42 Tarpon Fishing in Florida. 



But the spirits in that infernal machine were by no means 

 subjugated. Three spasmodic kicks and that hot and stuffy Httle 

 engine room was silent save for the muttered curses of the 

 perspiring and exhausted men. After a few more attempts 

 I left that oily den and that atmosphere of petrol vapour to those 

 that believed in their machine and sat outside in gloomy silence, 

 wondering how many more undefeated tarpon there would be in 

 the world, than there would have been, had this untoward accident 

 not occurred. 



That motor did not shake off its tormentors till ten o'clock 

 when they retired admitting that it had won the day. Dame 

 Fortune, however, at last smiled on us, and we embarked about 

 eleven o'clock on a willing motor boat which had just arrived. After 

 a journey of some twenty miles inside the islands, we reached our 

 goal just before daylight. We satisfied our skipper with ^5 

 and hastened to put an end to the feast of the mosquitos, by 

 exchanging the hard deck of the motor boat for the comfortable 

 berths of our floating hotel. 



The next morning we found that we shared the houseboat 

 with two American brothers, whom I shall call K. and L. Avery 

 fortunate circumstance for us, as in addition to the pleasure their 

 society afforded us, and the, after all, not expensive instruction we 

 received in the national game of poker, we found they were 

 paying a modest 4^ dollars a day for their board and lodging, 

 so we could not well be made to give the ^8 a day which we 

 shortly discovered had been expected from us. Picquet was not 

 over popular, so I occasionally advanced the view that there 

 was some play in bridge, but none in picquet ; it is merely possible 



