44 THE PIKE 



beggar,' I said, 'and you may have your will. I will 

 light my pipe this time, at any rate, and not be 

 baffled any more.' The float quietly swam about, 

 with the upper part well out of the water, sometimes 

 just dipping under, then popping up, then gliding off, 

 but never taking out a foot of line. All the previous 

 fish, however, had taken the bait fairly, and I had no 

 doubt, considering the unusual law I was giving him, 

 that my gentleman would be eventually hooked. At 

 length I struck decisively, and we noticed when the 

 fighting fish was a couple of yards from the boat that 

 he still had the bait, which was a fairly big roach, 

 across his jaws, but seized, against all custom, not 

 far from the tail. This looked like a sample of 

 about 10 Ib. Another amusement of the day was 

 weighing the fish as soon as the hooks were cleared, 

 and hearing the splashing of those retained in the well 

 when a newcomer was added ; but we were to have 

 no amusement now. As I brought the pike slowly 

 in he opened his wide mouth, threw up his broad tail, 

 and vanished, having never touched the hooks; he 

 had simply held on grimly to the, by this time, 

 terribly mauled bait. There was no use crying after 

 lost Esox, which escaped with a triumphant flourish. 

 Number nine bait brought in a 5-pounder. My 

 friend H., unknown to me, had been for several 



