DEVIL FISHIKG. 27 



fathoms of rope lying loose on the thwart behind 

 me. The interest of the moment was intense ; 

 my heart throbbed audibly, and I scarcely 

 breathed, while expecting him to emerge from 

 the spot yet rippled by his wake. The water was 

 ten fathoms deep, but so turbid that you could not 

 see six inches beneath the surface. We had small 

 chance of striking him while his visits to the sur- 

 face were so sudden and so brief. " There he is 

 behind us!" "Starn all" and our oarsmen, as 

 before instructed, backed with all their might. 

 Before we reached the spot he was gone ; but soon 

 reappeared on our right, whisking round us with 

 great velocity, and with a movement " singularly 

 eccentric. He crossed the bow his wing only is 

 visible on which side is his body? I hurled 

 down my harpoon with all my force. After the 

 lapse of a few seconds, the staff came bounding up 

 from below, to show me that I had missed. In the 

 twinkling of an eye, the fish flung himself on his 

 back, darted under the boat, and showed himself 

 at the stern, belly up. Tom clapped his unarmed 

 hands with disappointment as the fish swept by 

 him where lie stood on the platform, so near that 

 he might have pierced him with a sword ! And 

 now the fish came wantoning about us taking no 

 note of our presence, circling round us, with 



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