THE SALMON OF CLOOTIE'S HOLE. 357 



never yet had he had an opportunity of administering 

 it with success. The fish, almost a passive agent 

 now, got into the current ; cruelly did we give him 

 the butt, we almost thought that the hook would 

 have cut through under the great pressure caused 

 by his weight. For a few moments it seemed as 

 if he would come into the stone where Johnnie was, 

 the furthest out stone of all. But the slight rest had 

 renewed a little of his strength; he made a feeble 

 struggle, got more and more into the current, right 

 into it, and then slipped quietly over the little fall 

 at the tail, and went into the stream below. Once 

 more hope died away. We had no more bad ground 

 to pass, no more rocks; on the contrary, the river 

 ran now for a long way through the great smooth 

 meadow, but it ran with an angry roar of swollen 

 waves, with all the pools and quiet reaches blotted 

 out, and with no place where a fish, even if so in- 

 clined, could rest. The meadow was about two 

 hundred yards long, and then the public road crossed 

 the river by a bridge. 



And now Johnnie risked his life for his master ! 

 If he could get on to an outstanding rock it was just 

 possible that he might be within stroke of the salmon ; 

 and though the chance was a poor one, yet he tried 

 it. Jumping from stone to stone he made his way 

 out ; but even lie could not do the impossible, even 

 his legs and eyes failed him at the pinch. Eacing 

 parallel with the fish to get first to the point. Johnnie 



