THE FLEET ON A FISH^DAY. 373 



line is felt eagerly for a bite, but not the faintest 

 nibble is perceptible. The mackerel, which bui 

 A moment ago were fairly rushing on board, ba?6 

 in that moment disappeared so completely that 

 not a sign of one is left. The vessel next under 

 our lee holds them a little longer than we, but 

 they finally also disappear from her side. And 

 so on all around us 



And now we have time to look about us to 

 compare notes on each other's successes to 

 straighten our back bones, nearly broken and 

 aching horribly with the constant reaching over; 

 to examine our fingers, cut to pieces and grown 

 sensationless with the perpetual dragging of small 

 lines across them to " There, the skipper's got 

 a bite ! here they are again, boys, and big fellows 

 too ! " Everybody rushes once more to the rail, 

 ind business commences again, but not at so fast 

 i rate as before. By-and-by there is another ces- 

 sation, and we hoist our jib and run oif a little 

 way, into a new birth, 



While running across, I take the first good look 

 at the state of affairs in general. We lie, as before 

 said, nearly in the center of the whole fleet, which 

 from originally covering an area of perhaps fif- 

 teen miles each way, has "knotted up ' into a 

 little space, not above two miles square. In many 

 places, although the sea is tolerably rough, the 

 vessels lie so closely together that one could almost 

 jump from one to the other. The greatest skill 

 and care are necessary on such occasions to keep 



