Latest / Historical Adventure Audiobooks / 🟡 Freaks on the Fells: Three Months' Rustication, Story 3 (Full Audiobook) | R. M. Ballantyne

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🟡 Freaks on the Fells: Three Months' Rustication, Story 3 (Full Audiobook) | R. M. Ballantyne · Historical Adventure Audiobooks

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: CHAPTER I. PAPERS FROM NORWAY NORWAY, 2ND JULY, 1868 Happening
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: to be in Norway just now, and believing that young
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: people feel an interest in the land of the old
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: sea kings, I send you a short account of my experiences.
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: Up to this date, I verily believe that there is
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: nothing in the wide world comparable to this island coast
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: of Norway. At this moment, we are steaming through a
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: region which the fairies might rejoice to inhabit. Indeed, the
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: fact that there are no fairies here goes far to
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: prove that there are none anywhere. What a thought! No fairies! Why,
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: all the romance of childhood would be swept away at
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: one fell blow if I were to admit the idea
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: that there are no fairies. Perish the matter-of-fact thought. Let
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: me rather conclude that, for some weighty though unknown reason,
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: the fairies have resolved to leave this island world uninhabited.
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: Fortune favours me. I have just come on deck, after
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: two days' voyage across the German ocean, to find myself
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: in the midst of innumerable islands, a dead calm. so
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: dead that it seems impossible that it should ever come
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: alive again, and scenery so wild, so gorgeous, that one
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: ceases to wonder where the Vikings of old got their fire,
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: their romance, their enterprise, and their indomitable pluck. It is warm, too,
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: and brilliantly sunny. On gazing at these tall grey rocks,
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: with the bright green patches here and there, and an
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: occasional red-tiled hut, one almost expects to see a fleet
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: of daring rovers dash out of a sequestered bay, with
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: their long yellow hair and big blue eyes and broad shoulders,
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: not to mention broadswords and ringmail and battle-axes. But one
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: does not always see what one expects. The days of
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: the sea-kings are gone by, and at this moment, rowing
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: out of one of these same sequestered bays, comes the
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: boat of a custom-house officer. Yes, there is no doubt
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: whatever about it. There he comes, a plain-looking unromantic man
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: in a foraging cap, with a blue surtout and brass buttons,
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: about as light to a sea-king as a man-of-war is
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: to a muffin. Of course, the scenery is indescribable. No
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: scenery is describable. In order that my reader may judge
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: of the truth of this statement, I append the following description.
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: There are islands round us of every shape and size,
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: all of them more or less barren, the greater part
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: of their surfaces being exposed grey rock. Here and there
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: may be seen, as I have already hinted, Small patches
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: of bright green, and sparsely scattered everywhere, are little red-roofed
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: wooden cottages, poor enough things most of them, others gaudy-looking
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: affairs with gable ends, white faces, and windows bordered with green.
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: All of these are, while I ride, reflected in the
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: water as in a mirror, for there is not a
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: breath of wind. Over the islands on my left are
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: seen more islands extending out to sea. On the right tower,
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: up the blue hills of the interior of Old Norway,
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: and although the weather is excessively hot, many of these
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: are covered with snow. Everything is light and transparent and
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: thin and blue and glassy and fairy-like and magically beautiful
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: and altogether delightful. There, have you made much of all that,
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: good reader? If you have, be thankful, for as I
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: set out by saying, description of scenery, at least to
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: any good purpose, is impossible. The description of a man, however,
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: is quite another thing. Here is our pilot. He is
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: a rugged man, with fair hair, and a yellow face,
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: and a clay-coloured chin, and a red nose. He is
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: small in stature, and thin, insignificant in appearance, deeply miserable
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: in aspect. His garments are black glazed oiled cloth from
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: head to foot, and immensely too large for him, especially
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: the waistcoat, which is double-breasted, and seems to feel that
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: his trousers are not a sufficient covering for such a
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: pair of brittle-looking legs. for it extends at least half-way
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: down to his knees. The flap of his sou'wester, also,
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: comes half-way down his back. He is a wonderful object
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: to look upon, yet he has the audacity, so it
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: seems to me, to take us in charge, and our
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: captain has the foolhardiness to allow him. If one goes
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: out of the beaten tracks of roots in Norway, one
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: is apt to get into difficulties of a minor kind.
