268 A YEAR OF liberty; or, 



a series of summersaults were delivered by a single individual. 

 Flesh and blood could not stand such goings on ; the pace was too 

 good to last, and in less than ten minutes he was in the basket. 

 As quick as possible another and another were hooked, played, and 

 lost ; then a fourth fretted his brief hour on the stage and died. 

 Presently there was a lull, not in the storm but in the sport ; flies 

 were changed again and again, but in vain ; it was time to shift our 

 ground and pay the promised visit to our friend on " the reef." 



I think he must have been anxiously expecting us, for no sooner 

 had the flies fallen on the water than he was at them. We had 

 guessed the fish to be 131b. or 141b. and were not far from the 

 mark, as when brought to scale he proved a little over the lesser 

 weight. 



By this time the water in the boat was surging from side to side 

 with every motion, and the margin of the lake was already deeply 

 coloured by the boggy streams that poured into it. " There may 

 yet be time to send a line of invitation to our early acquaintance 

 of the morning ; so turn ahead, boys, at full speed." As we 

 approached, a large patch of black water with a semicircular outline 

 became too visible ; but was it all over the lodge ? That was a 

 question ; opinions differed. It reached certainly very near its outer 

 edge, but then the shy customer of the morning also dwelt in that 

 part of the house. Well, here goes one can but try ; and in less 

 time than it takes to record it, the rod was arching over my head, as 

 rods always should. Suddenly remembering how long the business 

 of life had been neglected, our new attache flew towards the shore 

 and dashed headlong up the boiling and discoloured torrent. The 

 whole thing happened in an instant. I could still feel the fish, but 

 I also felt that the line was foul, apparently twisted round one of the 

 countless blocks of granite which filled the bed of the river. No 

 orders were needed ; every man saw the danger and the remedy. In 

 twenty strokes the boat's keel grated on the strand, and Piscator, 

 reeling up as hard as he was able, floundered and stumbled up the 

 stream in a line with the impediment. As usual in such cases, the 

 moment the rod came over it the difficulty vanished, and the fish. 



