DAYS STOLEN FOR SPORT 129 



of the water), for fully two hours worked their will on 

 the greedy monsters that seemed not to care whether 

 their next mouthful was an oily pilchard or a seemingly 

 luscious worm. 



The Shag sailed as sedately as one could wish, 

 but for an hour or more nothing Cctme to either of my 

 three youngest sons, two of whom fished from the 

 stem while the third was seated in the bows with 

 a heavier weighted line so as to have no need for a length 

 being out that might take his lure back to his brother's 

 lines. The captain, while witnessing the sport his 

 brother was giving, tried all he knew, by keeping as 

 near the rocks as he dared, to give his fishers a start, 

 and his delight was great when a wheel sang out, and 

 a lad exclaimed, 'I've got him.' So he had, for just 

 long enough to say so, and then it was amongst the 

 weeds, and, before the boat could turn, he lost his lead, 

 trace, and lure. The unlucky angler looked sad, or 

 tried to, while I was starting him afresh, but his sorrow 

 did not seem to hurt him so much as did his anxiety 

 for haste when one of his brothers called, 'I've got 

 a bouncer, dad.' The bouncer was more considerate 

 than our first fish had been and showed less haste 

 in getting amongst the weedy rocks; but he got 

 there, taking with him another set of tackle. This 

 loser was too full of the enormous fish he had lest, 

 and what he would have given for a sight of it, to 

 give a thought to such a minor matter as tackle. 



The, as yet, untried angler kindly informed his 

 unfortunate brother, — 



'You muffed your fish by letting it take line when 

 you should have held to it like grim death.' 



'Wait till you get one on like it, if there is another 

 like it in all Cornwall, and then let me see you hold it/ 



I could add nothing to this conversation that 

 would be more likely to make those two hold fast 

 to their next fish, so I waited silently. 



It was the fisher at the bow that gave me the next 

 D.s.s. , B. 



