“I had on a most beautiful catch,” said the colonel, “and then what I thought, at first, was the embodied spirit of Izaak Walton suddenly came zipping into the water just as Shag was about to land the beauty, and knocked it off the hook. Since then I have been informed by my servant that it was no spirit, but a golf ball.”
“It was mine,” confessed Garrigan. “I'm all kinds of sorry about it. Never had the least notion any one was here. Never saw any one fish here before; did we, Tom?”
“Well, I thought there were fish here, and events proved I was right,” said the colonel. “I hope the water isn't posted?” he inquired anxiously, for he was a stickler for the rights of others.
“Oh, no, nothing like that!” Garrigan hastened to add. “You're welcome to fish here as long and as often as you like. Only, as this water hazard is often played from the fifth hole, it would be advisable to post a sign just outside the trees, or station your man there to give notice.”
“I'll do it after this,” said the colonel, as he reeled in.
“You're not going to quit just because I was so unfortunate as to spoil your first catch, are you?” asked Garrigan.
“I think I'd better,” the colonel said. “I don't believe I could land anything after what happened. The fish must have thought it was a thunderbolt, from the way that ball landed.”
“I did drive rather hard,” admitted Garrigan. “But we can cut this out of our game, take a stroke apiece and go on with the play. That is, I'm willing. I don't feel very keen for the game to-day. How about you, Tom?”
“I'm ready to quit, and I think the least we can do, considering that we have spoiled Colonel Ashley's day, is to ask him if he won't share with us the bottle I won from you on the water hazard.”
“Done!” exclaimed Garrigan. “There were eleven million, four hundred and ten thousand six hundred and six dollars' worth of soya beans imported into the United States in 1917,” he added, “which, of course, has nothing to do with the number of cold bottles of champagne the steward, at the nineteenth hole, has on the ice for us. So I suggest that we adjourn and—”