y 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,
and the line running out at both ends at once, and now my legs get
entangled in it, it is twisted all round me. He runs again and jumps,
the line comes back in my face, all slack, something has given. It
is the hook, it was not knotted on firmly to start with. He flings
himself out of the water once more to be sure that he is free, and I
sit down and gnaw the reel. Had ever anybody such bad fortune, but it
is just my luck!

I go back to the place where the reel fell in, and by pulling
cautiously I extract it from the stream. It shan't come off again; I
tie it on with the leather lace of one of my brogues. Then I reel up
the slack, and put on another fly, out of my cap, a Popham. Then I
fish down the rest of the pool. Near the edge, in the slower part of
the water, there is a long slow draw, before I can lift the point of
the rod, a salmon jumps high out of the water at me,--and is gone!
I never struck him, was too much taken aback at the moment; did not
expect him then. Thank goodness, the hook is not off this time.

The next stream is very deep, strong and narrow; the best chance is
close in on my side. By Jove, here he is, he took almost beside the
rock. He sails leisurely out into the strength of the stream, if he
will come up, I can manage him, but if he goes down, the water is
very s