No  man  could  catch  him  under  these  circumstances,
but  the  hook  just  pricked  him  as  Nimrod  jerked  the
line  in — (7,  me  viiscruni,  but  it  was  a  sad  sight,  and  a
great  calamity.
Nimrod  stood  looking  at  me  with  a  sadness  in  his
face  which  well  becomes  a  fisherman  under  such  trying
circumstances,  and  for  a  while  uttered  no  word.  It  was
worse  than  useless  to  try  again.  That  fish  had  learned
too  much,  and  would  keep  very  still  and  be  very  wary
for  the  rest  of  the  day.
"Did  you  ever?"  slowly  muttered  Nimrod,  with  a
long,  mournful  interval  between  the  words.
"  No,  I  never,"  I  replied,  in  a  tone  equally  dolorous ;
and  that  is  the  entire  conversation  we  had  on  the
subject.
Matters  were  not  to  end  thus,  however.  About  an
hour  afterward  I  saw  on  a  pool  just  ahead  of  me  some
wrinkles  which  made  my  cheeks  turn  red  and  my  heart
bound  with  hope.  I  crept  as  cautiously  as  I  could  to
the  proper  point,  looked  at  my  fly,  saw  that  the  line
was  clear,  and  then  made  a  cast.  I  really  believe  that
fly  never  touched  water,  for  the  hungry  fish  took  him
on  the  wing.  A  quick  jerk,  and  the  hook  was  well
fastened  in  his  jaws.     Now  for  a  tussle  !

I  think  the  fish  was  taken  by  surprise.  He  lay  per-
fectly still  in  the  water  long  enough  for  me  to  reel  in
the  slack,  and  feel  of  him,  when,  comprehending  the
situation,  he  took  for  his  motto,  "  Liberty  or  Death,"


l62


Starboard  and  Port.
I  H


mm


and  made  a  bold  strike  for  the  former.  He  was  head-
ed up  stream,  and  the  way  he  traveled  was  a  marvel.
