An Ocean Sapphire 231 



ribbons. Another angler was hauling in a bass which had 

 been caught by a yellowtail, which in turn was caught by a 

 jewfish; just as the latter was being hauled in a big shark 

 appeared and cut the jewfish in halves, releasing the rock 

 bass and yellowtail. The unpleasant, unreasonable party 

 to whom this fish story was related asked, " What took the 

 shark? " There are people who are never satisfied, and this 

 man was one. His halo will not fit him in the next world, 

 or he will always be growling because he has to sit on a damp 

 cloud, as the pictures in the old and good books suggest. 

 When told that nothing took the shark he looked really hurt. 

 Of course one might have said that a big orca, or killer 

 whale, came along and bit the shark in two, but the present 

 writer, at least, does not propose to be drawn into an illicit 

 exaggeration for the mere sake of one more fish. 



The unknown still circled the boat fifty feet away, but it 

 was presently reeled in, and standing up, I saw that it was 

 a legitimate fish, not a shark. I could see it dimly, swim- 

 ming around in a great circle; then the lady brought it 

 alongside, into the realm of the gaffer, and we saw that it 

 was a bonito, or skipjack, the largest probably ever seen 

 or taken in these prolific waters, weighing twenty pounds, 

 more than twice the weight of the average fish. 



Few fishes are so beautiful in the water or out as the 

 bonito, and as the game came in, it seemed to fairly scatter 

 scintillations of light and color in every direction, like a 

 tourmaline. Its back was a deep beautiful blue, indescrib- 

 able in its intensity, standing out even against the blue of 

 the deep channel. Its lower portion was silver, marked 

 with four dark bands, and over its entire surface flashed a 

 delicate vestment of old rose or pink, which made it com- 

 parable to the interior of the gorgeous abalone. It was a 

 literal sunburst of the sea, which gave the lady a silver cup 

 and much fame, as fame goes among sea anglers. 



