TWO FIGHTS WITH SWORDFISH 



view concerning this harness, for Dustin Farnum was 

 nearly pulled overboard and — But I have not space 

 for that story here. My brother Rome wants to 

 write that story, anyhow, because it is so funny, he 

 says. 



On the other hand, the fact soon manifested it- 

 self to me that I could lift a great deal more with 

 said harness to help. The big fish began to come 

 nearer and also he began to get mad. Here I for- 

 got the pain in my hands. I grew enthusiastic. 

 And foohshly I bragged. Then I lifted so hard that 

 I cracked the great Conroy rod. 



Dan threw up his hands. He quit, same as he 

 quit the first day out, when I hooked the broadbill 

 and the reel froze. 



"Disqualified fish, even if you ketch him — which 

 you won't," he said, dejectedly. 



"Crack goes thirty-five dollars!" exclaimed my 

 brother. "Sure is funny, brother, how you can 

 decimate good money into the general atmosphere!" 



If there really is anything fine in the fighting of 

 a big fish, which theory I have begun to doubt, cer- 

 tainly Captain Dan and Brother R. C. did not 

 know it. 



Remarks were forthcoming from me, I am ashamed 

 to state, that should not have been. Then I got 

 Dan to tie splints on the rod, after which I fought 

 my quarry some more. The splints broke. Dan 

 had to bind the cracked rod with heavy pieces of 

 wood and they added considerable weight to what 

 had before felt like a ton. 



The fish had been hooked at eleven o'clock and 

 it was now five. We had drifted or been pulled into 

 5 65 



