26 ALBACORA 



that seemed to carry him directly under the Explorer, 

 Aside from being skewered on the marlin's bill, nothing 

 could have been much worse for me. The maneuver made 

 it seem almost certain that Lou's line and mine would 

 tangle. I leaned far over the low transom of the Ex- 

 plorer and plunged my rod deep into the water. There 

 was a chance I might keep my line from fouling Lou's 

 if I could keep my own line deep enough. My reel was 

 in free spool — running out without resistance — and I 

 kept my rod in the water for two minutes, not knowing 

 where my own fish was or what he was doing. Finally, 

 Lou's fish cleared away and I scrambled back, red-faced, 

 to a normal fishing posture. Then I looked at my spool. 

 There was still line on it, but was there a fish on the 

 end of the hook at the end of the line? I started reeling 

 in. My line went tight. The marlin was still out there 

 and I had a fighting chance. 



All the way from the JVaWa. Lou's frantic roars car- 

 ried to the Explorer, "He's probably worried sick about 

 me," I thought, "the way his marlin leapt over the 

 stern of the Explorer," I cocked an ear to listen closely 

 and I could make out every word Lou said. 



"Hey," he was bellowing, "Doty. Did you get a good 

 picture of that marlin? Did you get that terrific jump?" 



"I think so," Doty shouted back. 



"That's the way," Lou called. "Keep it up." 



"I'll try," Doty shouted. 



