CHAPTEK XI 

 LOCH-NA-LAKICH 



HARDLY a ripple ruffles the surface of beautiful 

 Loch Sween, and the sun shines brilliantly from 

 a blue unclouded sky. What breeze there is 

 comes fitfully from the north-east, and a light 

 haze blots out the familiar view of the Pap of 

 Jura. The gulls float lazily round ; one or two 

 terns drop screaming down upon the small fry, 

 and everything looks delightful except to the 

 eye of a fisherman. But it is not a day for one 

 to stop at home who has only just arrived from 

 London on a short holiday, and the only question 

 for decision is to which of the hill lochs I shall 

 turn my steps. Loch Choilliber holds the largest 

 trout, but it is proverbial that the best chance 

 of sport in its deep waters is "a regular down- 

 right beast of a day," and it is so sheltered by 

 wood and brae that it requires half a gale to 

 produce a good curl upon its bays and inlets. 

 So the pounders may have a rest to-day, and I 

 determine to content myself with the nearer 

 and more exposed waters of Loch-na-Larich. 

 If I get no sport there a short half-hour's stroll 



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