16 Recreations of a Sportsman 



rhythmic motion of Joe's sure strike, see the glint 

 of the rod in the faint glare of the lantern which 

 I had put aboard, and now and then the dim 

 outline of Pinchot's back as he bent over the 

 rod and made the good fight. 



As the night grew apace, and when darkness 

 had fully set in, the phosphorescence of the sea 

 began to assert itself, and every crest and bit of 

 broken water became a flash and gleam of silvery 

 light. 



The skiff seemed to be resting in a cauldron 

 of fiery gleaming metal. Occasionally in turning 

 I would get caught in the trough of the sea, 

 and fiery flames would leap all about and a 

 mellifluous " Gee ! " would come from my small 

 lookout, clinging to the mast lest he be tossed 

 bodily over into the blazing sea, as the launch 

 rolled and yawned. 



The moon in the early quarter was gradually 

 dropping over the mountains of San Clemente, 

 standing over to the west, and the stars glis- 

 tened with a steely intensity. It was a great 

 nigLtt to be at sea, as by some fortunate circum- 

 stance the wind did not blow as hard as usual, 

 or there would have been another end to this 

 veracious tale. How far the swordfish towed 

 the skiff, I do not know, but I should say at 

 least five miles. I picked them up about three 

 miles to the southeast, offshore, and to reach 

 them went directly away from Mosquito Bay 



