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his "0 sacre bateau, regardez les 

 truites!" sent my glance to the spot. I 

 can only swear to two, though Mesgil 

 affirmed that he saw a dozen. Having 

 very definitely determined to fish no 

 more, what happened in the next few 

 beats of the pulse was done without con- 

 scious volition. One hand laid the 

 paddle down, the other picked up the 

 rod. The tail fly swung loose from the 

 cross-bar of the reel, and was despatched 

 with one motion in the proper direction. 

 The smaller of the two fish rose, was 

 hooked, and Mesgil had his wish to see 

 the little rod lutter avec une grosse. 

 From the first moment there was no 

 doubt that this was a strong and unusu- 

 ally heavy trout, and he played after the 

 fashion of his kind. Mesgil delicately 

 and quietly worked the canoe to shore, 

 and held it steady during the awkward 

 business of disembarking while a fish 

 was running. By this time our trout 

 had gained an immense length of line, 



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