THE BOOK OF THE TARPON 



the anchor aboard. The Camera-man's motor 

 boat, which was anchored near us, was under 

 way as quickly as the canoe, but the lighter craft 

 under the pull of a healthy tarpon and the stroke 

 of an excited paddle beat the clumsy skiff fifty 

 yards in the first hundred. When the motor boat 

 finally overhauled us the first and best three or 

 four leaps had been lost to the Camera-man. 



"Ouch!" yelled the captain, as a rush of the 

 tarpon tore the line through his bare hands, 

 blistering them badly, while from the other boat 

 came the complaining cry: 



"Can't you hold that tarpon?" 



"I'll hold it!" replied the captain, as he gave 

 the line a turn around his hand and the bow of 

 the canoe parted the water like the prow of a 

 torpedo boat destroyer. Foot by foot he took in 

 the line, never yielding an inch until he reached 

 the wire that stretched between hook and line 

 and the big fish was swimming beside the canoe. 

 The next leap of the maddened creature landed 

 it in the captain's arms through which it slid into 

 the water, scraping the side of the canoe on its 

 way and covering the captain with a coat of thick 

 slime, such as only a tarpon possesses. The 



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