XVI 

 THE OTTER 



JUST as no pure stream is without trout, so 

 no trout stream is without otter. From 

 the river to the rill it is found. It follows 

 the shifting quarry into the tributaries and 

 up the feeders. The hill burn, with the dark 

 peaty pools overhung with heather, is occasion- 

 ally visited. It crosses the land to the still 

 ditches, swollen only by heavy rain, or flushed in 

 times of overflow. 



Perhaps its home is where a long cast can just 

 place the tail hook on the shadow of the far side. 

 This is known in Scotland as a " water." It 

 likes to be within easy reach of the land, to bring 

 its capture to the bank, to shake its fur free from 

 the drops, to have its evening gambol on the dry 

 grass. Too shy is it to remain long in the burn 

 where every boy guddles, and hiding is but scant. 

 Lately, the hounds were tried on the Kenley, 

 a favourite trouting burn near St. Andrews, but 

 they will not be taken back. No otter was 

 found, and if one had been it could not have lived 

 many minutes. 



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