The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1884-05-15

every other person I met alluded in
some shape or other to my .sbig pike. ~
OF course fastened to explain
that the report was groundless,
and that L had not caught any pike
at all. But my protestations were re-
ceived in a manner Ito use a familiar
phrase) TO make saint swear. / do
not suppose for moment that saint
could or would swear, but. if he ever
did. | cannot conceive any provocation
which would more fully justify him in
doing so. Where my assurances were
credited, my interlocutors made It quite
clear that l had gone down fifty per
cent. or so in their estimation, some
even indicating by their manner that
they regarded me as downright i'm
postor, and believed me to have spread
the report myselfin order to gain an I'M
founded reputation for sport Smanship.
Others disregarded my denial, and evil
IDENTIFY believed that l had captured a
big fish, but from a mean reluctance to
explain how l did it, or some other
nefarious reason. thought proper to dis
own my achievement. Both parties
evidently regarded me as contempti-
bic sort of fellow; the one set for not
having caught the fish, the other for
having caug ht it. and not sticking to it
like man. At last, so sick was | of
being disbelieved and looked down
upon, or believed and looked down
upon Notwithstanding, that when / met
friend Brown in the city one afternoon,
and he began as usual: Il say, old
fellow, what about the big fish? 1 saw
all about it in the papers," 1 did
not take the trouble to contradict
him, but YEARLY said: go yes, rather
a big thing, wasn't it?' and forthwith
changed the subject TO more congenial
matters. We parted, and the same
afternoon ran against Robinson. s'Ah,
JONES'" he said: ~ met our friend
Brown this morning, and he was telling
me all about your big fish. You always
were lucky dog. Such things don't
come in my way" Having allowed
Brown to believe in the legend could
not very well give him the lie, SO to
speak, to Robinson, so again acquiesced
in vague kind of way, and changed
the subject as soon as possible. hoping
to hear no more of the matter. But 1
was disappointed. Within the next two
or three days | met at least half dozen
friends who claimed to have had partic-
lars from either Brown or Robinson.
and, having let the thing 90 so far had
not the courage to undeceive them. But
Nemesis was beginning to pursue me.
AS the poet justly remarks Il forget for
the moment what poet, or his exact
words, but he must have been a man in
the first rank of the profeSsionl-
"Ah! what tangled web we weave
When once We venture to deceived"
Remorse had begun tn set in. l be-
gan positively to go round back streets
in order to avoid meeting friends 1
lived in a morbid dread of the subject
of fish cropping up, as it invariably did
in some shape or other. Even a pair
of soles on the table was enough to de-
stroy all my appetite for dinner l
dared not now undeceive Brown and
Robinson, who, having related the
story ION my own authOrityD to others,
would naturally think that had inten-
tiOnally befooled them. Again | met
Brown, this time in company with
stranger, tall, gentlemanly man, to |
whom he introduced me as ''Mr. Marina
duke II. Jones, the hero of the big
fish" His friend, whom found to be |
Sir Lionel Damer, a noted fisherman,
paid me the usual compliments on my
great catch, and then proceeded to ask
me one or two questions, which would
have been plain sailing enough if mad
really caught the fish, but which, as it
was, [ answered in such an incoherent
manner that Brown charitably cut
short the interview, saying that we
must talk over details another time. l
have since heard that he apologized
to Sir Lionel for my being "a little
tight" kindly adding that he never
knew me in that condition be-
fore. Never in all my previous
had l been in so horrible a |
position. For the first time in my life |
| realized what ''cold sweat" meant |
If anybody suffers from colder sweat, !
or more of it, than [ did on that occa-
sion, pity him. And the worst of it |
was that l might find myself in the
same position again at any moment. |
had hitherto attached so little impor- |
lance to the matter that / had never |
even seen the paragraph which started |
the mischief, nor had taken the trouble !
to note the name of the papers in |
which it had appeared, though they |
had more than once been referred to by |
my congratulations. was pretty sure |
that the original statement was in the |
Fishing something or other, but what |
the precise name was, or where it was |
obtainable, had not the smallest idea |
With feeling as if was concocting a |
bank fraud, and might be ''run i'm at |
any moment, began to make inquiries |
at news agents and fishing-tackle deal |
ers for any paper that answered the |
description. L discovered that there |
was paper called the Fishing Gazette, |
and | bought the back numbers for |
month past and began to study them.
AT last came on paragraph as fol-
lows:
"a MONSTER PIKE.-We learn from q cor |
respondent that on the 9th ult. Mr.. Marina |
duke H. Jones' solicitor, while spinning for |
tunate enough to hook y-four-pound- |
er, which, after three-quarters of an hour |
struggle. he succeeded in landing"
This was so far satisfactory, though |
had an uneasy consciousness that |
somebody in my presence had men
toned Sunbury, and somebody else
Newbury, as the scene of my exploit:
and that had not contradicted them.
However, my moral sense was by this
time SO far perverted that (now knew
Tenbury was the spoD was fully pre-
pared to maintain that l had always
said Tenbury. One expression puzzled
me-. What on earth was spinning in
connection with pike? 1t unfortunately
happens that if there is one subject
about which 1 know less than any
other il is angling. MY experiences as