196 THE THOUSAND ISLES. 
thoagli it had struck a log ; for a moment it was still, 
then I felt the motion of the fish. The boatman instantly 
dropped his oars and reeled in as quickly as possible the 
other lines— just in time; for the fish, feeling he was 
caught, made one rush directly toward us. I drew in the 
line hand over hand, to have something to give out when 
he should make away again, but not nearly so fast as he 
moved. He passed close to us ; we could see the broad 
back, the long nose, the fierce eye, the mighty length of 
the mascallonge. 
'' Turn the boat broadside toward him," I whispered as 
he passed. 
Away he went, the slack of the line hissed through the 
water as his increasing distance took it up, and partially 
deadened his way as he reached the end of it and came 
against the light though steady strain with which I held 
it. Giving to him, at first readily tlien more sj^aringly, 
I again turned him ; this time he did not approach so 
near, but swung round well in-shore. Then, with a snd- 
den rush, he came straight on, and flashed directly 
beneath the bottom of the boat. K the line once touched 
the rough surface, or caught in a splinter of the wood, 
we knew it would part like pack-thread. The oarsman 
tried to swing her round ; there was no time ; hastily 
gathering a few coils, I threw them into the water at the 
stern, and passing the line over my head, anxiously 
watched them sink. Suddenly they were taken up, the 
line in my hand taughtened and lifted out of water ; it 
had not caught, and that danger was past. The strug- 
gle lasted long ; again and again he darted away ; once 
he nearly exhausted my line, and compelled me to use 
