78 ON SURREY HILLS. 



but out jumped some fine roach, and a great pike 

 after them. He was one of the brightest, and for 

 his length the thickest, pike I had ever seen. We 

 looked at each other, dabchicks were forgotten, and 

 our only thought was how to get at the fish. What 

 to do we did not know, for if the pike ran into the 

 masses of weed a rod was useless, — no clothes-prop 

 would have pulled him out. So we agreed to sleep 

 on it ; and during the night my friend had a happy 

 inspiration. Next morning he showed me the most 

 rough-and-ready contrivance that it has ever been 

 my lot to see. He had a large hank of light olive- 

 green cord, thin but very strong, such as you would 

 use to hang a good-sized picture by. To this form 

 of line two feet of wire was firmly lashed, and this 

 again was securely lashed — whipped would by no 

 means express it — to a double hook. The wire 

 was of the same kind and of equal thickness as 

 that used to catch hares with. As my companion 

 observed, " It would pull the very old one himself 

 out, if he got the hooks in his gullet." The next 

 business was to catch bait : this was easily done, 

 for large roach abounded in the stream close at 

 hand. After the bait had been fixed, my friend 



