28 AN ANGLER AT LARGE 



already been there, and there wasn't a damned fish 

 moving. I expressed my regret. 



At this moment a little ring appeared in the 

 water just where I was looking for it. 



" A rise ! " said Mr. Blennerhassett. " A rise, by 

 God!" 



He knelt down and began to switch out line. 

 I passed my hand over my eyes. I thought that 

 I was mad. I was not. When I removed my 

 hand he was covering my fish. It was a deft cast. 

 The fish rose ; subsided. 



" A damned dace," said Mr. Blennerhassett, 

 reeling in. 



I was quite dumb. 



" Well," he observed, " I'll get on up the water." 

 I wished him good sport. He strode away with- 

 out replying. I observed him halt almost im- 

 mediately, and begin to make very long casts 

 towards the further bank, where I had been 

 expecting a fish to show itself for half an hour. 



My fish again rose. It was, as Mr. Blenner- 

 hassett had surmised, a dace. As I returned the 

 poor little thing I heard my new acquaintance 

 furiously shouting. " Have you a net ? " he 

 bellowed. I saw that his rod was bent. 



I was now compelled to run up the bank with 

 a net for this Blennerhassett. When 1 arrived 

 I found that his trout was in the weeds. The 



