218 LINES IN PLEASANT PLACES 



ten, and was quite satisfied if they remained at that 

 figure. 



On this last day I did not, however, care to lose 

 sight for ever of that half-hearted sea trout which had 

 baulked me at starting up at the island. A., although 

 he was out of sorts, and had been pretty well worked 

 day by day, was for towing the boat up-stream and 

 fishing the whole river down again, but to this I 

 objected. There was no use in working a willing 

 horse to death ; and perhaps I might also honestly 

 say that by this time I was a trifle tired myself. We 

 therefore left the boat at its usual moorings half-way, 

 and plodded up through the sloppy marsh and over 

 the slippery rocks to the desired spot. I wanted no 

 more two- or three-pounders, and, in a sort of care- 

 nothing spirit, decided upon a Butcher, of small salmon- 

 fly size, this being perhaps one of the very best all- 

 round patterns for Norwegian waters. A few casts 

 tested the hold where my sea trout of the morning lay, 

 but he was still obdurate, unless he had adopted the 

 unlikely course of pushing upwards since our transient 

 interview. 



I pulled out a few more yards of line, and fished 

 farther out over water that was deeper and not of high 

 repute as the halting-stage of sea trout. But I had 

 my reward presently in a determined assault upon 

 the fly, delivered well under water. 



It might here be mentioned that at the tapering 

 point of the island, some fifty yards below, a swift 

 branch stream, created by the island, poured in ; and 

 again fifty yards farther on there was a general con- 

 junction of streams and eddies, making a leaping, 

 roaring toss of broken water, with a tremendously 

 heavy, sliding volume to the left. Below this lively 

 meeting-place the concentrated currents swept round 



