“Before there was a lull, I had landed five of the string. Then they quit biting, and I had a chance to rest up a bit, and do some thinking. So mebbe half an hour passed, when suddenly something happened. I heard a cough, and looked around right away, thinking that either Steve here, or you, Jack, had taken a notion to follow my trail across to the river just to see what was going on.
“Say, I had a little shock just about that time. A man was standing there not a great ways off, and watching me for keeps. He seemed to be scowling like a black pirate, and something told me right away he didn’t much fancy seeing me there, taking fish out of the river.
38“I guess I must have thought of half a dozen things all in a minute. He was one of those slick wardens prowling around to see that the game laws were enforced; or it might be he owned the land up here, and took me for a poacher who hadn’t any right to be fishing on his preserves; then again, he looked so ugly and black that I even figured whether he could be a desperate fugitive from justice who’d been hiding in the Pontico Hills country, and hated to see anybody coming in to bother him.
“When the tall man with the black mustache and goatee started to move toward me I collected my wits and decided I’d have to seem cordial to him. Then, Jack, I also remembered your warning not to peep a single word about our having come up here for any other purpose besides having a jolly summer outing during our vacation.
“So I nodded my head and said good morning to him just as cheerful and unconcerned as I could. He grunted something, and kept coming along, watching me like a hawk all the while, I could see. Why, I had a cold shiver chase up and down my spine just like somebody had thrown a bucket of ice-water over me; because all sorts of horrible things began to flash through my mind.
“If he chose to tumble me into the river and drown me, who’d ever be the wiser for it, I thought; and perhaps I unconsciously moved back a bit from the edge, as if I wanted to put on a fresh bait.
39“‘Who may you be, boy, and how does it happen that you’re fishing up here where not a single soul have I seen in the weeks I’ve spent here?’ was what he said to me.
“’Course I up and told him my name, and that I lived in Chester; also how with two chums I was camping about a mile or more to the east.
“All the while I was speaking he kept those hawk-like black eyes of his glued on my face. I felt my skin fairly burn, and wondered whether he could read a fellow’s thoughts, which would surely give me away. But I told him the truth, because we have come up here for our vacation camping, and mean to have a bully good time of it fishing, walking, and eating until our grub runs low, and we’ll have to head back to civilization.
“I guess I must have put up a pretty fair article of a yarn; leastways he seemed just a mite more cordial when I’d got through; though I could feel that his suspicions hadn’t all been set at rest, for he seemed mighty uneasy.