrr-ik-ik-ik! On the instant there was
a heavy plunge and splash just ahead, and the swift rush of some
large animal up the hillside. Over me poised the kingfisher,
looking down first at me, then ahead at the unknown beast, till
the crashing ceased in a faint rustle far away, when he swept
back to his fishing-stub, clacking and chuckling immoderately.

I pushed cautiously ahead and came presently to a beautiful pool
below a rock, where the hillside shelved gently towards the