Queer Game 



more than look. The big fish was at hand, had 

 thrown down the gauntlet, and they were to take 

 it up. 



" As the great fin rose higher and higher, the speed 

 of the animal seemed to decrease, and it appeared to 

 be indulging in a sun bath or displaying the gorgeous 

 hues of its dorsal appendage. Slowly it came on; a 

 slight turn of the oar, and the boat was placed in the 

 same general position, heading in the direction in 

 which it was moving. A glance about the crew and 

 boat showed everything trim and ship-shape. The 

 harpooner held his weapon firmly ; the long rope was 

 coiled in the tub and clear, a native crouching behind, 

 armed with a knife, ready to cut if danger threatened; 

 the rest of the men sat at their oars, awaiting orders, 

 stoical, as was their nature. On came the fin, now 

 high out of water, cutting deftly and waving with a 

 gentle undulating motion. Nearer it crept, so close, 

 that surely it must hear the compressed breathing of 

 the men. Then rose a dark form, a steel gleamed 

 for a second in the sunlight, a flash, a thud, and an 

 enormous form seemed to shoot upward from the 

 ocean, falling with a roar and crash; the boat was 

 almost covered with foam, and the line rushed from 

 the tub, making the woodwork smoke. 



" ' Well done ! ' shouted the white man, * but for 

 Allah's sake, stand clear the line if it fouls but an 

 inch, cut. Now, then, lads ! ' he continued, * give 

 way ! ' And under the strong efforts of the rowers, 



