Evening star., 1909-08-21

Here was no run away, panic stricken
fish. unable to defend Itself. but a
mighty antagonist who would give him
something to do He saw the giant
mouth opening before him. and as he did
he swung downward gracefully. swerv-
twenty fathoms and as he reached the
lowermost curve of the dive he sped up
to mighty rush and came darting
toward the surface like projectile. the
dark bulk of the sea devil almost directly
above Quick as thought the devil
Slowed and started for the sand below,
but quicker yet came the swordfish With
furious rush he drove his sword through
the sea devil. the point coming out full
three feet in his back, but the monster
had swung enough to avoid a stroke upon
the thick, solid mass of flesh of his side
fuke. His blood dyed the sea and
streamed away like a jet of smoke from
the wound as they both now tore along
side by side. 1t was bad stroke for the
knight. for he had driven his sword so
fiercely that he had much trouble 20
withdraw it, and all the time the mighty
devil was heading for the shoals, hoping
to gain the sand. BY the time he had
worked the weapon free, the knight
found himself in less than dozen faith
scuttling along the bottom in a circle
trying to come to close quarters with
his assailant, whom he was dragging
along and unable to reach. In a mo-
ment the devil turned. He felt the free
ing of the sword, and with open jaws
and thrashing fukes he came at the
knight.
For a moment it looked as though the
warrior would get it pretty badly. for he
was close upon the bottom and the devil
was upon him before he had time to give
himself sufficient headway to drive mis-
sword home. To turn to flee would be
fatal The Jaws would seize him. and once
held he would have little opportunity to
get away for the devil would never re-
lax his hold while he lived. He acted
with a sudden resolve and drove with all
his power right under the huge hulk
way between the mass of the monster
and the ground. The sea devil. carried
along by his momentum. drove over the
struggling knight SO quickly that he
failed to get his grip except upon the
end of the tail fuke which tore through
his teeth. In less than ten seconds the
knight was hurling himself headlong
again upon the monster, his sword point
ing straight at the center of the body
Before the sea devil could swing about
the weapon pierced him. going clean
savagey. bit and tore him, but his fail
ing strength enabled the sword fish to
back away. Another and another stab
was delivered. and soon the great bulk
sank. supine. upon the sand vast dead
mass of flesh.
The knight of the Outer Shoal swan
slowly away. He was badly cut and
somewhat tired from the fracas. but he
rose to the surface ready for anything
or any one who still had the hardhood
to dispute the possession of the Hatteras
bank.
During the following week he fell IN
with vast schools of bluefish which he
chased and slashed numerically. killing
them by the hundred, and once he came
in contact with school Of sand sharks
that came sinking over the bank He
pierced fifteen of these monsters and
drove the rest away for the time being
but the scavengers came back during
the hours of darkness and devoured
their fellows that lay either dead
badly wounded in the shoal water 4
great pelagic shark, a huge broad-headed
fellow with triangular teeth came N
along the edge of the gulf stream and
for a time disputed the right to infest
the shoals; but the knight of the bank
fought him to a finish, piercing Him sew
eral times through the small part of the
body. and only dessted after the huge