176 AN ANGLER'S HOURS x 



ing thunder. He admitted rather regret- 

 fully that there did seem to be " thunder 

 about," and after an awe-inspiring clap 

 remarked that there must be a good storm 

 somewhere ; when it broke the fish would 

 wake up. He had long been curious to 

 find out whether fish really did feed well in 

 a thunder-storm. With this he threw in 

 another handful of ground-bait. 



I, however, had risen when the last peal 

 began. My interest in the scientific effect 

 of electricity was languid. I said : " There 

 are three good storms, and in about three 

 minutes they will be here. I don't believe 

 the most perverted fish would bite in three 

 thunder-storms, and I shan't wait to see." 

 The indomitable one laughed, and I fled, 

 taking refuge in the sitting-room of a little 

 farm hard by the mill. We neither of us 

 know to this day whether fish will bite in 

 three thunder-storms better than in one or 

 none, because even the indomitable one was 

 compelled to retreat before the torrential 

 downpour that began in a few minutes and 

 lasted until after five. The mill formed a 

 convenient centre for three separate storms, 

 each one more violent than the other, and 



