XXI 
FOUR YEARS LATER 
ITTLE or no sun _ greeted the opening 
day. It was in fact cloudy, and on the 
Mooi was that ripple which maketh glad 
the heart of the wet-fly fisherman. On 
sunless water there cannot be the usual shadow; 
trout are apprehensive of shadows. To the butcher 
and the woodcock-and-hare’s-ear trout soon rose, 
but were quickly missed in the old sweet way. 
Each time the turn of the wrist was a fraction 
of a second too late. Had the hand lost its 
cunning? At last, after an hour’s honest fishing, 
a half-pounder hooked itself, and, after a game 
struggle, was received into the net; two more 
trout were caught soon afterwards, Each fish was 
in the pink of condition. Steady fishing, as time 
wore on, added two more to the bag, and the 
tally then stopped—total, five trout, averaging 
half a pound each. It was clear that August rst 
was justified as opening day. Trout could scarcely 
have been in better condition. 
One of the five trout had what might be fairly 
termed an “appetite.” He had gone gamely for 
the fly, and, on being landed, emitted a frog ! 
