AN ANGLER'S PARADISE 105 



gentlemen hooked a ferox whilst the boat was 

 crossing the loch. In the excitement of the moment 

 he jumped up and overbalanced, and the boat was 

 almost immediately capsized, the occupants, con- 

 sisting of the two anglers, Anderson, and a second 

 gillie, instantly finding themselves plunged into 

 the water. 



The old man would delight in telling you of 

 his prowess : how they succeeded in catching hold 

 of the boat, which immediately rolled over and 

 ducked them once more under the waves; but how 

 he, being the sole swimmer of the party, made his 

 way round to the farther side, and hung on like 

 grim death, to counterbalance the weight of the 

 other three. It was eventually three-quarters of 

 an hour before the unfortunates drifted to an island, 

 where, after much labour, the boat could be again 

 righted and baled out. 



This, and many other soakings received in 

 rivers and lochs, had left old Anderson more or 

 less crippled with rheumatism. It cost him a 

 decided effort to get in or out of a boat ; but once 

 seated, he was all right and capable of a considerable 

 amount of rowing. He was a tall man with very 

 broad shoulders, and must have been immensely 



