The daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Ind. Ter. [Okla.]) 1898-1902, 1902-04-15
A MINISTER'S FISH STORY.
Iii. A~rr4riss Was a Trine Different
from the Usual Run OF
such Tales.

The minister's daughter was enter
tanning a few girl friends al the par
sonage The other evening, and after
the latest bit of gossip had been dis
cussed over dainty cups of the orient
al beverage, the father of the hostess
was unanimously elected 10 entertain
them with a story, says the Chicago
Daily News.
'-Some one has said" began the good
man, that the unexpected always hap
pens; and as a fish story is about the
last a parson would be expected to re-
late, ! viii endeayor 10 entertain you
with one, the truth of which / can
vouch for.
1T was one summer evening in the
gathering twilight" said he, ''while
standing on a rustic bridge which
spanned a famous trout stream near
her fathers house, that l won from
the girl / had long loved the promise
10 be my wife. She was just the least
bit inclined TO firt, and / had a rival
in the field; so, TO make the affair
more binding, / drew from her hand a
ring which she had often declared she
would only give 10 her betrothed lover
and transferred il to my own finger.
"'It was my mothers engagement
ring she said, half playfully and half
in earnest, and there is bit of super
stition connected with it. So long as
you keep and wear it we are engaged;
but If you lose il or part with it in
any way the engagement is broken.
SO as You value my love, take good
care Of it,
~ week later she went away on a
visit, and then my only consolation
was TO haunt that favorite spot on
the bridge which had been our trysting
place. Once while leaning over the
railing and thinking of our engage
ment 1 took from my finger the treas
ured ring, and gazed fondly on the
initials-hers as well as her mothers
engraved within. In attempting to
replace it, however, the golden circle
fell from my grasp and disappeared
in the waters below.
"Only a youthful lover under such
circumstances can imagine my feel
ings. Day and night j mourned, dis
consulate, my lost treasure. Yet,
strange TO say, had singular pre-
sentiment or intuition that the ring
would be restored to me. though by
what means / had not the faintest
idea.
"Not long after. while fishing in the
same stream a short distance below
the bridge, ] fell to thinking of the
lost ring If could only fish it up
and just then there was a quiyer, a
sudden jerk and a struggle at my line,
and after some play drew out fine
large trout. At the sight of him the
thought suddenly and unaccountably
flashed into my mind that the ring
any lost ring-was 10 be found in his
body. Icannot account for the feeling,
but know it was heightened TO almost
conviction, when, upon grasping the
trout, perceived on one side of his
body a singular protuberance and felt
something like a hard, foreign sub
stance beneath the surface.
"Eagerness had made me cruel, and
seizing my pocket knife ! cut off the
victims head, and then. with un-
steady hands. / ripped the body open.
/, My knife grated against some shining
substance. Imagine my feelings when,
with beating heart and trembling
hands. drew forth"
"The ring. The ringi" breathlessly
exclaimed the girls in chorus.
NO. indeed" continued the truthful
narrator. ''only piece Of green glass.
The ring was never found"
"And what became Of the girl, pa
pa? eagerly asked his daughter.
For the past II yeGrs. my dear"
the good man replied. as with merry
twinkle in his eye he glanced toward
the other end Of the table. 'she has
filed with satisfaction the pleasant
but somewhat responsible position OF
mother to Won -