Anybody can come in and say, "Oh, I caught fifteen dozen perch yesterday evening"; or "Last Monday I caught a gudgeon, weighing eighteen pounds, and measuring three feet".
No; an expert fisherman would never tell a lie in this manner. His method is much more complicated and requires study.
He comes in quietly with his hat, take the most comfortable chair for himself, lights up his pipe, and starts to smoke in silence. He lets the younger fishermen brag for a few minutes, and then, when there is a moment of silence, he removes the pipe from his mouth, and says: "Well, I caught such a fish on Tuesday evening and there's no reason why I should tell you about it."
"Oh, Why's that?" they ask.
"Because I don't expect anybody would believe me if I did," replies the old fellow, calmly, and without any anger at all, as he refills his pipe, and asks for some more Scotch.
