152 ALONG THE FLORIDA REEF. 



live bait was not at hand, Tom was capable 

 of making a dead sardine struggle as if alive. 

 When he saw a barracuda he would hurl the 

 line beyond it to one side, the bait being gradu- 

 ally dragged in its direction. Soon the attention 

 of the game was attracted, and at it he would 

 dart, but not to lute. The cunning barracuda 

 merely dug its nose into the sand and backed 

 off, eying the bait with a critical gaze. Now all 

 depended upon Tom. If he could induce the 

 barracuda to believe the bait was alive and try- 

 ing to escape, the fish was his ; but, if the work 

 was clumsily done, the barracuda would turn 

 tail and swim away in disgust. A delicate 

 twitching at the line invariably produced the 

 desired result ; the barracuda darted again at 

 the bait, and after nosing it several times 

 finally took it deliberately and moved away ; 

 three or four convulsive swallows and the 

 bait disappeared, whereupon the hook was 

 jerked into it, and the latter end of the sport 

 commenced. 



" I don't believe Long John was ever a pirate 

 if he can catch a fish the way Tom said he did," 



