THE KEYNOTE OF SPORT 5 



ing, sometimes waiting in the shelter of a 

 friendly rock for some tiresome hind or 

 youngster stag to move out of the way of the 

 larger quarry, at sight of whom all the cold 

 and discomfort are forgotten, and whose 

 lordly head on the wall will be proof positive 

 of the sounding of the keynote. 



The scene shifts. A blazing summer's day, 

 great flimsy clouds here and there floating in 

 a blue dome, the loch rippling with the laugh- 

 ter of a soft breeze, the gobble of a trout every 

 few minutes, and a basket of several dozen 

 ends an ideal day. 



The rush of a mighty river, water black 

 with the grip of frost, trees gleaming with 

 hoar and snow, a human back and arms 

 aching with the bend of the rod ; but there 

 comes a blue and silver splutter at the end of 

 the pool, the reel runs screaming, and when a 

 glistening fish lies on the bank the keynote is 

 again the same. 



A stretch of green and brown country in 

 the heart of England's Midlands ; one of those 

 grey, soft days when the smell of the earth 



