Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1908-11-19

"conjure him! Conjure hint he
yelled, and shook the little hairy pad
at the fish. as it curved in a high arc
and fell back, driving foam to the
boat.
Now he rushed steadily and
straight for the head of the lagoon.
upon him, but a tarpon six feet long
is. not to be turned or tired by such
tricks Foot after foot Of the line
spun from the reel. Bert had no
finger-staIs, and the thin silk ate hot
into the flesh of the thumb with
which he tried to brake the line.
Two hundred and fifty feet ran out,
and the fatness of the reel was gone
before the tarpon swung. He came
straight for the boat. Bert reeled
frantically. It would not do to give
the fish too much slack. There was
a dreadful droop to the line when the
second leap came and the tarpon rose,
higher than before, and Slated his
great head vigorously. When he
turned in mid-air he bent like steel
bow, and snapped out straight again
with a jerk that tossed the line high.
But in the heart of the suds and
broken water the line stiffened, and
Bert knew he had the fish we'll
hooked. Well-hooked is far from be-
ing safely landed. A tarpon can per-
form more acrobatic feats than almost
any ether game-fish in the sea; and a
straight rush, if not stopped in time,
will inevitably end in a broken line.
Not once did the tarpon sulk. It
was straight fighting every minute.
With rod and reel and bloody fingers
Bert fought back, and the hour that
passed seemed a Dozen He was
bathed in sweat, and every muscle
ached. Even his teeth ached under
the dogged pressure Of his jaws. Lee
chewed on his precious rabbits foot
fwttn savage u1srcsard Uf it's value.
He might have ground it up if the
| tarpon had not interviewed.
| During the first half of the second
| hour the fish seemed as fresh as ever,
but series Of huge leaps and their
smacking falls tired him. For the first
time Bert was able to gather in q
hundred feet of line, the tarpon yield
ing sullenly to the strain. He lay
now within few yards of the boat
dorsal fin out, his six feet of silver
cleaning through the water.
"Coax him, Mister Bertn pleaded
Lee, gaff in hand. "Lemme get jus
one jab at him with dis yere pike,
Bert touched the reel with nunlbet
fingers, but gentle as the pull was, i
. reused the tarpon to a last fury. Gu
of the suddenly swirling water b,
! Ifose, open-mouthed, and ,, fore tn,
!, boys could move he was upon then
! with an impact that sent Lee end th
} oars flying, and thrust the gunwal
: of the boat beneath the surface.
:. Bert and the tarponi and the broker
! halves of the centre seat thrashe'
: about on the flooded bottom. TIL
: boys length was less than that of tn
great fish, but he thrust his hand
( into the wide gills and wound his leg
, round the slippery body, and tough
with shut eyes. He was fighting i
Ills OW Ii sOlCluSuI dnO IAO@L6sA pOA w q
mot. The muscular body ceased t
heave under him; and when tn
f streaming Lee cautiously appeare
: at the gunwale, the rabbit s foot pre-
! truding from his lips, the real strus
e gle was over.
: The tarpoD, stuffed and varnishet
hangs over the hall fireplace of tn
e fashionable Anglers Anchorage, an
a under it is this inscription: Th
n Silver King. Caught by Herbel
d Christianson, June 8, 1907. Weigi
e 204 pounds" And when the ne
v guest stands open-mouthed before
the host adds something like this:
n "Yes, sir, that's a record fish f
I this coast IF I'd known you wel
coming, I'd have tried to arrange
d day with Bert for you. He's our be
e fguide, and his time is booked we
ahead. d..-Y outh's Companion.