254 TROUT FISHING 



absorbing them ; but now they were loud, 

 and growing louder, almost harsh. That 

 meant the coming of a wind. Would 

 the wind awake the whustler? Time 

 would tell. It did ; and soon. 



When the curl on the water reached 

 us Ronald took to the oars again. A 

 very slight breeze is sufficient to set a 

 boat moving ; and, of course, the extent of 

 our line allowing next to no latitude, we 

 had to keep, in relation to the whustler 

 until he moved, nearly perpendicular. 

 That was not a task so easy as those 

 who are unused to boats may imagine, 

 and Ronald did not enjoy it. Each 

 minute the air, at first a zephyr, was 

 increasing ; and amid such conditions it 

 is almost impossible to keep a boat exactly 

 where you want. A few yards in any 

 direction would again take us to the end 

 of the tether ; and then ? 



Happily, the need to consider the 

 query was postponed. The whustler 

 moved. Perhaps the ripple attracted 

 him. The surmise was in accord with a 



