80 THE SALMON 



waded down the stream holding on to the side of 

 the bows, and let her down about a yard at a time — 

 in fact I was to all intents and purposes fishing from 

 a moving platform a few yards from the side instead 

 of going into the water, which at its then height could 

 easily have been fished by a wader, had it been 

 necessary. No fish moved here or in the willow 

 bush pool a little lower down, nor indeed did we 

 linger very long over the latter, as the best part of it 

 was very still and clear, and did not look at all likely 

 in its present condition. 



Elliott now rowed us across — my Eton boy was 

 with me fishing for trout — and told us that if we 

 would go up to the bridge he would wade across the 

 stream a little above it and join us, and, as we had 

 our lunch, we watched him attempting to do so, but 

 the rapid was a little too deep to be negotiated in 

 ordinary wading stockings, and he had to come round 

 by the suspension bridge after all. Before he reached 

 us I met one of the house party who had been fishing 

 in the beat below mine, and he somewhat revived my 

 flagging hopes by telling me that a fish had been 

 risen there that morning. He added that one of the 

 pools above had been very much disturbed by a 

 horse which had fallen over the cliff and been 

 drowned. I imparted the news, not of the horse, but 



