10 THE VICTORY. 



my own emotions, while Walter is still struggling with 

 his fish. Now that there could be no longer any doubt 

 that my own fish was hors de combat, we set off at once 

 to his assistance, and found him also " wi' a graund 

 fesh," as Donald said, at the end of his line, still 

 resisting bravely, and judging from appearances, in- 

 tending to resist for some time to come. My own fight 

 had lasted twenty minutes; but this promised appa- 

 rently to be much longer. Immediately after our 

 arrival the fish retreated under the opposite bank, and 

 I began to expect a repetition of the tactics I had 

 myself so recently dealt with. For some minutes we 

 endeavoured to dislodge him by throwing stones, while 

 Walter tried to irritate him by constantly jerking the 

 line ; but all proved unavailing. At length, however, 

 as a last resource, we sent Donald to ford some shallow 

 part of the river, and get round to the opposite side of 

 the pool, that he might drive out the fish if possible. 

 On reaching the spot, and looking down from the top 

 of the bank, Donald reported some huge roots visible 

 below him, into which the fish must have retreated. 

 He then made several attempts to dislodge the enemy, 

 by thrusting down the shaft of the landing-net ; but it 

 seemed as though nothing could move him. At length, 

 however, by dint of stirring and poking, the opposition 

 sensibly lessened, and by degrees the line came away, 

 with a heavy weight attached to it, which proved to be 

 a dead root, to which the salmon had succeeded in 

 transferring the hook from his own jaws, and con- 

 sequently had effected his escape. 



Such was the mortifying termination of our worthy 

 friend's first essay. There remained, however, nothing 

 for it but to hope for better success with the next. 

 We had, while standing here, observed more than one 



