BIG GAME AT SEA 



CHAPTER I 



TRAILING THE SEA-BAT 



THE outer Florida reef, where the army of 

 coral polyps has made its last stand against 

 the Gulf Stream, was lying on the surface 

 of what seemed a sea of molten steel. The wind was 

 dead, and the blue expanse of the gulf had that 

 strange oily appearance so often a characteristic of a 

 dead calm in the tropics. In the west vermilion- 

 tipped clouds mountains of the air rose high in 

 the heavens, casting deep shadows over the green- 

 topped creations of the wind, hurricane, or the pre- 

 vailing tides. The keys appeared to be formed 

 without rhyme or reason, but in reality Nature could 

 not have ordered better, as with their outlying banks 

 and reefs they constitute a perfect harbor, a deep blue 

 channel winding clear and distinct against the coral- 

 covered lagoon, completely encircling Garden Key. 



Some wit has described fishing in Florida in the 

 summer as sitting in a Turkish bath holding a string, 



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