"But why," asked Thor, "should he burn it up, when he has spent so much work upon it?"
"I don't know," said Heimdal musingly, "unless—unless. Where could he hide except in that stream, and how could he conceal himself there without changing himself to a fish? Mark my words. Loki is there, and he feared we might catch him with his own net."
"That," said Odin, "would be a form of justice for which one would scarcely dare hope. I fear the net is too badly burned for use."
"Not so," replied Heimdal. "Here is more flax, and we can easily repair the damage the fire has done."
So the three gods sat upon the floor of the hut and mended the burned net, keeping an eye always on the stream, that Loki might not make his escape. And when the net was ready they went forth, and with it dragged the stream. Not a fish did they catch, for Loki had frightened the real fish away, and he himself was hiding between two big stones, so that the net passed over him.
"The thing is too light," said Thor. "It does not touch the bottom."
"That we can soon change," replied Heimdal, and he set about fastening stones to the lower edge of the net.
Again they began to drag the river, and this time Loki feared that he could not escape. But just as the net almost touched him, he gave a mighty leap and sprang clear of the net. The silvery flash, the sudden splash, startled the gods, so that they almost dropped the net; but it told them what they wanted to know—Loki WAS in the stream. Turning, they dragged the net down the stream, driving Loki nearer and nearer to the sheer drop of the waterfall, down which he dared not plunge. Desperate, he made another leap, and again he almost escaped; but Thor's quick eyes saw him, Thor's strong, iron-gloved hand gripped him. The great salmon struggled, but Thor held it fast by the tail, and finally flung it out upon the bank.
[Illustration: THOR'S HAND GRIPPED HIM]
Loki, within the fish, vowed to himself that he would not return to his own shape; but the fish's body could not live long out of the water, and soon he found himself growing weak and faint. At length, therefore, he was obliged to assume his own form, and there he stood, handsome, but evil-looking, before the waiting gods.