第20章 Big Two-Hearted River (II)(2)

The first grasshopper gave a jump in the neck of the bottle and went out into the water. He was sucked under in the whirl by Nick's right leg and came to the surface a little way down stream. He floated rapidly， kicking. In a quick circle， breaking the smooth surface of the water， he disappeared. A trout had taken him.

Another hopper poked his face out of the bottle. His antennæ wavered. He was getting his front legs out of the bottle to jump. Nick took him by the head and held him while he threaded the slim hook under his chin， down through his thorax and into the last segments of his abdomen. The grasshopper took hold of the hook with his front feel， spitting tobacco juice on it. Nick dropped him into the water.

Holding the rod in his right hand he let out line against the pull of the grasshopper in the current. He stripped off line from the reel with his left hand and let it run free. He could see the hopper in the little waves of the current. It went out of sight.

There was a tug on the line. Nick pulled against the taut line. It was his first strike. Holding the now living rod across the current， he brought in the line with his left hand. The rod bent in jerks， the trout pumping against the current. Nick knew it was a small one. He lifted the rod straight up in the air. It bowed with the pull.

He saw the trout in the water jerking with his head and body against the shifting tangent of the line in the stream.

Nick took the line in his left hand and pulled the trout， thumping tiredly against the current， to the surface. His back was mottled the clear， water-over-gravel color， his side flashing in the sun. The rod under his right arm， Nick stooped， dipping his right hand into the current. He held the trout， never still， with his moist right hand， while he unhooked the barb from his mouth， then dropped him back into the stream.

He hung unsteadily in the current， then settled to the bottom beside a stone. Nick reached down his hand to touch him， his arm to the elbow under water. The trout was steady in the moving stream， resting on the gravel， beside a stone. As Nick's fingers touched him， touched his smooth， cool， underwater feeling he was gone， gone in a shadow across the bottom of the stream.

He's all right， Nick thought. He was only tired.

He had wet his hand before he touched the trout， so he would not disturb the delicate mucus that covered him. If a trout was touched with a dry hand， a white fungus attacked the unprotected spot. Years before when he had fished crowded streams， with fly fishermen ahead of him and behind him， Nick had again and again come on dead trout， furry with white fungus， drifted against a rock， or floating belly up in some pool. Nick did not like to fish with other men on the river. Unless they were of your party， they spoiled it.

He wallowed down the stream， above his knees in the current， through the fifty yards of shallow water above the pile of logs that crossed the stream. He did not rebait his hook and held it in his hand as he waded. He was certain he could catch small trout in the shallows， but he did not want them. There would be no big trout in the shallows this time of day.

Now the water deepened up his thighs sharply and coldly. Ahead was the smooth dammed-back flood of water above the logs. The water was smooth and dark； on the left， the lower edge of the meadow； on the right the swamp.

Nick leaned back against the current and took a hopper from the bottle. He threaded the hopper on the hook and spat on him for good luck. Then he pulled several yards of line from the reel and tossed the hopper out ahead onto the fast， dark water. It floated down towards the logs， then the weight of the line pulled the bait under the surface. Nick held the rod in his right hand， letting the line run out through his fingers.

There was a long tug. Nick struck and the rod came alive and dangerous， bent double， the line tightening， coming out of water， tightening， all in a heavy， dangerous， steady pull. Nick felt the moment when the leader would break if the strain increased and let the line go.

The reel ratcheted into a mechanical shriek as the line went out in a rush. Too fast. Nick could not check it， the line rushing out， the reel note rising as the line ran out.

With the core of the reel showing， his heart feeling stopped with the excitement， leaning back against the current that mounted icily his thighs， Nick thumbed the reel hard with his left hand. It was awkward getting his thumb inside the fly reel frame.

As he put on pressure the line tightened into sudden hardness and beyond the logs a huge trout went high out of water. As he jumped， Nick lowered the tip of the rod. But he felt， as he dropped the tip to ease the strain， the moment when the strain was too great； the hardness too tight. Of course， the leader had broken. There was no mistaking the feeling when all spring left the line and it became dry and hard. Then it went slack.

His mouth dry， his heart down， Nick reeled in. He had never seen so big a trout. There was a heaviness， a power not to be held， and then the bulk of him， as he jumped. He looked as broad as a salmon.

Nick's hand was shaky. He reeled in slowly. The thrill had been too much. He felt， vaguely， a little sick， as though it would be better to sit down.

The leader had broken where the hook was tied to it. Nick took it in his hand. He thought of the trout somewhere on the bottom， holding himself steady over the gravel， far down below the light， under the logs， with the hook in his jaw. Nick knew the trout's teeth would cut through the snell of the hook. The hook would imbed itself in his jaw. He'd bet the trout was angry. Anything that size would be angry. That was a trout. He had been solidly hooked. Solid as a rock. He felt like a rock， too， before he started off. By God， he was a big one. By God， he was the biggest one I ever heard of.

Nick climbed out onto the meadow and stood， water running down his trousers and out of his shoes， his shoes squelchy. He went over and sat on the logs. He did not want to rush his sensations any.