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: I happen to be travelling just now with a party
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: of four friends, of whom three are ladies, to force
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: a jolly young fellow fresh from college. A few days
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: ago we had a few unusual experiences, even for Norway.
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: On leaving Bergen we had made up our minds, as
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: the steamer did not sail to within about sixty miles
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: of our destination, to get ourselves and our luggage put
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: down at a small hamlet at the mouth of the Nordfjord,
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: and there engage two large boats to transport us the
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: remaining sixty miles up the fjord. The ladies of our
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: party valorously resolved to set up all night to see
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: the magnificent island scenery through which we were passing, under
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: the influence of the charming and subdued daylight of midnight,
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: for there is no night here just now. As for myself,
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: being an old traveller, I have become aware that sleep
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: is essential to a comfortable and useful existence. I therefore
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: bade my friends good night, took a farewell look at
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: the bright sky and the islands and the sleeping sea,
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: and went below to bed. Next day, we spent steaming
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: along the island coast. At one o'clock on the following morning,
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: we reached Moldeoen, where the steamer landed us on a
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: rock on which were a few acres of grass and
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: half a dozen wooden houses. We had a good deal
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: of luggage with us, also some casks, cases, and barrels
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: of provisions, and a pianoforte, as our place of sojourn
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: is somewhat out of the way and far removed from
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: civilised markets. A few poverty-stricken natives stood on the rude
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: stone pier as we landed, and slowly assisted us to unload.
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: At the time, I conceived that the idiotical expression of
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: their countenances was the result of being roused at untimely hours,
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: but their subsequent experience led me to change my mind
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: in regard to this. In half an hour, the steamer
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: puffed away into the mysterious depths of one of the
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: dark blue fjords, and we were left on a desolate island,
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: like Robinson Cruiserway, with our worldly goods around us. Most
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: of the natives we found so stupid that they could
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: not understand our excellent Norse. One fellow in particular might
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: as well have been a piece of mahogany as a man.
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: He stood looking at me with stolid imbecility while I
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: was talking to him, and made no reply when I
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: had done. In fact, the motion of his eyes as
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: he looked at me alone betrayed the fact that he
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: was flesh and blood. We soon found that two boats
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: were not to be had, that almost all the men
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: of the place were away deep-sea fishing, and would not
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: be back for many hours, and that when they did
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: come back they would be so tired as to require
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: at least half a day's rest ere they could undertake
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: so long a journey with us. However, they sent a
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: man off in a boat to search for as many
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: boatmen as could be found. He was away an hour.
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: During this period the few inhabitants who had turned out
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: to see the steamer disappeared, and we were left alone
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: on the beach. There was no inn here, no one
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: cared for us, Every place seemed dirty with the exception
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: of one house, which had a very lonely and deserted aspect,
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: so we did not venture to disturb it. In the
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: course of time the messenger returned. No men were to
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: be found except three. This was not a sufficient crew
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: for even one large boat. We required two. A feeling
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: that we were homeless wanderers came over us now, and each,
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: seating himself or herself on a box or a portmanteau,
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: began to meditate. Seeing this, the three men coolly lay
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: down to rest in the bow of their boat, and
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: drawing a sail over them, were quickly sound asleep. The
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: act suggested the idea that we could not do better,
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: so we placed two portmanteaus end to end, and thus
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: made a couch about six feet long. A box, somewhat higher,
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: placed at one end, served for a pillow, and on
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: this one of the ladies lay down, flat on her back,
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: of course, that being the only possible position under the circumstances.
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: A shawl was thrown over her, and she went to
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: sleep like an effigy on a tombstone. Another of the
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: ladies tried a similar couch, but as boxes of equal
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: height could not be found, her position was not enviable.
