Splitcane's Awakening 87 



never even came to peer suspiciously at one 

 of them. Each refusal added quite an ounce 

 to the size of the fish in the imagination of 

 the angler. 



Splitcane was not one of those surly pot- 

 hunters who keep quiet about the where- 

 abouts of a good trout ; so after dinner at 

 the inn he told us all about it. Every one 

 knew the exact spot in a moment from Split- 

 cane's description, and next day most of us 

 went to have a look, and, if the trout were 

 ' up,' a try. The fish had come fairly on 

 to the rise, and continued to take small and 

 big olives on and ofF every day for a week. 

 Thousands of artificials were sent over him, 

 but all in vain. When Splitcane was seen 

 approaching the pool, it was deemed the 

 right thing for any one fishing there to 

 give way to him. The curious thing was 

 that this mysterious trout was never seen 

 even in the most indistinct way. 



He rose once, and once only, to the 

 artificial on the sixth day. This was after 

 Splitcane had spent altogether not less than 



