108 Sr HOOK AND BT CROOK. 



friendly nip, as an experiment flicked him towards the 

 fish, and luckily he fell on to the water about a foot 

 ahead of the largest trout, whose privilege it appeared 

 was to occupy the foremost position. 



The insect made a slight flutter with his wings, to 

 which the trout responded by a movement of the head, 

 then quietly sailed up and sucked him in. That insect 

 was no more. He had hitherto probably had no ex- 

 perience of the flavour of cabbage butterflies, but, 

 judging by the manner in which he subsequently kept 

 his eye on the surface, the taste for such a delicacy 

 was soon acquired. 



There is, as the sequel proved, a great difference be- 

 tween an artiflcial fly attached to a line and the 

 natural insect that can flutter his wings with discretion, 

 or, as in this instance, with the reverse, for cast as best 

 we might up stream they would have nought with us. 

 So we then, after giving them a rest, tried spinning with 

 natural and artificial bait, both from the bank and punt 

 in the middle of the river, but with no good result, for 

 as soon as the instrument of torture came too near in 

 accordance with their ideas of the fitness of things, they 

 merely protested in the most efiectual way by dropping 

 out into deeper water. 



Matters were not now looking so rosy, and 10 to 1 

 on the trout would have been offered in vain, when 

 suddenly our companion looked at us, and we at 

 him, and it was evident the same fell design had 

 occurred to both, but neither dared speak the word in 



