14:6 PLEASURES OF ANGLING. 



and unexpectedly hooked a fish of some twelve or 

 fifteen pounds. As the canoe was moving when 

 he rose, I struck him awkwardly, but he was fairly 

 hooked. He showed his metal from the start. His 

 first run nearly emptied my reel, and for half an 

 hour he engaged in more curious pranks than any 

 fish I had ever encountered. He literally " boxed 

 the compass," and by his eccentric movements kept 

 the canoe and myself in a perpetual whirl. I never 

 had hold of a fish which seemed more determined 

 to escape. The only possible way to prevent the 

 line from running out was to follow him up, which 

 we did, of course ; but this required incessant 

 u reeling in " an exhausting piece of work, which 

 becomes rather monotonous after a while. Tired 

 and a little nervous, with the canoe and fish in con- 

 stant motion, I was not prepared for the series of 

 leaps which followed in such rapid succession as to 

 be quite bewildering. One of these was of such 

 unusual height that I was startled and neglected 

 to lower my rod at the right moment. As a result 

 he tore off! He had earned his liberty; and it 

 seemed so impossible to master him that I scarcely 

 regretted his escape. 



I have, I believe, in a former chapter said some- 

 thing about the difficulty of acquiring the art ne- 

 cessary to save a leaping fish. There is seldom 

 any danger in the ascent, because the line is then 



