On the Trail of the Sailfish 219 



lumbered out of the way, and the little dinghy had the con- 

 ventional bone in her teeth as she followed on in the wake 

 of the ocean swordsman. Any one who has grained a large 

 shark, a sawfish, a big ray, turtle or any game that is power- 

 ful enough to draw a boat rapidly, well knows the first few 

 moments of fierce excitement, which come as the game 

 makes its mad, initial, terrified rush. I was lying back 

 holding the line with all my strength, the hot wind cutting 

 my face like a blast from a furnace, and up the line came 

 that strange, tremulous, magnetic thrill, telling of the power- 

 ful engine racing away at the opposite end. 



I could hear the hard breathing of my sculler as he bent 

 to the oar, as now the swordfish made a desperate turn, so 

 sudden that I believed a shark had charged it, and it was 

 necessary to haul the dinghy around at right angles. As 

 she came, I heard various soft mellow Spanish oaths, let out 

 like escaping steam under a protesting governor. Suddenly 

 the big fish would sound, and go humming down to the floor 

 of the reef, to come up and go into the air, a pulsating, scin- 

 tillating mass of color and agility. 



Several times it made three or four leaps together, and 

 fell upon its side, beating the blue water into silver, and it 

 was then that I first gained on the line and passed it aft to 

 Manuel who laid on, and by tremendous effort hauled the 

 dinghy fifty feet upon the flying game. All at once it 

 stopped, so suddenly that it came like a shock. 



" Off? is he off ? " I cried, struggling to a sitting posture. 



" No, no ! " replied Manuel ; " he el toro, he come ; stand 

 up, stand up ! " 



I jumped to my feet, breathless with exertion and excite- 

 ment, not caring to be run through. We stood on the seats 

 for a single moment, watching for the fish which never came, 

 as away off to the right it went quivering into the air, then 

 we dropped again, and not a moment too soon, as the sailfish 

 jerked the boat around and was off, heading directly for the 

 surf. I have read in books accounts of the marvelous 



