TALES OF FISHES 



"Hurry, Dan! There's a fin right over there. Lead 

 me to him! See." 



Sure enough, R. C. pointed out a dark sickle fin 

 on the surface. I marveled at the sight. It cer- 

 tainly is funny the luck some fishermen have! 

 Captain Dan, beaming like a sunrise, swung the 

 boat around toward the swordfish. 



That MarUn rushed the teasers. I pulled all 

 three away from him, while R. C. was reeling in his 

 bait to get it close. Then the swordfish fell all over 

 himself after it. He got it. He would have climbed 

 aboard after it. The way R. C. hooked this sword- 

 fish showed that somebody had got his dander up 

 and was out to do things. This pleased me im- 

 mensely. It scared me a little, too, for R. C. 

 showed no disposition to give line or be gentle to 

 the swordfish. In fact, it was real fight now. And 

 this particular fish appeared to have no show on 

 earth — or rather in the water — and after fourteen 

 leaps he was hauled up to the boat in such short order 

 that if we had gaffed him, as we used to gaff Marlin, 

 we would have had a desperate fight to hold him. 

 But how easy to cut him free! He darted down like 

 a blue streak. I had no fair sight of him to judge 

 weight, but Captain Dan said he was good and heavy. 



"Come on! Don't be so slow!" yelled R. C, with 

 a roving eye over the deep. 



Captain Dan was in his element. He saw victory 

 perched upon the mast of the Leta D. He moved 

 with a celerity that amazed me, when I remembered 

 how exasperatingly slow he could be, fooling with 

 kites. This was Captain Dan's game. 



"The ocean's alive with swordfish!" he boomed. 



206 



