192 A BUNGLE AND A DILEMMA 



favourable moment to sally forth. I do not remember, 

 however, to have seen him abroad before the sun was 

 over the mainyard, so to speak. 



The principal feature in Dr. B 's countenance 



consisted of a pair of immensely long whiskers of the 

 pattern termed ' Piccadilly weepers ' in my young days. 

 They were of the hue which a love- sick poet might 

 describe as tawny gold in his mistress's tresses, but 

 which in the present instance it suffices to speak of as 



sandy. Before going a-fishing, Dr. B usually 



buttoned his waistcoat over these waving appendages ; 

 but on a certain day he either omitted that precau- 

 tionary measure before passing through his garden to 

 the bank of what was named after himself ' the Doctor's 

 stream/ or after he had started fishing one of these 

 whiskers escaped from confinement. Anyhow, this is 

 what happened. The doctor was well up to his armpits 

 in the stream when he hooked a lively fish which ran 

 swift and strong. He had to raise the rod pretty high 

 to keep the reel out of the water ; the handle of the 

 reel, revolving rapidly, caught the free whisker, wind- 

 ing it in tightly and bringing the rod close up against 

 the angler's jowl. A pretty fix ! The fish, vigorously 

 resenting the stoppage of the line, fought viciously, its 

 every tug and kick telling with excruciating force on 

 the roots of the whisker. Should the doctor ease the 

 pain by allowing the salmon to break away ? Never ! 

 He might wince, but he was too gallant to flinch. He 

 held on stubbornly to his fish, and brought it ashore 

 in the end ; but the whisker had to be shorn close off 

 before he could lay down his rod. 



