122 Summer 



mishap he only laughed. Give it up ? Oh no, he 

 would not let me give it up, he was not in the habit 

 of slipping his chances of a bottle of whisky so easily 

 as that. 



' Look here, sir,' he said, producing a great bottle 

 in which three nice trout were swimming. ' I kept 

 these as a last chance. We'll try a line,' and he looked 

 quite happy and certain. ' You be fishing at about 

 eight to-night as usual with your little rod, and I'll 

 step round that way. I want a rabbit at any rate.' 



As I had been previously struck with the great 

 determination and resourcefulness of this man I im- 

 plicitly obeyed his directions. Before the appointed 

 time I was at my station. Putting a nice red worm 

 on my hook, I flung it in and sat down on a stump 

 to have a smoke until my friend appeared. While in 

 this posture I was so completely shrouded from view 

 by the willows that a great heron, without seeing me, 

 came up from the stream flapping his heavy wings, and 

 alit to fish in one of the shallow streams. I was watch- 

 ing it so intently that I never saw the keeper until his 

 hand was on my shoulder, and he said, ' There's some- 

 thing at your line, sir.' 



' Oh, never mind the line, it's only an eel, but 

 look at that bird ! Can't you shoot him ? ' The gun 

 was cocked in a moment, but the heron was out of 

 gunshot, and, as if it had heard what we were saying, 

 rose up and departed across the wood to another bend 

 in the river 



