74 SALMON FISHING 



It turned out that there was indeed no harm. 

 At the fourth or fifth cast a fish rose and was 

 hooked. Not having been very hopeful, I had not 

 been attending so carefully as is always desirable; 

 but as the fish turned to plunge I saw a flicker of 

 what I took to be his tail, judging from the size 

 of which I assumed that we had come upon one 

 of the two-pounders so common in the Tay. Miss 

 Winsome was in high glee. 



" I knew this must be a good place ! " she ex- 

 claimed, flourishing the landing-net. 



" So did I,"" said the angler, with that profound 

 sagacity of which one becomes conscious when other 

 critics are discomfited. 



" Where in all the Tay could we find a better- 

 looking pool ? " 



"Nowhere. I question whether there^s a better 

 in the world.' 1 



A good many minutes passed in agreeable con- 

 verse, and the fish had not yet shown himself. 



" There can be no doubt as to his condition," I 

 remarked. " The fellow who told us that the Tay 

 is an early river was right."" 



Off ran the line at a great rate. The fish seemed 

 to be making for the pike -haunted backwater. 

 When near the mouth of it he turned and cut 

 across the stream. Unless we had him by the tail 

 or by the dorsal fin, this fish, I felt, must be more 

 than 2 Ib. Was he actually, at this time of the year, 

 going to take all the line out ? It seemed so for a 

 few moments. Fortunately, however, the Tay itself 



