A LUCKY EASTES SOLIDAT. 169 



ture sea, and it was only in between the blasts that a 

 fly could be made to drop on the surface. To give 

 some idea of the force of the drifts which swept down 

 the hill- sides, we, instead of holding the boat up to 

 prevent a too rapid progress down stream, were obliged 

 to face her down and pull against the gale in order to 

 make way : it was as wild a day as is good for fishing. 



Well, we fished the pool without reward, then went 

 up and tried some others, thinking they might be more 

 sheltered ; but no, the gale visited all alike, and we were 

 just upon the point of giving it up, thinking that the 

 train was the only thing we were likely to catch, when 

 some idea prompted us to go down and give the bottom 

 pool just one final cast over, so as to give a certain 

 fish, which had several times risen, a last chance. 



Now hitherto we had approached this fish at an 

 angle across the stream, so as not to row over others 

 lying above him ; but as this was the last drift of 

 the day no such caution was necessary, and perhaps 

 on this particularly wild day such considerations might 

 have been dismissed ; however, be that as it may, we 

 had barely cast down to him, when the rod-top bent 

 and we were fast into a fish of some sort. 



He took one pull and then a semicircular run 

 clean across the pool, shoAving himself on the surface 

 a big, bright fish; indeed, the length and force of 

 his run elicited from our boatman, " He's a fresh 'un ^^ ; 

 and we thought so too ; however, neither of us con- 

 tinued long of that opinion, as upon reaching the 



