The Book of the Tarpon 



CHAPTER I 

 THE FIRST TARPON 



A GORGEOUS vision burst from the 

 water behind us and shot ten feet into 

 the air. "What on earth is that, Tat?" 

 I was trolling for channel-bass, but was catch- 

 ing cavally and ravailla, or jack-fish and snook, 

 as Tat persisted in calling them. I knew the 

 whole breed of jumping fish, with their slick, 

 greasy leaps and an occasional wiggle while in 

 the air, but the best of them was as Satyr to 

 Hyperion compared with the iridescent creature 

 at the end of my line. That twisting, gyrating 

 body, garmented in glistening silver and en- 

 veloped in a cloud of sparkling diamonds, was 



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