THE BOOK OF THE TARPON 



choice between swamping the canoe or releasing 

 the fish. He let the tarpon go, for which I 

 abused him at the time, but forgave him later 

 when I saw that the hook was still fast in the 

 creature's mouth. It was many minutes before 

 the captain got another chance at the fish, but 

 when he had renewed his hold and was ready to 

 haul it aboard he sang out to me: 



"I'll hang to him this time if he lands me in 

 Halifax, so look out for the pieces of your 

 cancel" 



But the tarpon slid into the canoe without a 

 flutter and slipping under the thwarts lay flat 

 in the bottom. The trouble came later when, the 

 rod having been laid aside, Camera-man and 

 Captain worked together to get the slippery 

 thing out from under the thwarts and overboard. 

 They would probably have swamped the canoe 

 anyhow, but the tarpon made the thing sure and 

 secured his revenge by a flap of his tail that 

 landed him in the bay with his tormentors. It 

 was a fitting end to the adventure for, after 

 the final scrimmage, canoe and canoe men sadly 

 needed the scrubbing they got in the nearby 

 shallow water to which they swam. 



138 



