uld catch sight of
the silvery side of some fish as it turned over and glided through the
shoal. Then for a few minutes all would be perfectly still and calm--so
still that it was hard to imagine that there was a fish left in the
place.

And all the time the tide kept on retiring, and the water in the pool
lowering, till all at once there was a tremendous rush, a great silvery
fish flashed out into the air, and then fell flat upon its side, making
the drops fly sparkling in the sun.

"Salmon," cried Bigley, "and a big one."

"Well, let's catch him, then," cried Bob excitedly, the gloomy feeling
forgotten now in the excitement of the scene.

"Go on!" cried Bigley, handing him the net, and armed therewith Bob
began to wade about, hunting the salmon from side to side of the pool,
under my directions, for being high up on the dry, I could see the fish
far better than those who were wading.

But it was all labour in vain. Twice over Bob touched the salmon, but
it was too quick for him, and flung itself over the net splashing him
from head to foot, but only encouraging him to make fresh exertions.

"Here, you come and try!" he cried at last. "You're not tired. Do you
hear? You come and try, Sep Duncan. They're the slipperiest fishes I
ever saw."

I shook my head. I was dry, and meant to keep so now, and said so.

"It's of no use to try," said Bigley, "not till the water's nearly gone.
You can't catch 'em."

"Why, you knew that all along!" I cried.

"To be sure I did; but you wouldn't have believed me if I'd said so.
Let's wait. In half an hour it will be all right, and we can get the
lot."

So we waited impatiently, wading and creeping from stone to stone, and
trying to count the fish in the weir pool; but not very successfully,
for some we counted over and over again, and others were like the little
pig in the herd, they would not stand still to be counted.

All at once it seemed as if a big retiring wave left room for nearly all
the water left to run out, and though another wave came and drove some
back, the next one took it away, leaving room for the weir to drain, and
with a shout of triumph we charged down now at the luckless fish, which
were splashing about in about six inches of water among the sea-weed and
stones.

I forgot all about not meaning to get wet, for I was in over my
boot-tops directly. But what did it matter out there in the warm
sunshine and by the sea!

It was rare sport for