A Slippery Customer 



Away we went down the river. I kept a good tight 

 line on him, not wanting to get too far from my strike 

 in the growing darkness, and Ben assisted me by his 

 skillful handling of the boat. Then he sulked in the 

 bottom, and I thought again that I was hooked in 

 to a log. But no, once more he started, this time 

 up river and swimming deep, and as I knew he was 

 hooked on the end fly I prayed most earnestly that 

 the bob fly would not get foul of anything. 



He sulked again and I commenced to shorten line 

 and Ben worked the boat along until we were almost 

 over him. 



One more death struggle, and I had him almost 

 on the surface and close to the boat, and my thoughts 

 pictured the yearly medal hanging in my sanctum for 

 one winter at least. 



" Get the net ready, Ben," I said in a husky voice. 



" Huh," was all his reply, and as the bob fly came 

 over the gunwale of the boat the net passed under my 

 arm and with a dexterous flip Ben had him. 



Ye gods and shades of the immortal Izaak Walton. 

 A huge eel fully four feet long and almost as thick 

 as my wrist! 



" Ben," I said in a weary tone, " let us go home." 



" Huh." 



161 



