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and caught two dozen fish from half a pound to a 

 pound each. Geoff was off in another arm of the 

 same stream, so I hailed him to come home, mean- 

 while flogging away at the now played-out pool. 

 Whilst doing this I suddenly saw the large back 

 fin of a fish boil up a little further down-stream, 

 so I immediately ran a few steps and threw over 

 the rise. He came up at once, and I knew by the 

 way he bored that this was something bigger than 

 usual. 



The river at this point was narrow, only some ten 

 yards across ; so, although I only had the trout on 

 a small-sized Loch Leven " Heckem peckem," I 

 expected to manage him with care whatever size 

 he might be. He kept moving from side to side 

 and making small rushes, which was exactly what 

 I wanted, as that would tire him; but this was no 

 ordinary fish willing to give in after a dingdong 

 worry. He knew something, and in those pre- 

 liminary rushes had thought it all out. The 

 stream was too narrow, he could not get anywhere, 

 but if he made the lake, some twenty yards above, 

 he would have a clear run and break me. Slowly 

 at first he began to move up-stream, then, increasing 

 the pace, it was a race who should reach first the 

 stony shallow at the lake mouth — he or I. The 

 biped had the best of it. Filling my pockets with 

 stones and bombarding the shallows was the only 

 way to keep the fish from his point, and what with 

 playing him and picking up stones, which were by 

 no means plentiful, I had warm work for a minute 

 or two. By and by the stones gave out, and with 

 a great rush the fish got by and dashed to the lake. 

 I had about eighty yards of line on my Malloch 



