"Why, you look at a horse's mouth, don't you? and it is the same with trout," replied Hardy; "that is, to some extent. The teeth get larger at the base, the jaw bone thickens with age, and the snout gets longer. I have often seen trout that have been reared from ova, and whose age was consequently known, and have closely observed their mouths. The fish in your stream grow fast from the great abundance of the food that trout thrive best on."
"But come in out of the heat," said Herr Jensen, "and have a snaps or a glass of wine. My friends who come here to fish rarely catch so many trout in a whole day's fishing; and that when they consider the weather favourable; but you English appear to be born with a rod and a gun."
Karl and Axel proposed going with Robert Garth to see the proprietor's horses and live stock, and, as they knew a little English, they got on very well with Garth, whom they considered a paragon of a servant. His respectful demeanour towards Hardy impressed them, and the way he did his work about the horses was always a matter of interest.
Hardy went into the proprietor's spacious reception room, which was well but plainly furnished, with its aspect of neatness so dear to a Danish house mother.
Fru Jensen and her two daughters were knitting, but rose to welcome Hardy, with the genial friendliness habitual with Danish ladies. They insisted on his staying to dinner, but Hardy objected, as he had Karl and Axel with him as well as his servant; but all objections were futile, and Fru Jensen left the room, to give the necessary directions for a very substantial dinner.
Mathilde Jensen was about two and twenty, with a fresh complexion, blue eyes, and light hair, and a cheerful manner. "How is your beautiful horse, Herr Hardy?" she asked.
"Quite fit to run another race," replied Hardy. "But do not you Danish ladies ride?"
"Yes. We have each our own horse, and we often ride with father and by ourselves short distances," said Frøken Mathilde; "but they are not such good horses as those you have purchased in Denmark."
"They are never satisfied with their horses," said the proprietor; "they are always wanting me to buy a horse of a different colour than what they have got—first it's chesnut, and then dark bay."
"Would you like to ride one of my Danish horses?" said Hardy. "They have been frequently ridden."