THE GAME FISHES OF THE WOELD 



several miles away, hunting for us, but not going in the right 

 direction. So we sat, lifted, tugged, pulled and tried honestly to 

 land that tuna with a rod, then finally admitted that the tuna had 

 us played to a standstill. 



I think the point that decided us to give up was the sudden 

 suggestion by Jim, the boatman, that our friends on the island 

 would think we were drowned, and all the launches of Avalon 

 would turn out to hunt the channel. It was only a few weeks 

 previous that Jim and I had been capsized a mile oflEshore, and to 

 save our companion, who could not swim, we had left him on the 

 bottom of the yawl to make the hard swim to our broken-down 

 launch. Jim's wife was on the latter, and when the tima dragged 

 him under water (he was still holding the fish) she thought he was 

 drowning. In fact, all our wives were nervous when we went 

 out for tuna. We were on the horns of a dilemma. No one 

 wished to give up, but after another half hour, I, as the eldest, 

 took the responsibility, and suggested a surrender. I gave Jim 

 the rod, and as I lifted the line by hand, he reeled. The fish 

 came up slowly, a dead weight ; but it came, and finally I had 

 the tuna at the surface and Jim gaffed it and sM it in. 



It was thirteen hours, I think, since Scudder had hooked the 

 fish, not far from the point of Avalon bay. iNo one spoke, mere 

 words were inadequate. The fish was scarcely a hundred pounder. 

 It evidently had died of heart failure within a few moments, and 

 it was foul hooked. One hook was in the belly, another in the 

 mouth, and the fish had been side on for thirteen or more hours. 

 We tied a towel to an oar and held it aloft, and by a chance our 

 friend Doran saw it, and eventually reached us and towed us 

 in ; fortunately, as I doubt if we could have made it. We 

 arrived at Avalon at nine o'clock to find a crowd awaiting the 

 gigantic fish it was supposed we had hooked. Such is fisherman's 

 luck! 



No one can appreciate the remarkable heroic qualities of the 

 tuna at its best unless they have known it under various con- 

 ditions. For days and weeks I have dragged my bait over 

 io6 



