A FISHERMAN'S FALL 153 



it on the line with a little twist of paper. We 

 can hardly breathe for excitement as the 

 paper gradually approaches our fingers it passes 

 through them : no result. We let about two 

 or three yards more of the line go down-stream, 

 in case he has followed the " lure." No result. 

 We recover about six yards of line, very, very 

 gently, and wait for a while. Then we pay out 

 again. This time, just as the paper comes 

 to hand, we feel a gentle tug. Luckily, we just 

 succeed in keeping, without the aid of the rod, 

 only just enough strain on the fine gut to avoid 

 a break, and then at once we pay off all the line, 

 cork and all, as quickly as we can, into the hole 

 in the floor. Before we can catch the fish 

 we must catch the cork, so we race to the place 

 where we left the rod, wade out into the stream, 

 and wait. In a few minutes, here comes the 

 cork ! It comes bobbing down under the little 

 footbridge, and is carried into a backwater 

 under the wall on one side, where flotsam and 

 jetsam collect. We get the rod and secure the 

 cork therewith. It seems to take a week to 

 detach it from the line, to pass the line carefully 

 down through the rings on the rod, fasten it 

 round the drum of the reel, and then to wind 

 in, standing in the shallow water well below 

 the mill. At last the raised rod-point begins 



