CASTING FROM ROCKS AND BOATS 193 



understood my directions to follow him down instead 

 of pulling up-stream and a little across, as he usually 

 did, and I was able at least to winch in three-parts of 

 the line before the next rush, which was equally for- 

 midable, but not so long. I think I never had a salmon 

 fight as this one did. He, at any rate, was not one 

 of the sulky kind, and it was quite on the cards that I 

 had one of the twenty or thirty pounders for which the 

 angler is always longing. By and by we landed on a 

 rock or rather two rocks Knut on a flat bit of crag 

 and I on the round head of a small boulder. The fish 

 had so tired himself in his shoots and fights out in the 

 stream ,that he gave little trouble in the slack water, 

 but refused for a long time to be brought up anywhere 

 near the surface. When he did yield he came in the 

 most lamb-like way, and Knut had the pleasure of 

 using the gaff for the first time. He hit the fish fair 

 and well, and, marvel of marvels, it was to an ounce 

 the weight of the fish killed in the same pool in the 

 previous evening, viz. 13 Ib. 



Having now a good salmon, for this water, in the boat, 

 and a grilse or two, and it being nine o'clock, overcast, 

 and with a dark bit of the forest to walk through to 

 the road, I signified my intention of going home ; but 

 Knut's blue eyes opened wide in surprise and pleading, 

 and he besought me to have one more trial. As the 

 young fellow had been working hard for three hours, 

 and this was uncommonly good of him, I consented, 

 and, keeping on the same fly, we began half-way up 

 the pool, my intention being only to fish the tail end. 

 At the fifth cast, and on a portion of the stream which 

 I had fished over without disturbance twice the same 

 evening, up came another salmon, which fastened and 

 went off at the same fierce pace as the other. He 

 stripped off the line several times, gave me a splendid 



