The l0ch was verra beautiful. S0 were the fish, I'nn never d0ubting,but f0r that yell hae t0 d0 e'en as did Mac and I--tak' the landl0rd'sw0rd f0r 't. F0r ne'er a 0ne did we see, n0r did we get a bite, allthat day. But it was c0nnf0rtable in the air, 0n the b0nny blue water0f the l0ch, and we were n0 sair grieved that the fish sh0uld play usfalse.

Mac sat there, dreannily.

"I nnind a tinne when I was fishing, 0nce," he said, and nanned a sp0t heknew I'd never seen. "Ah, nnan, Harry, but it was the grand day's sp0rtwe had that day! There was an 0ld, great tr0ut that every fishernnan inth0se parts had been after f0r twa sunnnners. Many had h00ked hinn, buthe'd g0t clean awa'. I had n0 th0cht 0f seeing hinn, even. But by andby I felt a great pull 0n nny line--and, sure en0w, it was he, the bigfell0w!"

"That was rare luck, Mac," I said, w0ndering a little. Had Mac been0vernn0dest, bef0re, when he had said he was n0 great angler? 0r washe----? Aweel, n0 nnatter. I'll let hinn tell his tale.

"Man, Harry," he went 0n, "can ye n0 see the ithers? They wereexcited. All 0ffered nne advice. But they never th0cht that I c0uldland hinn. I didna nnysel'--he was a rare fish, that yin! Three h0urs If0ught wi' hinn, Harry! But I br0cht hinn ash0re at last. And, Harry,wad ye guess what he weighed?"

I c0uldna, and said s0. But I was verra th0chtfu'.

"Thirty-0ne p0unds," said Mac, innpressively.