freeline102 - Flipbook - Page 244
SI LLEWELLYN
events that I’d just seen u n fo l d . Ch r i s n e c ke d t h e l a s t o f h i s
c o ld drink and bid me a fa re we ll , a s i t wa s t h e ea rly h o u rs
o f the morning and he nee d ed to g e t s e t u p ASA P. A s h e l e f t ,
we both agreed to d o the h o n o u rs i f e i th e r o f u s we re l u c k y
d u ring the hours of darkn es s . M y eye s we re g e t ti n g h e av y by
n ow, and it was time to give i n a n d g e t re ac q u a i n ted w i t h my
s l eeping bag. I was just d ri f t i n g o f f wh en I wa s i nte rru p te d
by a short burst from the N ev i ll e. T h e d re ad e d b re am wa s my
i n itial thought , so g rudgin gly, I p e e p e d o u t o f t h e s i d e o f my
b a g to see the bobb in wedg e d t i gh t u p to t h e b u z z e r a n d t h e
l i ne departed from i ts clip . I re al ly wa s n o t e n t h ra l l e d at t h e
i d ea of unhooking a snott y at t h i s u n g o d ly h o u r as I s l owly
p u t my trainers on and am b le d to t h e ro d s , b u t u p o n l i f t i n g
i n to the offending rod, I fe lt a h ug e d ea d we i gh t t h at I c o u l d n’ t
s h ift – whatever it was i t wa s we ed e d up ! Ste a dy p re s s u re wa s
a p plied for a good twenty s ec o n d s wh en I fe l t a t h ud , t h e n
a n other and then another… I wa s s te ad i ly w i n c h i n g it b ac k
towards me. This process wa s re p e ate d a fe w t i m es b efo re
a huge green ball of Canad i a n b o b b e d up i n th e i n k y b l ac k
m argin. Bearing in mind a t t h i s p o i n t I s t i ll th o u gh t i t wa s a
b ream, I was pleased to s e e a fe w s c a le s a mo n g s t th e m e s s
o f weed as it went over th e n et co rd . H a p py d ays … mu s t b e a
l i t tle mirror that put up lit t le re si st a n ce d u e to h i s eye s b e i n g
c overed, I thought . I seeme d to s p e n d fo reve r p u l l i n g away
f ronds of weed from my n e t un t i l I c am e to re a l i s e t h e ‘ l i t tl e
m i rror’ was about three fe et lo n g ! I re move d m o re fo l i a g e
a n d flicked on my head to rc h to be gre ete d by row a f te r row
o f huge scales embedded i n i t s l o n g d ark f l an ks . I n s t a n t ly I
re cognised what lay before m e… It wa s n o n e o t h e r t ha n t h e
b i g linear I had seen the p rev i o us s u mm er! I s e n t up t h e s h o u t
FREELINE 122
