noticing it, as to lose most things. Here is a big Silver Doctor that
may do as the water is thick. I put one on, and begin again casting
over where that fish rose. By George, there he came at me, at least
I think it must have been at me, a great dark swirl, "the purple wave
bowed over it like a hill," but he never touched me. Give him five
minutes law, the hook is sure to be well fastened on, need not bother
looking at that again. Five minutes take a long time in passing, when
you are giving a salmon a rest. Good times and bad times and all times
pass, so here goes. It is correct to begin a good way above him and
come down to him. I'm past him; no, there is a long heavy drag under
water, I get the point up, he is off like a shot, while I stand in a
rather stupid attitude, holding on. If I cannot get out and run down
the bank, he has me at his mercy. I do stagger out, somehow, falling
on my back, but keeping the point up with my right hand. No bones
broken, but surely he is gone! I begin reeling up the line, with a
heavy heart, and try to lift it out of the water. It won't come, he
is here still, he has only doubled back. Hooray! Nothing so nice
as being all alone when you hook a salmon. No gillie to scream out
contradictory orders. He is taking it very easy, but suddenly he moves
out a few yards, and begins jiggering, that is, giving a series of
short heavy tugs. They say he is never well hooked, when he jiggers.
The rod thrills unpleasantly in my hands, I wish he wouldn't do that.
It is very disagreeable and makes me very nervous. Hullo! he is off
again up-stream, the reel ringing like mad: he gets into the thin
water at the top, and jumps high in the air. He is a monster. Hullo!
what's that splash? The reel has fallen off, it was always loose, and
has got into the water. How am I to act now? He is coming back like
mad, and all the line is loose, and I can't reel up. I begin pulling
at the line to bring up the reel, but the reel only lets the line
out, and now he is off again, down stream this time, and I after him,