64 CHANNEL ISLANDS OF CALIFORNIA 



outlook was not enticing, but we made fair headway. 

 I shortly distanced the boatman, and saw to my 

 delight that the launch had started up and was coming 

 for us. When she was within one or two hundred 

 feet of me, a woman in her bow, the wife of our boat- 

 man, began screaming that her husband was drowning. 

 I stopped swimming and, looking back, saw that he 

 had indeed disappeared; but he immediately reap- 

 peared, to again disappear. Three times this occurred. 

 I thought of sharks, but in answer to my call he cried 

 out that he was all right, and still had my tuna. This 

 proved to be the case. The brave fellow had never 

 released the fish; it was still impaled on the gaff, and 

 it was this splendid fish that plunged down, took him 

 out of sight, literally dragging him under water. I 

 was presently alongside, but he refused aid, and we 

 again took up the swim, he swimming with his right 

 arm, dragging the tuna with his left. When we 

 shortly reached the launch two men took hold of me, 

 but I was so heavy that they could not haul me aboard. 

 A rope was then passed around my waist, and I was 

 lashed to the shrouds and hauled up to allow the water 

 to run off, corduroy proving a deadly load. 



In the meantime Gardner threw his legs about the 

 propeller, and we rested after the swim, after which 

 all hands laid hold, and I was rolled in, to be in at the 

 death of the to-be famous tuna. I leaned down over 

 the stern, the crew holding me by the legs, while Gard- 

 ner, who was lashed to the yacht, reached up the 

 fish as well as he could. Anxious not to take any 

 chances of losing the game, I thrust my arm down 

 into the tuna's throat, grasped it by the gills, and 

 gave the word. The crew hauled on my legs, I hauled 