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: The third lady preferred an uneasy posture among the ribs
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: and cordage of the boat, and I lay down on
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: the paving stones of the quay, having found from experience that,
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: in the matter of beds, flatness is the most indispensable
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: of qualities, while hardness is not so awful as one
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: might suppose.' where my comrade the collegian went to, I
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: know not. Presently, one of the ladies got up and
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: said that this would never do, that the next day
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: was Sunday, and that we were in duty bound to
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: do our best to reach the end of our journey
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: on Saturday night. Thus admonished, my comrade and I started
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: up and resolved to become men, that is, to act
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: as boatmen. No sooner said than done. We roused the
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: three sleepers, embarked the most important half of our luggage,
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: left the other half in charge of the native with
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: the idiotic countenance, with directions to take care of it
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: and have it forwarded as soon as possible, and, at
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: a little after two in the morning, pulled vigorously away
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: from the inhospitable shores of Moldeoen. We started on our
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: sixty miles journey hopefully, and went on our way for
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: an hour or so with spirit, but when two hours
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: had elapsed, my companion and I began to feel the
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: effects of rowing with unaccustomed muscles rather severely, and gazed
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: with envy at the three ladies who lay coiled up
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: in an indescribable heap of shoals and crinolines in the
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: stern of the boat, sound asleep. They needed sleep, poor things,
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: not having rested for two days and two nights. But
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: my poor friend was more to be pitied than day.
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: Having scorned to follow my example and take rest when
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: he could get the chance, he now found himself unexpectedly
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: called on to do the work of a man when
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: he could not keep his eyes open. When our third
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: hour began, I saw that he was fast asleep at
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: the oar, lifting it indeed and dipping it in proper time,
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: but without pulling the weight of an ounce upon it.
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: I therefore took it from him, and told him to
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: take half an hour's nap, when I would wake him up,
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: and expect him to take the oars and give me
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: a rest. On being relieved, he dropped his head on
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: a sugar-cask, and was sound asleep in two minutes. I
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: now felt drearily dismal. I began to realize the fact
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: that we had actually pledged ourselves to work without intermission
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: for the next eighteen or twenty hours, of which two
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: only had run. and I felt sensations akin to what
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: must have been those of the galley-slaves of old. In
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: the midst of many deep thoughts and cogitations, during that
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: silent morning hour, when all were asleep around me save
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: the three mechanical-looking boatmen, and when the only sounds that
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: met my ears were the dip of the oars and
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: the deep breathing, to give it no other name, of
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: the slumberers, in the midst of many deep thoughts, I
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: say I came to the conclusion that in my present
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: circumstances the worst thing I could do was to think.
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: I remembered the fable of the pendulum that became so
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: horrified at the thought of the number of ticks it
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: had to perform in a lengthened period of time that
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: it stopped in despair, and I determined to shut down
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: my intellect. Soon after, my shoulders began to ache, and
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: in process of time I felt a sensation about the
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: small of my back that induced the alarming belief that
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: the spinal marrow was boiling. Presently, my wrists became cramped,
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: and I felt a strong inclination to pitch the oars overboard,
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: lie down in the bottom of the boat, and howl.
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: But feeling that this would be unmanly, I restrained myself.
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: Just then my companion in sorrow began to snore, so
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: I awoke him, and, giving him the oars, went to sleep.
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: From this period everything in the history of that remarkable
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: day became unconnected, hazy, and confusing. I became to some
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: extent mechanical in my thoughts and actions. I rowed and rested,
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: and rowed again. I ate and sang, and even laughed.
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: My comrade did the same, like a true Briton, for
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: he was game to the backbone. But the one great, grand,
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: never-changing idea in the day was pull, pull, pull. We
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: had hoped during the course of that day to procure assistance,
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: but we were unsuccessful. We passed a number of fishermen's huts,
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: but none of the men would consent to embark with us.
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: At last, late that night, we reached a small farm
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: about two-thirds of the way up the fjord, where we
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: succeeded in procuring another large boat with a crew of
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: five men. Here also we obtained a cup of coffee,
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: and while we were awaiting the arrival of the boat,
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: I lay down on the pier and had a short nap.
