The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-05-30


 | sure on the brake, the wheel began to | spin in an alarming manner The fish had ] hooked himself, for not a motion had the
 angler made
 Easy, senor, DOT Dios, let him have ! his headi Let him have his headi He's sounding" cried Pedro in alarm as the l angler tried to stop the wild song of the ] reel
 1 Fifty yards of line flew out like magic. l then more slowly 10 or 15 went and then l the reel stopped. The watch on the ang- l lers wrist marked 6:20. 1 'Is he off?" the American asked, not l daring to move the rod | of? No, senor. If your line and stick l will hold he will never get off that hook Keep the line taut while I lower the | sail, and then you may take my seat 1 for we will now have to follow him | with the oars.'
 Cut Water Like Knife. l Carefully and swiftly was this done,
 and then gradually the angler reeled in as Pedro rowed the boat directly over
 the place where the fish was sulking. l Barely was this accomplished when with
 another brave tug he was off again, the | line cutting the water like a knife as 1 the fish darted hither and thither This l time, ably aided by Pedro's sl1illful man. 1 agement of the boat, the angler played him with all the skill he possessed. l For nearly an hour the boat darted l about, and then the fish started directly 1 for the open sea, Pedro plying the oars | as the angler kept a strong tension on 1 the line. His arms ached. All sensation had left his bleeding thumb. No tar l pon, no tuna had tried him so. At times | 1t felt as though he was driving a mad l dened horse
 Then, as suddenly as the aguja had 1 darte0 for the sea a fIlru and f91ada l for the boat.
 Reel, Madre de Dos, reelr' shouted | Pedro, springing to his feet and reaching | in his excitement for the line.
 "sit down. I'll beat him out" the angler exclaimed in reply, twlrling the handle of the reel
 For moment, only a moment, the aguja sullsed That saved the day, for the tangle in the line was almost a fact, with what consequences goodness only knows. Then on he came. But they were ready for him. Suddenly the line cut the water at a different angle. ''He leaps! he leapsi' shouted Pedro, and before the words had left his mouth a huge steel-colored body, armed with what appeared to be at that moment a 1 five-foot lance, shot six feet out of the water into the warm sunshine to cut into the water again, with just the slightest splash. Again and again he repeated his l jump. Sometimes nearer, sometimes far ther, but never more than thirty feet 1 away from the boat.
 | Time and again the rod bent under l the tremendous strain until the angler 1 thought 1t must break. The American's | strength was giving out. The constant 1 turning and twisting as the fish circled
 the boat had long since become an agony 1 and his wrist and thumb were all but | exhausted. Where was his much vaunted l tarpon experience? the angler thought 1 Was he going to fail In this great trial? 1 Had he been along he would have cut the line and called the game quits, but there was Pedro, with his little black eyes sparkling with excitement, one on
 the fish and the other suspiciously on the angler.
 Not moments rest did the aguja give his foe. Nor did he seem to need 1t, for he appeared as strong as ever. "It will be manana DOT la manana be- fore you get him alongside at this rate senor. No man who fishes for a living can use that stick" was all the consola- tion given by Pedro.
 Enjoyed the Fight. Tn dismay the angler looked out to where the fish again leaped, whirling in the air to fall angrily on his side into the water It almost seemed as if he actually enjoyed the fight Two long painful hours crept by. Twice he charged the boat, but each time Pedro, his confidence in the rod apparently estab- lished avoided the rush: then, with no warning, the agujas strength seemed to fail him. and he sounded directly beneath the boat.
 'Un momento mas, senor Ca moment longer, sir), smiled the fisherman. "When he Is ready he will rise of his own ae- cord. Do not worry him. The heat was terrific and the Amerl- cans face, hands and neck felt as though they were on fire The breeze had shifted and the sea was dotted with whitecaps. Only three boats remained in sight: the others had long since made their catch or left 1t for anot her day. In the dis tance, good eight miles, the whitwashed houses of Havana gleamed in the sun shine
 Presently the line moved, just trihe, and Pedro followed it carefully. Then the noble fish. swimming slowly but by no means all in appeared almost along side and barely two feet beneath the sur face to make his last stand. Around the boat time and again he slowly circied, sometimes all but within touching dis tance then again 15 feet away. But he leaped no more. He evidently lacked the strength to shoot himself from the water.
 From beneath the seats Pedro now with drew a 6-foot pole, at the end of which had been affixed large file sharpened into long point.
 Make the Blow.
 'Now, senor." said Pedro, "when he comes near enough I shall strike. Mind yourself for he may hit the boat. Above all do not leave your seat until you sec that the real danger is past"
 Then as the aguja swan nearer, barely moving Pedro standing barefoot in the stern seat raised his awkward weapon and struck with all his force. Instantly the boat trembled and keeed sharply while Pedro with cry of alarm toppled into the water as the whole ocean seemed to come over the American in smother ing shower. How he managed to cling to the rod and retain his seat he did not know For the fraction of a second he imagined the boat was sinking, then the reel ceased to sting and Pedros brown hands clutched the storn of the boat
 His tail and fortunately not his spear did that he sputtered as he climbed back into his boat. Ut is all over now. Look, senor."
 Scarcely six feet away lay the fish ip his death struggles. Directly back of his head stuck the spear with its pole beating the water as the fish rolled about
 Hastily rowing over to him Pedro deftly cast a loop over the slowly moving tail and waited for the end. It came within another minute and together the two dragged him alongside and dashed him to the side.
 It was 11:10 Four hours and 50 minutes of as hard and as game a fight as any one could wish to have