EGGS FOR GRANDMOTHERS 37 



to him ? and yet there is a strain upon the rod which 

 makes his arms ache. Yes, the fish has got the 

 advantage of all that slack, and is heading upwards 

 with all the weight of the water bellying the line. ' He 

 has drowned it. ' 



Thrice lucky the sportsman if he has not got it 

 round a sunken rock, loosened the hold, or broken 

 off. But Providence is kind, and the tackle strong, 

 and, under the guidance of his mentor, Mr. Briggs 

 has managed to reel in a good deal of the slack, and 

 got his rod in the orthodox curve, and breathes 

 again. There is an interval of rest more welcome 

 to the inexperienced fisherman than to his attendant, 

 who knows the difficulty and delay caused by the 

 tactics of a sulky fish ; but it is not for long, for after 

 two or three shakes of the head, the salmon dashes 

 down the stream, pursued by the excited sportsman, 

 and Pat or Donald shouting ' Canny noo,' or ' Be 

 aisy,' as the case may be. Sometimes the rod point 

 is dangerously lowered ; but its general tendency is 

 in the right direction : now all depends on the humour 

 of the fish. He is within half-a-do/en yards of the 

 bottom of the pool, and if he takes a fancy to face the 

 broken water that dashes and eddies through tne 

 boulders to the next cast it is a guinea to a goose- 

 berry that he cuts the line, but he turns just at the 



