5 8 DAYS IN DOVE DALE 



than the length of my rod, and thus forming 

 a loop of it, I swung the line over the bough, at 

 the same time twisting it round the suspended 

 flies. I felt sure that nothing worse could 

 happen than the loss of my already lost flies, so 

 I pulled vigorously, and down came the branch, 

 and all my flies safe and sound. 



Once again I set to work. By this time 

 the full moon was shining brightly and most 

 beautifully on the sparkling water. I threw and 

 hooked a fish. 



" My first trout by moonlight," I said to 

 myself. He splashed about in the shallow 

 water and amongst the rough stones, but I 

 was fixed on the edge of a slanting rock, from 

 which I could not move forward an inch without 

 slipping into a hole, so I had to make the best 

 of it. 



I assure you, my reader, it is no easy 

 travelling over the rocky sides of some parts 

 of this picturesque river. I had no wading 

 boots, so I had to keep to the bank, and you 

 know how deceptive things are in twilight, 

 how easy it is to mistake a piece of soft mud 

 for firm rock. But, as the saying is, " there's 

 no fishing for trout in dry breeches," I might 



