102 AN ANGLER'S LINES. 



top. I relaxed the strain, and the next minute 

 he had found an asylum amongst the weeds.. 

 All attempts to dislodge him proving un- 

 successful, on the principle of Mahomet and 

 the mountain, there was nothing for it but to 

 up anchor again and work the punt over his 

 hiding-place. Upon an application of the gaff- 

 handle, the pike evidently had misgivings as 

 to the security of his position, for he made a 

 hurried exit, enveloped in clinging strands of 

 weed. These hampered his subsequent move- 

 ments, and led to his undoing. Truth 

 compels me to state that he was unable to pull 

 the pointer of the steelyard below 3-J- lb., and 

 should any reader exclaim, " What a fuss over 

 such a small fish! ' : I can only assure him 

 that he expresses the thought that passed 

 through my own mind. 



Rampant misfortune was now our lot; 

 my companion had a lost opportunity to de- 

 plore, and I a great disaster. 



The bob of my float and the demand 

 upon my reel indicated that, perhaps, the 



