26 WITH A NINE-FOOT 



pool when he prepared for his final 

 rush. 



" Well, indeed, I wass never see such 

 a divvle of a fis(h) ! " was the only re- 

 mark my deliverer vouchsafed; but the 

 story, having been related so often in the 

 village inn, has since come to be almost 

 unrecognisable. 



The afternoon sun was_now out of 

 sight beyond the western hills, although 

 it was still shining far away in the valley 

 beneath us, eastwards. The evening air 

 was making itself felt, and the trout 

 were suddenly silent. The stream so gay 

 an hour ago, so warm and golden in the 

 sunlight, now became gray and sullen, 

 and the little trout moved from the shal- 

 lows to greater depths. I had done, as I 

 thought, fairly well for a first day, hav- 

 ing nine good ones not to mention 

 having caught innumerable small fry 

 that are always a source of annoyance 

 in such streams. The best fish had all 



