102 DAYS STOLEN FOR SPORT 



turned his attention to my float and tried his best 

 to delude me into striking at its antics. 



Fortune came to me just as my companion's 

 tongue was broaching Theory v. Practice. My 

 float, that had cut so many capers, relieved of its 

 load by the rising of the bait, toppled on its side 

 and disappeared. I allowed the fish to draw quite 

 three yards of line and then struck as near as I 

 could in the opposite direction to where it pointed, 

 and, as it continued on its course, I struck again 

 and held to it as tightly as I dared until I felt the 

 fish shake its head, and then I knew he had spit the 

 bait out and was hooked. After a little coaxing 

 the doctor took my rod and confessed, when he had 

 killed the fish, thirteen pounds, that there was a 

 greater pleasure to be got from my pliant rod than 

 from his stiff one. While I was holding his I 

 felt almost sure a small fish was worrying his bait, 

 so I brought it back little by little and, when near, 

 we saw a jack, not more than a pound, trying to 

 compass the centre of the dace with its little jaws. 

 The bait was very little damaged but I was pro- 

 ceeding to substitute another when the doctor said : 

 "What! going to change it, Geen ? Don't, please. 

 I've never known a jack-marked bait fail to catch 

 a fish. Here, take back your rod and give me 

 mine." 



His belief in teeth-marked baits was strength- 

 ened almost immediately and he did not forget to 

 say : " What did I tell you ? " as he struck in answer 

 to a pull. At first he thought it a heavy fish, 

 and then a light one as he continued to turn his 

 reel homewards without, as yet, its having given 

 the slightest outward noise. He wound in until his 



