x THREE WILD DAYS 173 



three roach of a pound each, and, the tree 

 having disturbed the river somewhat, he 

 had also set out to explore. Exploration 

 was, however, interrupted by the coming of 

 the rain, which had so far held off, and the 

 day's fishing ended prematurely. Neverthe- 

 less, as we went homewards we agreed that 

 the local authority was a very estimable 

 person, and that we were singularly fortunate 

 in having stumbled on a piece of free fishing 

 which even the English climate could not 

 render bad. When the weather improved, 

 we assured each other, we should do some- 

 thing remarkable in the history of angling ; 

 all that was necessary was a little patience 

 until the gales should have blown them- 

 selves out. Summer cannot always disguise 

 itself as winter, and after two months we 

 were entitled to hope for better things. 



So we waited our chance and studied a 

 depressed and unsympathetic barometer. 

 At last one morning the wind dropped and 

 the indomitable one greeted me at break- 

 fast with the words, " It's going up." I 

 hastened to verify this glad intelligence. 

 Sure enough the needle had moved ; it no 

 longer presaged seismic convulsions and dis- 



