e Nic stood, and the salmon was caught upon a sharp hook
at the end of a stout ash pole and dragged shoreward, flapping and
struggling with all its might.

The efforts were in vain, for its captor drew it in quickly, raising the
pole more and more till it was nearly perpendicular, as he came out from
behind the great block of dripping stone which had hidden him from Nic,
and, as it happened, stepped backward, till his fish was clear of the
water.

It was all the matter of less than a minute. The man, intent upon his
fish--a magnificent freshly-run salmon, glittering in its silver
scales--passed hand over hand along his pole, released his right, and
was in the act of reaching down to thrust a hooked finger in the opening
and closing gills to make sure of his prize in the cramped-up space he
occupied, when the end of the stout ash staff struck Nic sharply on his
leg.

But the man did not turn, attributing the hindrance to his pole having
encountered a stone or tree branch above his head, and any movement made
by Nic was drowned by the roar of the fall.

The blow upon the leg was sharp, and gave intense pain to its recipient,
whose temper was already rising at the cool impudence of the stout,
bullet-headed fellow, trespassing and poaching in open daylight upon the
Captain's grounds.

Consequently, Nic did take notice of the blow.

Stooping down as the end of the pole wavered in the air, he made a
snatch at and seized it, gave it a wrench round as the man's finger was
entering the gill of the salmon, and the hook being reversed, the fish
dropped off, there was a slight addition to the splashing in the pool,
and then it disappeared.

The next moment the man twisted himself round, holding on by the pole,
and stared up; while Nic, still holding on by the other end, leaned over
and stared down.

It was a curious picture, and for some moments neither stirred, the
poacher's not ill-looking face expressing profound astonishment at this
strange attack.

Then a fierce look of anger crossed it, and, quick as thought, he made a
sharp snatch, which destroyed Nic's balance, making him loosen his hold
of the pole and snatch at the nearest branch to check his fall.

He succeeded, but only for a moment, just sufficient to save himself and
receive another heavy blow from the pole, which made him lose his hold
and slip, more than fall, down to where he was on the same level with
his adversary, who drew back to strike again.