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: None but those who have toiled for it can fully
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: appreciate the blessings of repose. It was a clear, calm
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: night when we resumed our boat journey. The soft daylight
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: threw a species of magical effect over the great mountains
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: and the glassy fjord as we rowed away with steady
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: and vigorous strokes, and I lay down in the bow
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: of the boat to sleep. The end of the mast
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: squeezed my shoulder, the edge of a cask of beef
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: well-nigh stove in my ribs, the corner of a box
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: bored a hole in the nape of my neck. Yet
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: I went off like one of the famed seven sleepers,
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: and my friend, though stretched out beside me in similarly
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: unpropitious circumstances, began to snore in less than five minutes
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: after he had laid down. The last sounds I heard
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: before falling into a state of oblivion were the voices
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: of our fair companions joining in that most beautiful of
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: our sacred melodies, the evening hymn, ere they lay down
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: to rest in the stern of the boat. Next morning
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: at nine we arrived at the top of the fjord,
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: and at the end, for a time at least, of
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: our journeying. End of chapter 1 CHAPTER II. SALMON FISHING
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: EXTRAORDINARY NORWAY, 14TH JULY, 1868 Yesterday was a peculiar day
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: in my experience of salmon fishing in Norway. The day
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: was dull when I set out for the river, seven
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: miles distant, in a small boat with a Norseman. A
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: seven miles pull was not a good beginning to a
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: day's salmon fishing, the weight of my rod being quite
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: sufficient to try the arms without that, but there was
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: no help for it. Arrived there, I got a native,
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: named Anders, to carry the bag and gaff. Anders is
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: a fair youth, addicted to going about with his mouth open,
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: with a mild countenance and a turned-up nose. Good weather
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: for fishing, Anders, said I, in Norse. Ja, said he.
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: My good God. Very good. This was the extent of
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: our conversation at that time, for we came suddenly on
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: the first pool in the river, and I soon perceived that,
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: although the weather was good enough, the river was so
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: flooded as to be scarcely fishable, and now began a
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: series of petty misfortunes that gradually reduced me to a
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: state of misery which was destined to continue throughout the
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: greater part of that day, but hope told me flattering tales,
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: not to say stories, for a considerable time, and it
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: was not until I had fished the third pool without
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: seeing a fin that my heart began fairly to sink.
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: The day, too, had changed from a cloudy to a
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: rainy one, and Anders' nose began to droop while his
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: face elongated visibly. Feeling much depressed, I sat down on
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: a wet stone in my wet garments and lunged off
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: a moist biscuit, a piece of tongue, and a lump
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: of cheese. This was consoling, as far as it went,
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: but it did not go far. The misty clouds obliterated
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: the mountains, the rain drizzled from the skies, percolated through
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: the brim of my hat, trickled down my nose, and
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: dropped upon my luncheon.' Now we shall go to the river, Anders,'
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: said I. Anders assented, as he would have done had
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: I proposed going down the river, or across the river,
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: or anywhere in the wide world.' for, as I said
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: it in English, he did not understand me. Evidently, he
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: did not care whether he understood me or not. Up
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: the river we went, to the best pool in it.
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: The place was a torrent, unfishable, so deep that I
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: could not wade in far enough to cast over the
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: spot where fish are wont to lie. In making a
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: desperate effort to get far in, I went over the boot-top,
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: and my legs and feet, which hitherto had been dry,
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: had immediate cause to sympathise with the rest of my persons.
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: Anders' face became longer than ever. All the best pools
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: in the river were tried, but without success, and at last,
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: towards evening, we turned to retrace our steps down the valley.
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: On the way, I took another cast into the best pool,
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: going deeper than the waist into the water in order
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: to cast over the right spot. The effort was rewarded.
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: I hooked a fish and made for the bank as
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: fast as possible. My legs were like solid pillars or
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: enormous sausages, by reason of the long boots being full
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: to bursting with water. To walk was difficult. To run,
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: in the event of the fish requiring me to do so, impossible.
