CLEAR WATERS 



fortunate in having even so much in the basket. The 

 sun was just setting, and as I had some miles to cycle 

 home, I was reeling up my line, thinking what a fool I 

 was at my time of life to go toiling all day long in such 

 an atmosphere at such a hopeless job, when I noticed 

 there was one nice rocky pool still stirring quite briskly 

 just below, the very last, as it so happened, on the 

 water there available. As I could spare another five 

 minutes I strolled down and cast wearily and mechani- 

 cally into its head. Almost immediately, to my 

 amazement, a good fish took me, and for a few seconds 

 I thought I was into a trout, but it turned out to 

 be a three-quarter-pound grayling. To shorten my 

 story, I took seven grayling, one after another, in that 

 rather limited pool, and as they were all about the same 

 size, and were now legally just in season, they were 

 under such parlous circumstances extraordinarily wel- 

 come. For I was in no mood to be critical. It isn't 

 often given to one, after say seven hours and three- 

 quarters' fishing, to turn a one-pound into a six-pound 

 basket in the next quarter of an hour, and in the very 

 last fishable spot ! 



As half an hour later, at dusk, I crossed the still 

 sweltering, drowsy market-place to my quarters, I 

 encountered a local friend and expert angler standing 

 in light attire and trying to cool oif after a hot day in 

 his office. ' Fishing,' said he ; ' good Lord ! I needn't 

 ask if you 've done anything.' I happened to be carry- 

 ing the basket in my hand, and passed the strap into 

 his outstretched grasp. Down went his arm, of 

 course, with the quite respectable weight, and out of 

 his mouth proceeded some brief emphatic testimony, 

 144 



