Page:Christmas Fireside Stories.djvu/165

 Legends of the Mill. 153 success. Not £1 breath of air was stirring, the winds seemed to have gone to fest. My flies alone disturbed the placld waters. A half-grown-up lad, who was standing behind me on the bank, advised me to " troll with bait "— a cluster of worms fastened to the hook, which is dragged in jerks over the surface of the water— and offered to find the bait for me. I took his advice, and the trial succeeded beyond expectation ; a trout of a pound weight rose to the bait? and was not without some difficulty landed on the inconvenient spot where I was standing. But with this the day's sport seemed to be over ; no fish ruffled the tranquil pond, the bats alone, which shot backwards and forwards in the air, produced sometimes, when they pounced down after the insects, trembling ripples which quivered over the bright surface of the water. Before me was the saw-mill; its interior was lighted up by a blazing fire on the open hearth. The mill was in full work, but its wheels, its saws and levers, no longer appeared to be guided or directed by any human will or hand ; it seemed to be a mere toy under the invisible power, and subject to the whim, of the mill