The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1884-05-14


Il certainly did not. The thing
must be hoax. | never caught a
pike in my life, and don't intend to.
But now | begin to understand some
extraordinary letters which l have
received this morning. Some rascal
ly practical joker has started the re-
port, l suppose, to put me to the
trouble of contradicting it; but l
won't give him that satisfaction"
"Then you haven't caught a big
fish at all ?" said my visitor. "Well,
| thought such a feat was hardly in
your line"
And he took his leave with a
slightly injured air, as though | had
swindled him out of a congratula-
ton under false pretenses.
went on with the perusal of my
letters and dismissed the matter
from my mind. But it was no. to
be so easily got rid of. When | went
into the street every other person |
met alluded in some shape or other
to my "big pike" Of course | hast
ened to explain that the report was
groundless, and that | had not
caught any pike at all. But my pro-
testations were received in manner
| Ito use a familiar phrase) to make a
saint swear. | do not suppose for a
moment that saint could or would
swear, but, if he ever did, | cannot
conceive any provocation which
whould more fully justify him in
doing so. Where my assurances
were credited, my interlocuters
made it quite clear that | had gone
down fifty per cent. or so IN their
estimation, some even indicating by
their manner that they regarded me
as a downright impostor. and be-
lieved me to have spread the report
myself in order to gain an unbound
ed reputation for sportsmanshlp.
Others disregarded my denial, and
evidently believed that had cap
tured big fish, but from mean
reluctance to explain how | did 1t,
or some other nefarious reason,
thought proper to disown my
achievement. Both parties evident
lly regarded me as contemplate
sort of fellow the one set for not
having caught the fish, the other for
having caught it, and not sticking to
it like man. At last, so sick was
| of being disbelieved and looked
down upon Notwithstanding, that
when | met my friend Brown In the
city one afternoon, and he began as
usual, IL say, old fellow, what about
the big fish? | saw all about 1t IN
the papers," ! did not take the
trouble to contradict him, but wear
ilv said. "Oh, yes, rather big thing,
wasn't it?" and forthwith changed
the subject to more congenial mat
tiers. We parted, and the same al
terneon | ran against Robinson.
"Ah. JONES'" he said ; Il 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 Rob
inson, so again acqaiesced In a
vague kind of way, and changed the
subject soon as possible, hoping to
hear no more of the matter. But |
was disappointed. Within the next
two or three DAYS | met at least half
dozen friends who claimed to have
particulars f;om either Brown or
Robinson, and, having left the thing
90 so far, had not the courage to
deceive them. But Nemesis was be-
ginning to pursue me. As the poet
Justly remarks | forgot for the mo-
ment what poet, or his exact words,
but he must have been a man in the
first rank of the protession)--
"Ah what tangled web we weave
When once we venture to deceive"
Remorse had begun to set in. |
began positively to 90 round back
streets in order to avoid meeting
friends. lived in morbid dread
of the subject Of fish cropping up, as
il invariably did in some shape or
other. | dared not now undeceive
Brown and Robinson, who, having
related the story Con my own au-
thority y to others, would naturally
think that | had Intentionally be-
fooled them. Again | met Blown,
this time in company with stran-
ger, tall, gentlemanly man, to
whom he introduced me as "Mr.
Marmaduke H. Jones, the hero Of
the big fish" His friend, whom |
found to be Sir Lionel Damer, a no.
ted 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 | had 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
mus. talk over details another time.
/ have since heard that he apologized
to Sir Lionel for my being little
tight" kindly adding that he never
knew me in that condition before.
Never in all my previous experience
had l been in so horrible position.
For the first time in my life | real
lied what ''cold sweat" meant. If
anybody suffers from a cold sweat,
or more of it, than | did on that
occasion, l pity him. And the
worst of it was that | might find
myself in the same position again
at any moment. / had hitherto at
tached so little Importance to the
i 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 been more than once referred to
by my congratulators. was pretty
sure that that the original statement
was in the Fishing something or 9TH
er, but what the precise name was,
or where it was obtainable, | had
not the smallest idea. With a feeling
as if l was concocting bank fraud,
and might be 'run in" at any mo-
i % af