Evening star., 1925-05-24
lark and Saw-Fish Provide Sport Endanger Lives

| She managed it after some diff
Guilty. All this time I was backing the
| boat as hard as l could in the direction
in which the fish was travelling, but
! in spite of the heavy brG-e e-presSure,
! the line was obviously coming near
the end.
Working my hardest, backed
| harder and harder.
I'm afraid it's no use" she walled
II simply can't hold 1t; it's agony in
| this position" .-
THE situation had become desperate
l pulled the oars in. and. using the
| greatest care, managed to reach her.
relieving her of the rod. Do or die, I
| jammed the brake on full strength
gambling everything on the hope that
| the line would be strong enough to
| stand the strain.
| After over three quarters of an hour
of this, my back and arms were ach-
| ing terribly, so with the utmost eau
| ton she crept up and relieved me in
turn of the rod.
| BY this time we had been carried
| over miles from the yacht. Many
| times we had signaled and shouted TO
Robbie and the native on board: they
were apparently quite obIivious of our
! plight.
We had passed through the channel
between Urava and Taboga, were now
out in the main ocean. and soon the
| islands cut off our view from the
! yacht.
1t was really most alarming posi-
| ton. Fortunately there was hardly a
ripple on the ocean; but how long the
brute we had hooked into would con-
| tinue heading for Asia was entirely
outside our knowledge.
over three hours had passed, and
the fish was still taking us farther
out.
This can't so on | painted. IF
we ever do play the fish out. we could
never tow 1t back to the yacht.
think I'd better cut the line"
"Oh. stick 1t bit longer" begged
my compa nion. After all this time 1t
would be terrible to be beaten"
About 10 minutes later. Lady Brown
who then had the line. called out
It's weakenins.''
j now seized the rod and gave all
the butt ! possibly could, then started
to pump the fish. Slowly ! could feel
| that this was having an Effect was
regaining line.
Alternately we laboriously sweated
at our task-yard after yard of the
line was being regained. Suddenly,
L
a huge shape.
Don't reel in any more line"
cried; we've got to cut. We're fast
into a big shark If we get 1t along
side and 1t strikes the side of the
dinghy with its tail it'll smash IL like
an egg; and if that happens, nothing
can save us out here"
l had no rifle with me-or even a
revolver. All we had was gaff The
h. hf Nf ~ sl,
tight we'd had was really cruel. But
l could see no alternative.
1 took out my knife.
Nait.-wait,' Lady Brown called
out excitedly; here comes the yacht"
Never was l more glad to see any
thing in my life. Out from behind
Urava, cutting the water at full speed,
came the Cara. We had been missed
at last, and they were searching
for us.
WHEN they came alongside we had
almost to be lifted to the deck,
so utterly spent were we both, and,
while the boy fastened the dinghy
astern, Robbie took over the rod. The
big fish appeared not to have kick
left in it, seeming thoroughly ex-
hausted. | got my rife and shot it
and away we went back to Taboga,
towing the carcass behind us. 1t
proved to be a sand shark, weighing
go pounds.
l went down to the cock pit, to find
Lady Brown, now the excitement was
over, stretched out, completely pros
trate. And l was similarly exhausted.
1t had taken over five hours from the
time of first striking the fish TO the
time it was ultimately dispatched and
fastened TO the stern of the yacht.
For sheer brutal exercise I know
nothing that can compare with play.
ing big fish on a rod and line There
is no doubt it is little too strenuous,
and can cause serious organic injury,
for the strain on the heart is tremen-
dous.
l had to go to Panama to be medi.
cally treated-my heart was again Civ
ing me considerable trouble. The
doctors once more impressed on me
that l must take it easy, and that the
human frame could not endure what
l expected of it,
When, after becoming thoroughly
rested, we resumed fishing, we had
battle of two hours with great fish
that swan on the line, fighting all the
time, around the yacht at anchor
There was the utmost danger that it
would foul the propeller with the line.
Since it was past o'clock and
nearly low water, there was no hope
of Bleaching the fish that day, even If
we finally managed TO kill it. And it
was three hours before we obtained
sight of it. Slowly it was becoming
exhausted.
It's huge tiger-shark," I cried out.
AS we obtained a palmer view, 1t
could be seen that in its almost eel
like movements it had wrapped itself
round and round with the line, which
had hitched in the narrow base of the
tail, and we were hauling it in slowly
but surely tail-first. AS 1t came along
side the yacht, the cavernous mouth
opened TO it's full width, then snapped