98 THE HAUNTED 



in the usual way, he was skimming it 

 along the surface of the water, and in 

 the dim light looked just as if he might 

 be spinning a minnow. He made few 

 " casts" without getting a rise, and, as 

 his tackle was strong, the fish, when once 

 firmly hooked, were unceremoniously 

 hauled to land. His long experience of 

 lake-fishing had taught him that it was 

 useless to angle in the orthodox manner 

 when the fish were rising in the vigorous, 

 playful mood that I have mentioned, 

 and subsequent trials have proved the 

 truth of the statement. 



Whether the trout are merely playing 

 or feeding on midges I could never as- 

 certain, and it does not much matter 

 from a fisherman's point of view. In 

 the former case the fish are scarcely 

 worth trying for ; and, again, if they 

 are determined to make their suppers 

 off midges they are equally hard to 

 catch, for the very good reason that 



