250 TROUT FISHING 



ten ; fifteen ; and then it dawned upon me 

 that, though tearing over the loch at the 

 truculent will of the whustler had been 

 fearsome work, we were not now very- 

 much better off. At least, we were not 

 perceptibly further forward. There was 

 no disguising the fact that the enemy had 

 us at a disadvantage. Excepting that I 

 had to keep in constant touch with him 

 and be sure he was still there, we had 

 nothing whatever to do. The shades of 

 night were falling ; we were fixed on 

 a cold wilderness of water with neither 

 food nor drink ; and it had become evi- 

 dent that we might have to stay there 

 indefinitely unless we were willing to cut 

 the painter and scuttle home defeated and 

 disgraced. 



That, of course, was not to be thought 

 of. 



" What's to be done, Ronald ? " 



"That I canna' tell, sir. I've never 

 been in sic a scrape as this before." 



" O, surely : it often happens : a 

 salmon often lies doggo." 



