Colonel Ashley. They noticed his attitude, the dangling line and his
disappointed look.

"I beg pardon," said the one who had already spoken, "but did we
interfere with your fishing?"

"Did you interfere with it?" stormed the colonel. "You just naturally
knocked it all to the devil, sir! That's what you did!" And then, as
he saw a curious look on the faces of the two men, he added:

"I beg your pardon. I shouldn't have said that. I'm an interloper,
I realize - a trespasser. It's my own fault for fishing so near the
golf course. But 1 - "

"Excuse me," broke in the other man. "But you are Colonel Ashley,
aren't you?"

"I am."

"My name is Sharwell - Tom Sharwell, and this is Bruce Garrigan. I
thought I had seen you at the club. Pray excuse our interruption of
your sport. We had no idea any one was fishing here."

"It's entirely my fault," declared the colonel, as he removed his cap
and bowed, a courtesy the two golfers, after a moment of hesitation,
returned. "I was taking chances when I threw in here."

"And did we scare the fish?" asked Garrigan. "I suppose so. Never was
much of a fisherman myself. All I know about them is seventeen million,
four hundred and eighty-eight thousand nine hundred and twenty one boxes