DAYS STOLEN FOR SPORT 185 



gillies, his and mine, were so seriously concerned 

 that they had to reserve their laughter while they 

 hastened to get below the fish and, with stones, 

 endeavour to stop his downward course to where 

 I could not follow. The new-comer had a better 

 plan ; he waded in to beat the water with his gaff, 

 lost his footing and toppled over with a splash just 

 above the fish which, in its fright, went down with 

 such a rush beyond the overhanging trees that 

 I had to hold and break or lose all my line. 



But to return to the coiling tin : " Suppose the 

 fish comes towards you instead of darting off what 

 then ? " 



" Not once in a season will it happen that a 

 salmon, which is so near when hooked that your tin 

 holds many coils, will come so much nearer that the 

 uplifting of your rod from its position when the 

 strike was made will not suffice ; but, should it not, 

 take a step backwards or add a coil, or even two, or 

 more. When the fish sees your movement he will 

 run off in earnest and soon be upon the winch. 



It often happens that while talking of the very 

 remote chance of a certain^ thing happening the very 

 incident will occur. Mr J. C. Pipe, who met me 

 for the first time on the Broom Pool, having learnt 

 from his gillie who I was, asked me to let him see 

 how I used my Grant Vibration rod and the tin of 

 which he had heard and read so much. I protested 

 that I could not think of trying his pool, but all in 

 vain ; I had to fish it or appear most unobliging. 

 I took several long casts without result, and then 

 pulled from off the winch what line was needed to 

 search the river from bank to bank, and, while the 

 line was stretched out to its last coil, I felt it tighten, 



