138 ANGLING & ART IN SCOTLAND 



up to the boat he must break the tackle and let it 

 go, as it was high time that they started to row back 

 to the hotel. Duncan, however, would not hear 

 of such a solution of the difficulty. He considered 

 it unsportsmanlike. Moreover, he informed the 

 gentleman on the opposite side that he might find 

 his way back by road, alone, as he did not intend 

 to part with that salmon before he was absolutely 

 obliged. He only stipulated that the angler, on 

 arriving at the hotel, should tell one of the boatmen 

 of the awkward position in which he, Duncan, was 

 placed, and ask him to come to his assistance with 

 another boat — for, from what he had seen of the 

 fish, he felt sure that it was an abnormally large one, 

 possibly over sixty pounds in weight ! 



The angler promptly followed the first part of 

 Duncan's advice. Perhaps he was a good deal 

 annoyed at his gillie's conduct, and thought that he 

 had had no right to fish from the farther side ; or 

 perhaps he thought he would administer a salutary 

 lesson. Whatever the reason, one thing is certain ; 

 he calmly returned to the hotel and had dinner, and 

 in due course went to bed, and omitted to mention 

 to any one what had become of his gillie. 



Thus the hours went by, and the unhappy 



