A HARD FIGHT. 49 



It had now begun to rain, and that very heavily ; but 

 I had an exciting contest before me, and I could not 

 shrink from it. At first the fish rushed, as though in 

 amazement at the little fly which stung so sharply, 

 down to the very bottom of the pool ; but his enemy 

 was not to be shaken off so easily. He then rose in 

 the very centre of the boiling whirlpool beneath the 

 fall, and attempted to dash up the fall itself, but 

 fell back into the pool again. Still, however, the fly 

 stuck closely to him, and, after pausing a moment, in 

 the still water, he made a savage rush down the stream 

 towards the second fall. 



" Ye '11 lose him the noo ; ye '11 just be losing him ! " 

 cried Donald, in despair; but there was no help for it; 

 I could not resist more strenuously, or my tackle must 

 give way, and therefore I was fain to let him go 

 gradually down, trusting to the chapter of accidents to 

 save my credit. The rain was now coming down 

 heavily ; in vain I had drawn my plaid tighter around 

 me ; I was quickly wetted to the skin, and now each 

 drop seemed to pierce through my clothes, and to make 

 itself felt. The rocks, too, sloping upwards from the 

 bed of the stream, at all times hard to stand upon, were 

 now wet and slippery, and I found it most difficult to 

 keep my footing. 



Just as the fish disappeared over the second fall, and 

 I sprang forward to keep up the battle, my feet slipped 

 from under me ; I rolled over backwards, falling with 

 one shoulder and an arm in the stream, and my rod 

 flew out of my grasp into the river. 



In an instant Donald came to the rescue, and while 

 he recovered the rod I regained my feet ; and having 

 no time to think about bruises or the additional wetting, 

 I resumed my rod, and hurried forward, though some- 