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: I therefore lay down on the bank and tossed both
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: legs in the air to let the water run out,
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: holding on to the fish the while. The water did
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: run out. It did more. It ran right along my
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: backbone to the nape of my neck, completing the saturation
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: which the rain had hitherto failed to accomplish. But I
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: had hooked the fish and heeded it not. He was
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: a small one, only ten pounds, so we got him
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: out quickly and without much trouble. Yet this is not
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: always the case. Little fish are often the most obstreperous
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: and the most troublesome. It was only last week that
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: I hooked and landed a twenty-eight pound salmon, and he
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: did not give me half the trouble that I experienced
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: from one which I caught yesterday. Well, having bagged him,
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: we proceeded on our homeward way, Anders' face shortening visibly
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: and his nose rising, while my own spirits began to improve.
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: At another pool I tried again, and almost at the
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: first cast hooked an eighteen-pounder, which Anders gaffed after about
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: twenty minutes' play. We felt quite jolly now, although it
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: rained harder than ever, and we went on our way rejoicing.
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: Anders' countenance reduced to its naturally short proportions. Presently we
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: came to an old weir, or erection for catching fish,
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: as they ascend the river, where lies one of our
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: favourite pools. The water was running down it like a mill-race.
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: Pent up by the artificial dike, the whole river in
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: this place gushes down in a turbulent rapid. There was
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: one comparatively smooth bit of water, which looked unpromising enough, but,
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: being in hopeful spirits now, I resolved on a final cast.
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: About the third cast, a small trout rose at the fly.
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: Greedy little monsters have a tendency to do this. Many
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: a small trout have I hooked with a salmon fly
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: as large as its own head. Before I could draw
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: the line to cast again, The usual heavy wobble of
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: a salmon occurred near the fly. It was followed by
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: the whir of the reel as the line flew out
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: like lightning, soiling right through the skin of my fingers, which,
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: by the way, are now so seamed and scarred that
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: writing is neither so easy nor so pleasant as it
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: used to be. The burst that now ensued was sudden
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: and tremendous. The salmon flashed across the pool, then up
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: the pool, then down the pool. It was evidently bent
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: on mischief. My heart misgave me, for the place is
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: a bad one, all full of sin. and stones, with
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: the furious rapid before mentioned just below, and the rough,
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: unsteady stones of the old dike as an uncertain pathway
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: to gallop over should the fish go down the river.
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: I held on stoutly for a few seconds as he
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: neared the head of the rapid, but there is a
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: limit to the endurance of rods and tackle. What made
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: the matter worse was that the dike on which she
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: stood terminated in a small island, to get from which
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: to the shore necessitated swimming, and if he should go
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: down the big rapid there was little chance of his
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: stopping until he should reach the foot of it, far
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: below this island. All at once he turned tail and
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: went down head first. I let the line fly now,
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: keeping my fingers well clear of it.' He' s off, Anders!'
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: I shouted, as I took to my heels at full speed.' Haroo- oo- oo!'
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: yelled the Norseman, flying after me with the gaff.' How
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: I managed to keep my footing in the rush over
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: the broken dike I know not. It is a marvel
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: to me. The bushes on the island overhung the water,
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: the earth having been cut away by the force of
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: the rapid. I tried to pull up because they were
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: too thick to crash through, but the fish willed it otherwise.
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: The line was getting low on the reel, the rod
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: bent double. Presently I had to straighten it out.' In
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: another moment I was in the water over the boots,
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: which filled, of course, in a moment, but this did
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: not impede me as long as I was in deep water.
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: I was forsaken at this point by Anders, who sought
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: and found a safe passage to the mainland, where he
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: stood gazing at me, with his eyes blazing and his
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: mouth wide open. I soon reached the end of the island,
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: to my horror, for I had not previously taken particular
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: note of the formation of the land there. A gulf
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: of water, of five or six yards broad, of unknown depth,
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: lay between me and that shore, by which in the
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: natural course of things I should have followed my fish
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: as far as he chose. The rapid itself looked less
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: tremendous than this deep black hole. I hesitated, but the
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: salmon did not. Still down he went. Now then, thought I,
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: hole or rapid? The question was settled for me, for
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: before I could decide, I was hauled into the rapid.
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: No doubt I was a more than half-witting captive. Anyhow,
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: willing or not willing, down I went. Ah, what a
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: moment of ease and relief for him exertion was that
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: when I went a little deeper than the waist, and
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: found myself borne pleasantly along on tiptoe, as light as
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: one of those beautiful balls with which juveniles, in these
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: highly favoured days, are wont to sport in the fields.
