A SUSSEX BROOK. 83 



proceeded to load my pipe, when something 

 happened which caused me to restore it, unlit, 

 to ,my pocket. The something was an ex- 

 panding circle which had suddenly appeared 

 on the surface of a short stretch of unbroken 

 water linking the shallows with the pool. My 

 interest increased as the ring, after a brief 

 interval, appeared again. That it was caused 

 by a rising fish there was no doubt, but what 

 he was taking I had not the smallest notion. 

 A coachman on a " oo " hook seemed a likely 

 venture, but the difficulty was, how to bring 

 it over the trout without any drag. To get 

 below the fish was an impossibility, owing 

 to the wooded surroundings, and my only 

 chance was to let the fly float down with 

 the stream and hope for the best. Of one thing 

 I was very certain, if the first attempt failed 

 there would be no " second time of asking," for 

 the recovery of the line must inevitably put 

 the trout down. So it was with no little 

 anxiety that I watched the white wings draw 

 nearer and nearer to the fateful spot. A 



