218 AN ANGLER AT LARGE 



wrote." I said, " Capital ! Three hours to the 

 good." " You don't understand," she said. " They 

 were to come on the dining-train, and you never 

 saw such a chicken as has been sent a misery." 

 It was my turn to grow pale. " We must 

 buy more chickens," I said ; " several more." 

 " There are no more," said my wife tragically ; 

 "the village is empty of chickens." I perceived 

 that my choice lay between a ten-mile bicycle ride 

 and a little angling. It was not a hard one to 

 make. " I will catch a trout," I said easily, as 

 I rose from my chair and /began to pull on my 

 waders. " Let us have tea at once." " Do you 

 think," she said, ''that you had better wait for 

 tea ? It is frightfully important." Her evident 

 anxiety that I should have every possible minute 

 for my fishing annoyed me. I said, "I will go 

 without tea. Though I lack, I will feed your 

 guests." This I said to show my wife that she 

 valued the comfort of our guests above mine, 

 which was false, and that I proposed to supple- 

 ment her shortcomings, which was base. I 

 plucked my rod from the lawn and strode forth 

 to catch our dinner. 



It was half-past four o'clock. About five I 

 anticipated the hatch of red quill customary on 

 this water in this month at that hour. Meanwhile 

 I went up the backwater, there haply to dape 



