BROWN WATERS 



tion, which is trustworthy within cer- 

 tain limits, held out hope in that quar- 

 ter. Trout of size, unlike salmon, do not 

 commonly harbour in the swift draw at 

 the tail of a pool, where exertion is 

 needed to maintain their position. Cast- 

 ing a little perfunctorily, it is to be 

 feared, and often glancing up stream 

 for the returning canoe, I was only kill- 

 ing time till they came to ferry me over 

 to camp. At an awkward corner, where 

 one would have to take to the steep bank 

 and force a way through undergrowth, 

 I hesitated. There was but one short 

 cast left above the broken water, dark- 

 ness was falling, hunger gnawed, clearly 

 it was not worth the uncomfortable 

 scramble, so I went. 



A rise! Again, and the barb went 

 home in something that gave as little to 

 the strike as though the fly were fast in 

 the bottom of the river. Instantly he 

 was off, the weight of the stream be- 

 hind him, the reel pitching the highest 



40 



