134 A RIVER OF NORWAY 



head out of the water within three yards of me. 

 1 was not expecting to see a seal, and he was 

 not expecting to see me, and I cannot say which 

 was the more startled. He had certainly taken 

 up a strategic position, with a view to cutting 

 off fish that were making for the ladder. I 

 have seen a seal's head emerge from the water 

 a few yards below my companion's fly. It is 

 needless to say that the angler had no sport. 

 The only consolation is that when we see seals, 

 it means as a rule that a big shoal of fish is 

 running, and that when we have scared the 

 seals away, our turn will come. 



