The Highgrader | Page 8

found him again in the river just above the riffles. He fished
down the stream slowly, shortening his line as darkness settled over the
hills. His luck was rather worse than usual. The trout were nosing the
flies rather than striking with any appetite.
He was nearly opposite the Lodge when he noticed a fisherman in front
of him. Working steadily forward, Kilmeny found himself gaining on
the other. In order not to pass too near he struck out into the deeper
water toward the center of the river. When almost opposite the other he
heard a splash not twenty feet away, followed by the whirr of the reel
as the trout made for the deep water. From the shadows where his
unknown companion was obscured came the click of the line being
wound up. There was a flash of silver in the moonlight, and again the
rapid whirl of the reel.
"You've hooked a whale, neighbor," Kilmeny called across.
The voice that came back to him across the water was eager and glad.
Jack would have known its throb of youthful zest among a thousand.
"Must I let him have all the line he wants?"
Kilmeny waded toward her as he gave counsel. "Don't make it too easy
for him, but don't jerk. Keep his nose up if you can."

The humming of the reel and the steady click-click-click of the winding
alternated. The trout fought gamely and strongly, but the young woman
stuck to her work and would not give him any rest. Jack watched her
carefully. He saw that she was tiring, but he did not offer any help, for
he knew that she was a sportsman. She would want to win alone or not
at all.
Yet he moved closer. The water was up to her hips, and no river in the
Rockies has a swifter current than the Gunnison. The bottom too is
covered with smooth slippery stones and bowlders, so that a misstep
might send her plunging down. Deprived of the use of her landing pole,
she could make less resistance to the tug of the stream, and the four or
five pounds of dynamic energy at the end of her line would give her all
she could do to take care of for the next few minutes. Her pole was
braced against her body, which made reeling difficult. The man beside
her observed that except for a tendency to raise the pole too much she
was playing her trout like a veteran.
The thing that he had anticipated happened. Her foot slipped from its
insecure rock hold and she stumbled. His arm was round her waist in an
instant.
"Steady! Take your time."
"Thanks. I'm all right now."
His right arm still girdled her slight figure. It met with his approval that
she had not cried out or dropped her pole, but he would not take the
chance of an accident.
[Illustration: "HE'S HOOKED PRETTY FAST. TAKE YOUR TIME
ABOUT GETTING HIM INTO YOUR NET. THESE BIG FELLOWS
ARE LIKELY TO SQUIRM AWAY." (p. 33)]
The trout was tiring. Inch by inch she brought him nearer. Sometimes
he would dart away again, but each dash for liberty was shorter and
weaker than the last.

Presently she panted, "My landing net."
It was caught in the creel. Kilmeny unfastened the net and brought it
round where it would be ready for instant use.
"Tell me what I must do now."
"He's hooked pretty fast. Take your time about getting him into your
net, and be careful then. These big fellows are likely to squirm away."
It was a ticklish moment when she let go of the rod with her left hand
to slip the net under the trout, but she negotiated it in safety.
"Isn't he a whopper?" she cried in delight. "He won't go into the creel at
all."
"Then let me have him. The glory is yours. I'll be your gillie to carry
the game bag."
He got his fingers through its gill before he took the hook from the
mouth of the fish. Carrying the trout in one hand and his pole in the
other, he waded slowly through the swift water to the shore.
The girl's vibrant voice came to him as she splashed at his heels toward
the bank. "He's such a ripping good one. I'm so pleased. How much do
you think he will weigh?"
The young man took the catch far enough back from the river, so that
they could examine him in safety.
"My guess is six pounds. He's the biggest taken this year so far. I
congratulate you, Miss Dwight."
"I would never have got him if you hadn't been there to help me with
advice. But I really did it all myself, didn't I? If you