IN FEATHERS AND FUR. 
301 
The Cod are greedy creatures, and the men have only to bait 
the hook, and haul up the fish. Like other greedy fellows, they 
suffer for it, for they suddenly find a hook in their mouths, and in 
spite of their struggles they take a flying leap on the deck. The 
first thing that happens to them is to lose their tongues, for each 
man keeps an account of his fish by the tongues. Then they lie 
in heaps on the deck till the fishing is over for the day. Generally, 
after some hours hard work, the fish will suddenly leave, whether 
suspicious of the odd way in which their friends jump out of the 
water and return no more, or whether frightened by a larger fish, 
nobody knows. 
Then every man puts up his line, and all go to work to dispose 
of their deck load. Tables made by boards resting on barrels, are 
stretched across the deck, and the men are divided into squads. 
A nice time the poor Cod has before he gets through all these 
rough hands. Luckily, he's dead long ago, and don't care a snap 
what happens to him. n 
The first man, called by the suggestive name of a "Throater, 
takes a fish, cuts across his throat and down his body, and passes" 
him on. 
