and that
delicious sound--an alarm of the reel.

This was precisely my case, and from the evidences permitted it should
have been a worthy fish which, so suddenly welcome, intruded upon
reverie. One of the disadvantages of boat fishing in a big, strongly
flowing Norway river, is the prolonged chances given to your fish by
the necessity of going ashore to land him. We had now to tow this
unknown quantity close upon a hundred yards across before we could gain
the shore, and the hooked one was resisting all the time. It turned
out to be a 3-lb. sea trout, hooked foul. For a little while there was
seldom a cast without at least a rise. Twice the fish broke water
heavily without touching the feathers, and that is comparatively an out
of the way occurrence. Two or three times they just touched the hook,
ran out a yard or so of line, fluttered on the top of the water, and
were off. This is one of the common phases of sea-trout fishing; it
just now showed that the fish were in a different temper from that of
the pre-luncheon era, when there was no moving them, whether truly or
falsely. There was, at any rate, a change, promising that sooner or
later they would fall into a really gripping mood. Sea trout are
indeed kittle cattle. There are days when the fish one and all seize
the fly boldly and are fastened beyond recall, while for days in
succession they touch the hook only to get off the moment a fair strain
is realised.

Three times during this fast-and-loose interval was the fly changed.
Now it was a Jock Scott with double hook, now a Durham Ranger on single
hook, now the Bulldog again. The latter, however, was out of favour,
and I rummaged out from the box a Fiery Brown, which I had selected
with some others from the stock of Little (of the Haymarket), who
happened to be in Norway at the time inspecting certain salmon and
trout rivers, with days of fishing in the intervals, and who was good
enough to allow me to take what I wanted from his book on the morning
of his departure for England. The Fiery Brown did very well. It
brought me in succession fish of 4 1/2 lb., 3 lb., and 2 1/2 lb., and
others, so that at four o'clock in the afternoon, instead of two small
sea trout in the boat, I had ten, and was quite satisfied if they
remained at that figure.

On this last day I did not, however, care to lose sight for ever of
that half-hearted sea trout which had baulked me at starting up at the
island. A., althoug