218 AN OPEN CREEL 



a pound, though he was not one pound, and was added 

 to the bag. Then at least an hour was spent in trying 

 different flies over a feeding and visible fish of about 

 one and a half pounds. With him the black hackle 

 was useless, though he came up and inspected it once 

 or twice. Ginger, red, and olive quills he allowed to 

 pass by in motionless contempt. To a Wickham he 

 moved once, but half-heartedly. At other winged flies 

 he would not look. At long last Tupp's indispensable 

 roused his curiosity, and he followed it some way 

 downstream twice. The third time he took it at least 

 a yard below his haunt, but the line had bagged, the 

 strike failed, and he was one more fish in a long list of 

 trout put down. 



After this a succession of flies was tried over a trout 

 rising further out on the edge of a weed-bed. He 

 bulged once at the black hackle, scorned the rest, and 

 the case seemed hopeless. But a kind providence 

 suggested a trial of the blue upright on a oo hook, 

 and this succeeded where its acknowledged betters 

 had failed. The trout came tumbling across a neck of 

 weeds, and was in the net almost before he had realized 

 his predicament another reasonably sizeable fish like 

 the last. After this there were two misfortunes one 

 fish pricked, and another hit too hard, with the con- 

 sequent loss of the fly. The fine point was taken off 

 and replaced by one of undrawn gut ; and a new fly 

 accounted for a fourth fish in the twilight a dark but 

 well-shaped fellow of one and a half pounds. This 

 ended the evening's fishing; and though on some 

 waters not far away the bag would seem but a small 

 one, for the College Fishery two brace were as many 



