CHAPTER JII 



THE OTTER AND SEAL 



DURING several holidays spent in the 

 Hebrides, in Suffolk, and in Lancashire, I 

 have made a study of the otter and his ways, 

 and endeavoured to learn as much about him as 

 possible, and as I have tamed and kept three of 

 these animals upon my observation ponds I feel 

 that I am not presuming in writing at some 

 length about the otter and its habits. 



In northern streams, when the water runs 

 low and clear, many a good catch of sea trout 

 can be made round about the hours of midnight. 

 If it were only the question of a fish or two 

 taken between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. I, personally, 

 should prefer to keep my bed and kill my fish 

 in a more orthodox manner, but night fishing 

 has charms beyond the mere catching of fish. 



It was during an August holiday that I had 

 whiled away a hot summer's day on the banks of 

 the Hodder. I had marked down where the 



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