JACK-O'-LANTERN 



Grosses. Black gusts of wind and rain 

 fell upon us from the heights as we made 

 the short paddle from the marshy to the 

 wooded end. Imputing our own feelings 

 to the trout, it seemed unlikely that they 

 would be concerning themselves about 

 flies, but, in fishing, your ounce of experi- 

 ment far outweighs your pound of reason- 

 ing. Before trying the luck, however, the 

 voice of prudence was hearkened to, and we 

 dried out. It matters little how chilly a 

 person in health becomes by slow degrees, 

 but when fatigue and wet have cut down 

 the factor of safety, cooling off is perilously 

 rapid. Uncontrollable chattering of the 

 teeth is the woodsman's recognized signal 

 of danger — disregarded at one's peril. 



Comforted by food and a great fire, we 

 pushed out to the deepening water where 

 the sands fall away, and at once a fish rose 

 that stripped the reel of line with surpris- 

 ing swiftness. Before he was netted there 

 was plenty of time to guess at his weight, 

 and the estimates were wildly flattering. 

 Seldom, perhaps never, had any of us en- 

 countered such splendid gallantry. With 

 a very light rod there is no saying how long 

 he might have resisted, for. he had shown 

 no sign of surrender when a fortunate 

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