202 A Sportsman at Large 



not careless in bending on casts or flies. I can only imagine 

 that my excitement and the fading light had caused me to 

 miss an essential twist in the connecting loop. 



But I got that cast back also the fly also the fish, a nineteen 

 pounder ! 



" Oh, come ! " you will exclaim. " Take a pull, Cockie ! " 



I did take " a pull " (and a very hefty one, to wit), two days 

 later, in a small pool, some three-quarters of a mile above Solem. 

 When this fish came to the gaff, there was my " black dog" in 

 his upper jaw and the whole length oj my cast intact ! 



And yet they say that a salmon hooked, or even pricked, 

 will not take again for at least three weeks. Perhaps my 

 joker was that brilliant exception which, so it is said, con- 

 veniently lends itself to the demonstration of the rule. 



Meanwhile, a day's sport had intervened such as I shall ever 

 remember, so thoroughly sporting and altogether satisfying 

 was it. 



The Surendal and its sister river the Sundal, like many other 

 of the comparatively short rivers in Norway, are dependent 

 for their supply of water on the melting snows and glaciers 

 from their common water-shed in the adjacent mountains. 



For some time preceding our arrival the skies had been 

 clear and a fierce sun had been ablaze ; so that we now found 

 the Surendal in excellent ply. 



Needless to say that, on the morning following my disaster 

 in the Solem pol, I was up betimes and ready to accompany 

 the trusty Peter, whose plan of operations was to proceed to 

 the furthest limit of our stretch and fish the whole of it from 

 end to end. There was a fairly heavy fall some twelve yards 

 below where we were to commence operations. My boatman 

 informed me that when the river was at the height which it 

 now presented, the running fish were apt to take rest in a 

 deepish trench or pocket just above the run. He prophesied 

 that if one or more were there this morning they would be 

 almost sure to respond to my call. 



And so it proved, for my very first cast was followed by a 

 lusty boil, but the fish came short ; I was not in the humour to 

 allow the traditional ten minutes law ; so immediately cast 

 again. No mistake this time. Sure enough, I was fast, and 



