252 DAYS STOLEN FOR SPORT 



'Mike,' said Tony, 'will spread his mouth as often 

 as ye plaise if ye' 11 laugh yerself at what ye say. Shure 

 an it's ivery jintleman that would be telling tales 

 when the say is silent and the fish don't bite his bait. 

 I clean disremimbers where the jintleman was for 

 coming from that tould us that thiis was the best of 

 all the worlds. Was ye for remimbering, Mike?' 



'I was forgitting, too/ said Mike, 'but it was 

 **ye sinner" he called ye when he gave ye the 

 whisky.' 



'Be aisy, Mike, it was meself that said to him, 

 "Shure thin it's a greater traveller than meself ye 

 are, sorr." 



' "Well, I guess I've travelled some," said he. 



* "And are the worlds much aloike, sorr, and are 

 there any ye haven't yet seen?" said I. 



'It was thin he handed me his flask, saying, — 



' "Liquor, ye sinner?* 



'Thrue for ye,' said Mike, 'and wasn't it meself 

 had no taste of the same?' 



It is difficult to decide under which of the varying 

 conditions of the different days we fished at Carna 

 our captain shone the most. I admired his easy and 

 regular stroke that gave the boat a movement that 

 suited the fish until they had mouthed the lure, and 

 equally effective was the instantaneous and momen- 

 tarily increased speed that securely hooked the quarry. 

 I think — I say 'I think' — he was most like himself 

 and most to be admired when the waves ran high 

 and, with daring skill, he sailed the boat scaringly near 

 foam-capped rocks, sheering her off in the nick of 

 time, and bringing tugging fish from the seething 

 waters which v/e fishers had to play whil-e crossing 

 waves that tossed and bumped us on and off our seats 

 in the funniest fashion. 



From experience I have gathered that boatmen 

 inured to chopping seas like to test the endurance 

 01 a landsman, and tbat should he stand the ordeal 



