88 ANGLING 



did not intend having any more smashes. The fight lasted 

 a good way into a quarter of an hour, and Mr. Hopper had six 

 or seven real good runs away before the barbel would give in 

 and show up alongside of the boat, and when he did so and 

 caught sight of Witchdorter with the huge landing net in his 

 hand, down he bored again, but each effort was feebler than the 

 preceding one had been, and Witchdorter very shortly had him 

 in the net and then in the boat. He was a very short hand- 

 some well fed fish of 5lbs., and the play he had given was of a 

 very high order, and, need it be added, Mr. Hopper was some- 

 what elated at landing another five-pounder so early on in the 

 evening. 



Witchdorter had no luck he had one bite which he 

 missed, and then Mr. Hopper had hold again this time a 

 regular whacker, quite as big as that which had broken him the 

 night before. He rushed down the swim for at least 35 or 40 

 yards, boring down to the stones, and Mr. Hopper put all the 

 pressure he dare on him to get him into the river, and all at once 

 he made a bolt from the swim right into the middle of th 

 He stopped there a bit being quite 50 yards from the boat, and 

 Mr. Hopper began to reel him in, preparatory to his making 

 his second run, and had got him in about 15 yards when 

 went again and this time it was "good-bye." Needless to say, 

 Mr. Hopper wound up expecting to discover he had been 

 broken, but he found everything intact, so he came to the 

 conclusion that he must have hooked him lightly in the lip and 

 that the skin had given way. He certainly felt more than 

 double the weight of the five-pounders previously caught. For 

 some little time there was no response to either Mr. Hopper's 

 or Witchdorter's very pressing invitations to supper, but shortly 

 before it was time to "shut up shop" for the night, another 

 good tug let Mr. Hopper know he had hold once more. " Not 

 so big this time," quoth he to Witchdorter, " but all the same a 

 very game one." He led Mr. Hopper a pretty dance in the 

 quickly darkening shades of evening before he was 

 landed, and he was then found to be 3lbs. a nice plump fish 

 and in the pink of condition. 



