1 66 AN ANGLER'S HOURS ix 



fence, and now all we have to do is to 

 flick it onto the water. Instantly there is 

 a heavy plunge, and the rod is bent almost 

 double. We have him ! No, by Heaven, 

 he has us ; he has bolted straight down the 

 little stream and is safe under some roots, 

 and we are a fly the poorer. Ah, well, it 

 is useless to repine. Perhaps two three- 

 pounders in a day would have been greater 

 fortune than we deserve. And so let us go 

 and seek our country supper with appetites 

 sharpened by success, and after lay our 

 heads on country pillows with fair hopes 

 for the morrow. 



