126 ALBACORA 



masher thanks to six lessons in jujitsu. Strength assists 

 one in applying jujitsu technique, but it is possible to be 

 effective at the sport without being very strong. Simi- 

 larly, with deep-sea fishing on heavy tackle, a 110- 

 pound woman like myself may not exceed most fishing 

 records set by brawny men, but they can come close or 

 surpass them on occasion. I knew a fellow named Louis 

 Schmidt who caught a 1,004-pound marlin with just one 

 arm. In the end, the harness cut his flesh so deeply that 

 he had to turn his rod over to someone else for the 

 landing of the fish. A number of women can catch fish 

 in the thousand-pound class, but of course only with 

 two hands. I have strong muscles in my back and shoul- 

 ders and after a long stretch of fishing, I am hard and 

 rugged. But working on one leg, after ten days as an 

 invalid, was not going to be easy. 



When Lou saw me grab hold of my reel, he came 

 rushing out of the cabin. 



"Genie," he said, "that's a big fish. Watch that leg. 

 Think you can manage?" 



"I don't even feel my hip," I said. 



For that one second I spoke the truth. Then I pressed 

 my bad leg against the foot brace. Pain shot into my 

 hip. I would not let myself wince. If Lou got worried 

 enough, he might drag me from my chair. Soon the 

 pain passed. 



I let my line play out and Howard took up his old 



