TRIANGLES: A PIKE-FISHER'S LAMENT 243 



the box remained a few pills of paper the wrappings 

 that aforetime inclosed those flights and kept them 

 distinct. I set my teeth and proceeded to wrestle 

 with the mass. After about ten minutes I succeeded 

 in extricating a single flight of the Thames sort, three 

 triangles and a lip-hook, which I transferred to (I). 



Turning back to my work, I suddenly became aware 

 of an impediment : the indiarubber fish had taken the 

 opportunity of getting out of (I), and was now grasping 

 the tablecloth with one triangle and my sleeve with 

 another. I patiently unhooked it and put it back, and 

 as I did so marked the condition of the disentangled 

 flight, which was really quite unfit for service. Its 

 struggles in (A) there must have been great struggles 

 there had grievously affected its whippings, varnish 

 being nearly gone, and silk in one place being cut. I 

 pondered a while, looked again at the conglomeration, 

 and finally with great firmness replaced the whole lot, 

 the free flight included, back in its box, covered it 

 with a decent veil of paper, and put on the lid ; then, 

 having put the tasselled spoon to keep the fish con> 

 pany in (I), I turned to (B), the box of live-bait 

 tackles. I will not swear that there were are no 

 live-bait tackles there, but I could see none ; perhaps 

 they were, or are, in the middle of the tangle. What 

 I chiefly noticed were the spike of an Archer spinner, 

 the big round hook which is at the tail of Mr. Pennell's 

 old pattern of spinning flight, a lead which I use for 

 snap - trolling, and triangles always triangles. I 

 replaced the lid of (B) silently and passed on to (C). 

 Here I found some more leads, a brass oil-bottle, a 

 reel of copper-wire, two swivels, a Dusty Miller, and 



