98 ECHOES OF SPORT 



expert sea fishers and one of the crew, 

 " Malcolm," to work the engine ; five hand- 

 lines in all. 



What a fishing that was. For three- 

 quarters of an hour I never had a blank 

 draw, and generally two haddocks at a time. 

 No sooner did the plumb touch bottom than 

 one nibble, two nibbles, then haul up as fast 

 as one could, and long before the cross-bar 

 reached the surface you saw one or two 

 wriggling forms; and so it was with each of us. 

 They were mostly " haddies," varying from 

 half a pound to one and two pounds. Now 

 and again we got some whiting, and a gurnet 

 or two with their prickly backs and owl-like 

 expression. One's arms got quite stiff, and 

 one's hands hot inside and cold out with 

 the run of the line and the sea-water. We 

 used mussels for bait, and bits of raw herring 

 also. 



One great tragedy happened. My com- 

 panion suddenly exclaimed, ' I'm either 

 pulling up the bed of the sea or a whale," 

 and evidently a great weight was on her line. 



