Reaching the river, he made his preparations with great care and elaboration.  He had several hooks pendent from his line, upon each of which he shoved the wriggling worms, spitting upon them during the operation, as if to make them more tractable.  To the line also was fastened a pebble, to make it sink.  Swinging this several times around his head, he let go, when it spun far out in the river, and he commenced cautiously following it by means of a projecting tree-trunk.  This latter extended a dozen feet out over the surface of the water, and had been used as a seat a great many times by him.  Passing out to the extremity, he was afforded a comfortable resting-place where he could sit hour after hour smoking his pipe and engage in fishing.  Had he noticed the large branch of the tree upon which he seated himself, he would have hesitated before 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.