urpose of an anchor--overboard and settled down
comfortably to enjoy his favourite pastime, and also provide an
exceedingly welcome addition to the somewhat monotonous fare of camp
life.

The sport that afternoon was not so good as Harry had expected, and it
was drawing well on toward evening before the fish began to bite at all
freely--he was trying especially for a certain particularly delicious
kind of fish, something between a trout and a mullet, which was only to
be captured by allowing the hook to rest at the very bottom of the lake.
Suddenly he felt a smart tug at his line and at once began to haul it
in, but he had scarcely got it fairly taut when the tremulous jerk which
denoted the presence of a fish at the other end was exchanged for a
steady strain, and it soon became perfectly evident that the hook had
become entangled in something at the bottom. Now Escombe's stock of
fishing tackle was of exceedingly modest proportions, so much so,
indeed, that the loss of even a solitary hook was a matter not to be
contemplated with indifference, therefore he brought all his skill to
bear upon the delicate task of releasing the hook from its entanglement.

But at the end of half an hour he was no nearer to success than at the
beginning of his endeavours, while the sun was within a hand's breadth
of the horizon, and he had no fancy for being caught by the darkness
while on the lake, therefore he adopted other tactics, and strove to
bring the object, whatever it might be, to the surface by means of a
steady yet not dangerously powerful strain. Ah, that was better! At
the very first tug Escombe felt the resistance yield by the merest
hairs-breadth, and presently a faint jerk told him that he had gained
another fraction of an inch, which success was repeated every few
seconds until he was able to lift and drop the line a clear foot. Then
the sun's lower limb touched and rested for an instant upon the ridge of
the Western Cordilleras before it began to sink behind them, and Harry
realised that the moment for energetic measures had arrived; for he was
a good two miles from the shore, and it would take him the best part of
an hour to paddle his clumsy craft that distance. Therefore he steadily
increased the strain upon his line, determined to release himself one
way or another, even though at the cost of a hook. But it proved
unnecessary for him to make so great a sacrifice, it was the unknown
object that yielded, with l