Троє в човні крім собаки
Chapter 17
So,eventually,hemadeonefinalarrangementwithhimself,whichhehasreligiouslyheldtoeversince,andthatwastocounteachfishthathecaughtasten,andtoassumetentobeginwith. Forexample,ifhedidnotcatchanyfishatall,thenhesaidhehadcaughttenfish—youcouldnevercatchlessthantenfishbyhissystem;thatwasthefoundationofit. Then,ifbyanychancehereallydidcatchonefish,hecalledittwenty,whiletwofishwouldcountthirty,threeforty,andsoon.
Itisasimpleandeasilyworkedplan,andtherehasbeensometalklatelyofitsbeingmadeuseofbytheanglingfraternityingeneral. Indeed,theCommitteeoftheThamesAngler’sAssociationdidrecommenditsadoptionabouttwoyearsago,butsomeoftheoldermembersopposedit. Theysaidtheywouldconsidertheideaifthenumberweredoubled,andeachfishcountedastwenty.
Ifeveryouhaveaneveningtospare,uptheriver,Ishouldadviseyoutodropintooneofthelittlevillageinns,andtakeaseatinthetap-room. Youwillbenearlysuretomeetoneortwooldrod-men,sippingtheirtoddythere,andtheywilltellyouenoughfishystories,inhalfanhour,togiveyouindigestionforamonth.