46 DOINGS OF THE BLACK DOG 



a teaspoonful of mud on the whole length of it, nothing 

 but coarse granite sand off which the rain runs clear ; and 

 the patches of cultivation are infinitesimal. The dirt 

 of a high spate consists only of bank rubbish branches, 

 leaves, and sand which clears away as soon as the water 

 ceases to rise. By two o'clock ' she ' had fallen six inches, 

 leaving four feet six inches above summer level, but quite 

 a good colour. Still it seemed fatuous to fling a salmon- 

 fly into such a roaring torrent. My host, having both 

 leisure and experience, declined to put it to the test ; but 

 I, whose days of liberty were few, pairs being hard to 

 come by in Westminster, could not afford to let the 

 offchance slip. 



There was nothing sanguine in my thoughts as I picked 

 out a fly for the occasion. Time was when flame-colour 

 was deemed essential for the beguilement of spring salmon 

 in the Helmsdale ; gillies were dogmatic upon that, and 

 sarcastic towards any headstrong Southron who suggested 

 any other hue. But successful sceptics have undermined 

 their simple faith ; blue, green, and purple find equal 

 favour now, and the angler is free to give his private 

 fancy the rein. So I put up a Black Dog a Tay Black 

 Dog, which is as different from the Spey Black Dog as a 

 Labrador from a curly-coated retriever. 



That Dog swam through acres of water without attract- 

 ing the slightest attention. It was drawn along slack 

 edges of tossing streams, it floated over glassy ' tails/ it 

 even displayed its sable and silver uniform in back 

 currents from the main stream. All to no purpose. The 

 sun had passed behind the shoulder of Ben Urie before I 

 prepared for a trudge home. 



The path skirted a pool which I had tried carefully 



