356 TRAVEL, ADVENTURE, AND SPORT. 



though how we did it, neither the one nor the other 

 of us could ever tell. Cut and bruised, lashed in the 

 face by the swinging branches, stumbling, now on the 

 rocks above, now on the stones below, staggering, 

 tumbling, slipping into cracks, with much yelling, 

 and much loss of breath and language, Ave got on 

 to the smooth grass of the great meadow on the other 

 side, alive though faint, and, what was more to the 

 purpose, with the fish still on. Fifty times was he 

 on the point of breaking us ; fifty times did some 

 mere chance keep him ours. Probably two men in 

 Avorse plight never stood on grass, and the fish beloAV 

 Avas in little better trim. The line was much frayed 

 and Avorn, but it was a miracle that it had stood at all. 

 Once again AVC looked on him as ours. If Ave 

 could keep him in the small pool Avhich lay beloAV 

 the bad place AVC had just passed, lie must be ours. 

 In ordinary AA^ater this pool was dead and motionless, 

 but noAV both at its head and tail there was a poAver- 

 ful current. Johnnie, Avho during the last ten min- 

 utes had been momentarily expecting that the rocks 

 would fall on his head, or that the pretended salmon 

 Avould run at him and carry him off to be devoured, 

 had noAV got over his fright ; Avhen he found that 

 the fish in the bad passage, and Avith so short a line, 

 could not get off, his spirits rose, his courage came 

 back, and he crept doAvn to the Avater's edge Avith 

 the gaff to administer the coup de grace. TAventy 

 times had the cork been off that instrument, but 



