xiii THE MIDLAND BROOK 237 



in a small circle, and the angler congratulates 

 himself on an easy capture. Then, without 

 the least warning, there is a tremendous 

 rush, twenty yards of line are off the reel 

 before he realises what is happening, a great 

 fish leaps out of the water a long way off, 

 and all is silence. The angler winds in his 

 line, reflecting on the perversity of things. 

 It is not often that one can meet with one 

 of the very big fish that these brooks some- 

 times hold, and when one does it is a pity 

 to mistake it for an eel. That trout may 

 have been anything over five pounds. 



After this everything else seems of small 

 importance, and though our angler catches 

 another trout of about a pound in the weir- 

 pool, he has to a great extent lost interest in 

 his fishing, and presently he takes his rod 

 down and starts off on his four-mile walk 

 home. As things go he has not done at 

 all badly, and his two brace of trout are at 

 any rate well earned. Moreover, the big 

 one is still there, and he can come again. 



