46 DOVE DALE REVISITED 



Meanwhile, during our absence, the Master 

 had gone forth to fish in the lower waters of the 

 Dove, down Okeover way, and there met with 

 adventure after adventure, piled on each other 

 like Ossa upon Pelion. I cannot remember them 

 all, but I think his first loss was his pipe, then 

 his tobacco pouch, and then he lost his lunch, 

 a packet of sandwiches, which fell into the water 

 which, by the way, might possibly have been 

 the cause of the marvellous adventure which 

 befell him lower down. He was wading, when 

 all of a sudden he came upon the most extra- 

 ordinary rise of fishes in a pool that he had ever 

 seen in the most rampant May Fly season 

 scores of them were bobbing up on all sides of 

 him, and " ne'er a graylin' amang 'em," as said 

 the keeper who witnessed the scene from the 

 bank. It occurred to me that this packet of 

 sandwiches, gradually swept down by the stream 

 into this trout pool, might have been the true 

 cause of the commotion among them who 

 knows? Let some one try the experiment by 

 throwing away his own lunch into the stream 

 and watch for results ! But the most extra- 

 ordinary event that happened to the Master on 

 that eventful day was that, struggling among the 



