XXI 

 FOUR YEARS LATER 



E^TLE or no sun greeted the opening 

 day. It was in fact cloudy, and on the 

 Mooi was that ripple which maketh glad 

 the heart of the wet-fly fisherman. On 

 sunless water there cannot be the usual shadow; 

 trout are apprehensive of shadows. To the butcher 

 and the woodcock-and-hare's-ear trout soon rose, 

 but were quickly missed in the old sweet way. 

 Each time the turn of the wrist was a fraction 

 of a second too late. Had the hand lost its 

 cunning ? At last, after an hour's honest fishing, 

 a half-pounder hooked itself, and, after a game 

 struggle, was received into the net ; two more 

 trout were caught soon afterwards. Each fish was 

 in the pink of condition. Steady fishing, as time 

 wore on, added two more to the bag, and the 

 tally then stopped total, five trout, averaging 

 half a pound each. It was clear that August ist 

 was justified as opening day. Trout could scarcely 

 have been in better condition. 



One of the five trout had what might be fairly 

 termed an "appetite." He had gone gamely for 

 the fly, and, on being landed, emitted a frog ! 



