DAYS STOLEN FOR SPOKT 153 



weight of lead, which is barely sufficient to keep 

 the bottom when the Channel tide is running. 



As the day was closing in lamps were lighted to 

 warn passing ships and, soon after that, a fisher 

 new to hand-lines commenced to haul with a sports- 

 man's zest at what proved to be a conger of twenty 

 pounds. 



When the summer night's darkness came upon 

 us several youngsters' tongues were wagging about 

 their hopes of what they were hauling at, and one 

 of them had evidently justification, as his line was 

 going, instead of coming, in spite of the help he 

 got by pulling at it at such an angle that he got 

 gunwale help to hold it back. The captain offered 

 assistance, but the fisher desired to fight it out 

 unaided and showed much pluck until his too soft 

 hands got sore with the rough cord sliding through 

 them when he was glad to accept the preferred help 

 and, after some further hauling, he relinquished 

 what was left to him of the honour in favour of the 

 captain's brother. These two soon decided that 

 it was a big skate, with the tail and its back moor- 

 ing erect against the tide, that was causing the 

 trouble. This proved correct, as, after much haul- 

 ing and giving line, a huge, stone-slab-like monster 

 appeared upon the surface and gave infinite further 

 trouble before it was got on board. 



Conger, skate and ling came in about equal 

 numbers and I have no doubt had there been more 

 men with sea legs and with horny hands to work 

 the lines the take would have been astonishing, 

 but the increasing roll of the little vessel and the 

 unmistakable hard labour this fishing called for 

 soon killed the keenness of my sons. The eldest 



