trusting the weight of his body upon it,
but his nature was too unsuspicious to be attracted by anything trivial
in its appearance, and he made his way out upon it, as he had done
scores of times before.

Ensconcing himself in his seat, he gave his whole attention to his line
and his pipe, not noticing the interested glances which the Shawnees
along the bank bestowed upon his operations. After the space of a few
minutes, he felt something pull at his line, and doing the same, he
hauled a fine plump fish out of the water, casting it upon the land.

"Dat is purty goot," he mused, "and I will soon got a lot more, and my
Keewaygooshturkumkankangewock will feel goot too, when I takes 'em
home. She won't-- Dunder and Blixen!"

The limb upon which he was seated suddenly broke short off, and Hans
dropped into the river out of sight. But such a ponderous body as his
could not sink, and upon coming to the surface, he paddled hurriedly to
the shore.

"Dem little Dutchmen, Quanonshet and Madokawandock, will be de death of
deir old fader afore long. Dat is deir work. I knows it, I knows it,
and I will pound 'em all up when I gits home."

Looking about his person, he found that one of the hooks, catching in
his clothes, had brought the line to shore; and, as his involuntary
bath had not really been unpleasant, he was able to continue his labor.
But, before going out upon the tree he examined the roots to satisfy
himself that no further mischief had been perpetrated by his hopeful
sons. Feeling assured upon this point, he again passed out on the
tree, and was soon engaged in fishing as before, totally unmindful of
the broad grins of the delighted Shawnees who had witnessed his
discomfiture.

The fish bit readily. In a short time he had taken enough to insure
him a welcome reception in his own wigwam. He was debating with
himself whether it would not be better to return, especially as his
pipe had been extinguished by his immersion, when a piece of bark
floated down toward him and caught against his line.

There certainly was nothing remarkable in this. After freeing it of
the obstruction, he continued fishing. But, scarcely a minute had
elapsed before a second and a third piece of bark, precisely like the
first, lodged against his line, and remained there with such
persistency that it required considerable effort upon his part to
remove them.

"Where in dunderation did dey come from?" he asked, looking inquiringl