And rising slowly from the lake,
The wreathing mists asunder break—
Revealing all concealed before
Of forest, hill, and rocky shore.”
Anon.
There was no great stir next morning at Gäddebäck, considering the importance of the expedition; as for preparations, no more preparation was necessary than is necessary for a detachment of soldiers that has received its route; the guns and ammunition were paraded, and the knapsacks were packed in light marching order; the carioles had been despatched over night to the post-master at Wenersborg, under the charge of Piersen and one of Moodie’s people, with directions to send on a forebud, and then to proceed by land to Amal; and the cutter having received her freight, had, on the preceding evening, hauled out into the stream in order to be taken in tow by the night steamer, for Wenersborg. Moodie had determined that there was no need of disappointing himself or his friends of their day’s fishing at the upper rapids, seeing that they might easily be taken on the road. He proposed, therefore, joining the cutter at Wenersborg in the evening, and making the passage to Amal by night, observing, that by getting what sleep they could while at sea, they would lose no time, and might start immediately on landing.
“This is rather close shaving, Moodie,” said the Captain, as they sat at breakfast the following morning,—rather an early breakfast, for Moodie meant to give the fishing-ground what he called a full due.—“You have made the evening breeze an element in your calculation; we shall be in a mess if this night is anything like the last.”
“O, but it will not be, ‘you see ghosts by daylight,’ as our people say; there is always a breeze on the open lake, it is not like this valley; besides, if it does fail us, we have only to post; there is a regular posting track across the lake, with stations on the islands, where they keep boats in the summer and horses in the winter. If the breeze does fail us, which I tell you it will not, we have only to send the dingy to Leckö or Lurön, whichever we may be nearest to, and get boats enough to carry us all.”
The Parson made no opposition, though in his heart he agreed with the Captain that the experiment might very possibly involve the loss of their ultimate object, the skål; the salmo ferox was, however, a new fish to him, and notwithstanding all he had said in its disparagement on the banks of the Torjedahl, he would not much have liked to lose his chance of landing one. By his advice a light rod or two were added to the baggage,—for the rivers north of the Wener abound in grayling, though, strange to say, these delicate fish are never found south of it.
The four-oared gig being the fastest pulling boat, carried them up the stream to the point at which the great canal leaves the river; beyond this it ceases to be navigable on account of its rocks and rapids, but for this very reason becomes much more valuable as a fishing preserve. At these rapids, which was the crack station of all Moodie’s fishery, was a sort of out-post, where he had a keeper’s house, with a separate establishment of boats. The Captain turned up his eyes a little at hearing of this fresh proof of his friend’s magnificence; but it sounds grander to English ears than it is in fact, for Moodie made money by his fishery, and of course required men, not only to preserve it, but to catch the fish while he was absent on any roving expedition like the present; and as for boats, where planks may be had at the saw-mills for almost nothing, and where every man is more or less of a carpenter, rough fishing punts are articles of very small expense indeed, and are generally built at home.