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: And oh, how my spirit seemed to gush out through
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: my mouth and nose, or out at the top of
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: my head, when the cold water encircled my neck as
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: I lost my footing altogether, and struck out with my
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: right hand, endeavouring the while to support my rod in
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: the left. I heard Anders gasp at this point, but
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: I saw him not. In another second, my knees came
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: into violent contact with the rock. Alas, every motion of
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: my body, as I now write, reminds me painfully of
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: that crash. Immediately after this, I was sprawling up the bank,
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: having handed the rod to Anders to hold, while I
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: tossed my legs again in the air to get rid
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: of the water which weighed me down like lead. How
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: earnestly I wished that I could tear these boots off
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: and fling them away! But there was no time for that.
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: On regaining my legs, I seized the rod and found
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: that the salmon had brought up in an eddy created
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: by the tail of the gravel bank in the centre
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: of the river between two rapids.' Good!' I gasped blandly.
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: Ander smiled. Presently I found that it was the reverse
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: of good, for when I tried to wind on the
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: line and move the fish— I perceived that the resistance
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: offered was not like that of a salmon, but a stump.
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: I do believe he's gone, I exclaimed. Anders became grave.
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: No fish there, said I, gloomily. Anders' face elongated. He
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: has wound a line round his stump and broken off,
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: said I, in despair. Woe of the deepest profundity was
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: depicted on Anders' visage. For a full five minutes I
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: tried every imaginable device, short of breaking the rod, to
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: clear the line. In vain. Then I gave the rod
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: to Anders to hold, and, taking the gaff with me,
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: I went sockily up the river, and again taking to
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: the water, made my way to the head of the
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: gravel bank, over which I walked slowly, oppressed in spirit,
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: and weighed down by those abominable boots which had once
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: more failed to overflowing. Waterproof boots are worse than useless
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: for this sort of work. but happily this is not
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: the usual style of thing that one experiences in Norwegian fishing.
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: It is only occasionally that one enjoys a treat of
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: the kind. In the middle of the gravel bank the
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: water was only three inches deep, so I lay down
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: on my back and, once again elevating my ponderous legs
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: in the air, allowed a cataract of water to flow
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: over me. Somewhat lightened, I advanced into the hole. It
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: was deeper than I thought. I was up to the
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: middle in a moment, and sighed as I thought of
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: the boots, full again. Before I reached the line the
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: water was up to my shoulders, but it was the
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: still water of the eddy. I soon caught the line,
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: and found that it was round a stump, as I
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: had feared. With a heavy heart I eased it off, when, lo!
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: a tug sent an electric shock through my benumbed body,
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: and I saw the salmon not three yards off at
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: the bottom of the pool. He also saw me, and
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: darting in terror from side to side, wound the line
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: round me. I passed it over my head, however, and
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: was about to let it go to allow Anders to
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: play it out and finish the work, when the thought
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: occurred that I might play it myself by running the
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: line through my fingers when he should pull and hauling
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: in when he should stop. I tried this successfully. In
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: half a minute more I drew him to within the
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: yard of my side, gaffed him near the tail, and
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: carried him up the gravel bank under my arm. He
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: was not a large fish after all, only thirteen pounds. Nevertheless,
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: had he been fresh, it would have been scarcely possible
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: for me to hold his strong, slippery body. Even when exhausted,
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: he gave me some trouble. Gaining the shallowest part of
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: the bank, I fell on my knees, cramped the fingers
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: of my left hand into his mouth and gills, and
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: held him down while I terminated his career with a stone. Thereafter,
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: I fixed the hook more securely in his jaw, and,
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: launching him into the rapid, left Anders to haul him out,
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: while I made the best of my way to the shore.
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: This is about the roughest experience I have yet had
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: of salmon fishing in Norway. The season this year bids
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: fair to be a pretty good one. I have had
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: about twelve days fishing, and have caught sixteen fish, weighing
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: together two hundred and seventy-six pounds, two of them being
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: twenty-eight pounders.