OF TWO KEEPERS 35 



right. Not up to un. 'Ee won't find 'un there, 

 sir. My ! what a whop ! " and other encourage- 

 ments. Finally, " Let me have a whack," said he, 

 and in sheer curiosity to see if he could cheat the 

 wind and the drag and the trout all together, 

 I gave place to him. Neither the wind nor the 

 drag seemed to present any difficulties to William, 

 though the trout would not come up, and for 

 twenty minutes I was witness of an exhibition of 

 skill which I gladly confess was of the finest 

 quality. What he would have done with the rod 

 up at the cottage I do not know, but with mine 

 he did about fifty things which I shall never learn 

 to do if I fish till I am a hundred which is 

 William's age. 



The sight of a rise in a very attractive spot gave 

 me courage to ask for a turn, and so I got a 

 nice fish. " Now," said I, in a foolish burst of 

 generosity, " you must get one." Nothing rose 

 for the next two hundred yards, but William 

 fished the water carefully up to a bridge on which 

 I sat smoking and marvelling at his dexterity. It 

 was mid-day, and the fly was fairly off the water 

 when he left me to go and get a bit of dinner. 

 He promised to be back in an hour. Had I 

 possessed a spark of courage, I should have told 

 him plainly not to come back. I should have 

 reminded him that I had come all the way from 



