altogether, for I had wished my guests to have their will of the water, and my wife and I had spent the afternoon with the ass on the downs. Still, I had a tale to tell, though a tale of failure and disappointment, and I told it. This occupied our attention till shortly before eleven, when Wickham practically insisted on a hearing.
This had been Wickham's first experience of the Clere, and he had a great deal to say. During the day he had been over the whole water. So, beginning at the Lower End, he told us about several fishes which he had seen there. These were all well known to Chavender and to me, but it was not always that we could be perfectly satisfied as to the identity of any particular one about which Wickham was talking. For Wickham had not that perfect knowledge of the water which Chavender, after an acquaintance of three days, and I, after an intimacy of five and a half seasons, possess. Still, with a little care, we were always able to discover which of the trouts was the subject of Wickham's remarks, and to follow his proceedings with almost as much pleasure and knowledge as if we had actually assisted at them. Our talk ran something like this.
Wick: So he was put down for good. Then I went on, and just round the next corner I saw a sneaking rise in a quiet place, beside some rushes.
