152 AN ANGLER'S SEASON 



astonishing was it, I could only stand 



and watch. What wizardry could the 



man be using ? There was no clue. 



With a very short line, the angler, every 



time he came back from basketing a 



trout, dropped a lure upon the water just 



as one might have dropped a worm had 



the stream been flooded and discoloured ; 



yet it could not be a worm he was plying. 



Before seizing a worm the trout usually 



waits until it is well below the surface ; 



but in this case a fish leapt at the 



lure the moment it touched the water. 



Then, if one could forget some lady or 



another upset by the excitement of her 



first rise, who had ever seen trout so 



unceremoniously treated ? The fellow 



did not play them. He merely struck, 



hooked, and tossed them out. How 



thick his cast must be! or, if the gut 



were as fine as is commonly deemed 



desirable, how marvellously strong ! The 



fish he was catching were not small ; 



they were, indeed, well above the local 



average. The least considerable seemed 



