DAYS STOLEN FOR SPORT i6i 



had three to cari^^ he would not let a brother gillie, 

 who had none, share his glor}'. 



Of course I had to have a pipe before tr^ang for 

 a second in so small a space, but as Nature was evi- 

 dently gathering force for some great outburst it 

 would have been un\vise to delay for long. I was 

 fortunate enough to choose the happy time, and weak 

 enough, I fear, to share in John's pride when we got 

 another just at dusk, made earlier by the darkly 

 threatening clouds. 



The storm raged late into the night, and, between 

 the blasts, I could hear the patter of the welcome 

 rain that said so plainly : 'The river will be high and 

 full of sport on Monday. Salmon will be hurr\dng 

 past the netting stations while the nets are of? and will 

 soon be here, fresh and innocent, to fall an easy prey.' 

 With thoughts of big ones which multiplied in the 

 haziness of coming sleep, I travelled on to dreams that 

 only ended with the morning's call. 



A moist fortnight followed, during which every 

 fisher was made more or less happy. It is a pleasant 

 time when all are pleased and chatty. The river ran 

 just the right height, and the only thought was of fish. 

 The teachings of the Right Honourable Joseph 

 Chamberlain, the wealth of the Rothschilds, and the 

 futures of kingdoms were small matters compared 

 with 'What bait did you use to catch those fish?' 

 or with the oft-repeated question, 'How do you manage, 

 Geen, when a fish comes on while the tin is full of 

 coils?' My reply to the latter question has become 

 uniform from repetition. 'Trouble not of what will 

 happen when the fish is on; use all your faculties to 

 get the attachment, the fish will do the rest.' 



I am anxious that it should not be inferred from 

 this that I consider myself more clever than most 

 with a salmon; indeed I must sometimes appear a 

 novice, for more than once strangers have offered 

 me advice when playing one. The last time this 

 D.s.s " F 



