The trout made several mad rushes after the first one, but none were as fast nor as long as the first one. Once in a while Bill would get a glimpse of the fish as it darted through the water, but the fish was out of sight again almost immediately. The thought uppermost in Bill’s mind now was, “Could he net that fish before it broke the line?” The rushes became shorter, and it was apparent that the fish was getting exhausted. At times it would allow Bill to bring it in almost to the rock where he was standing, and then without the slightest warning it would sink to the bottom of the pool with a speed that bent the rod double while the line was going out.
The fish finally came up and Bill worked it around to where he could use the net. In his excitement of netting the trout, he almost lost his rod and line, but he never risked the loss of the fish. Bill was so elated that he did not try to remove the fish from the net or the hook from its mouth. He carried the rod, net, and fish back to the road and waited for the other members of the party. He was still sitting there holding the netted fish when Sam Crouch came up.
“You tell me,” said Bill. “I finally caught it, but what kind it is I do not know.”
“It’s a nice big brook trout,” replied Sam. “I guess that you have the largest one caught this day. I have several that I thought were large, but none to compare with that one.”
The others returned and Bill felt quite proud of his accomplishment as each in turn admired his fish. They returned to the hotel and unloaded their fishing gear.
“You had better take this fish, Sam,” said Bill. “We leave tomorrow, and I cannot use it.”
“Let me see that fish,” said a stranger who came up as Bill was handing the trout to Sam. “I think that you have a gold button trout there. We will take it into the hotel and measure and weigh it.”
“What’s a gold button trout?” asked Bill. “Do you have to pay a fine for catching one? Is it unlawful?”
Both Sam and Earl burst out laughing at Bill’s questions.
“You poor boob,” said Earl, “that means that you have probably caught the largest trout reported during the fishing season. The Portland _Oregonian_ has a contest each year and gives a gold button for the largest trout caught.”