92 TROUT FISHING 



at this time of a thundery evening, what those 

 shadows might be ? But ha ! Trails of weed do 

 not shift their position. They waggle sometimes, 

 but they do not move their centre of gravity. Have 

 at them ! 



To be brief, it proved that the two shapes belonged 

 to two great red trout which had come up from the 

 foaming depths to lie " at the ready " in the back- 

 glide. And an orange quill made one of the shapes 

 tilt upwards at the first offer. And at the next 

 there was a disturbance among the ripples, and the 

 raised hand felt, just felt, a rock-like resistance. 

 One of the monsters had been risen and lost. Then 

 the atrocious light gave out and nothing more could 

 be seen. 



Next evening — ^the day had been almost as dead 

 as its predecessor — was better and brighter, and the 

 point of observation was reached earlier. Ye gods, 

 what a sight ! Not two, but four great red shapes 

 lying in the narrow strip of backwash with a vague 

 suggestion of a fifth beyond. There was only just 

 room for them, and now and then one would cruise 

 out to the cheek of the eddy, now and then one would 

 drive another away. Believe me, it is an impressive 

 sight to see a trout of five pounds four ounces giving 

 the cold shoulder to a trout of five pounds two 

 ounces. It makes the spine crawl with varied 

 emotions. And presently, swimming tumultuously 



