Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-11-03

the waves come as they would. The object OF
our present quest was to keep the line taut and
stay with our catch. Easy riding could wait.
So one moment we were heading straight into
the seas, and the next we were sitting length
wise the top Of wave wallowing in .
trough.
Our little skipper worked like . Trojan.
'WeM let him wear himself out" he said. "I
gave i'm q good sock with the harpoon. Way
down in his CUTS Just let him fight while
and Wen have him. Haul inp'
All hands grasped the line, for it had slack
ened. We pulled in hand over hand as hard
could. Caswell estimated that the devil
fish was headed straight for the boat, but so far
under water that it couldn't be seen.
MY heart was in my throat. I had seen the
monster as the harpoon struck but had
no idea what it was like. It had appeared
simply as big bowlder projecting above the
surface. I didn't know how much Of it had
been concealed under the water, or what it
weighed or what shape it might be.
And here it was headed straight for the
boat! We could tell this by the fact that the
rope came in freely at pull but ran out
II we turned it loose. This indicated that the
monster was coming our way rapidly that
the rope cut the water, although it would
slide back around the huge curve If freed
from our end, or could be pulled from both
ends and made to cut faster.
And then the rope shot straight down, and
was jerked from our handSl The monster had
already passed under us, with the speed and
power of express train. We jumped aside to
get our feet away from the writhing coil, and
watched fascinated, as the rope sped over the
stern.
The pilot turned the boat, so as to keep the
Vtern toward the beast, and protect his propeller
and rudder from fouling in the line Waves
breaking over the side went unnoticed and we
forgot about the rain driving against our
faces.
There was a tug on the rope. The deyilfsh
had reached the limits of his 1,O50-fOot radius
There would have been a severe shock but the
rope was long enough to stretch considerably,
and absorbed the shock.
This time the monster did not pause. He
kept Juggling. The pilot put on all power, but
the devilfsh had decided to visit distant places,
and would not be deferred. For couple of
minutes we were unable to draw in a foot Of
rope, and the boat was actually hauled back
ward, although white water was thrown up
by the propeller as it was turned madly by the
high-powered motor.
Still keeping the line taut, the devilfish
started in a huge circle, until it had gone
completely around the boat. figured that it
covered more than a mile, and it required q
remarkably short time to make the distance.
And then the game settled down to grim
battle with young Caswen playing his own
cunning, the power Of the boat and the
strength of four men against the brute
strength of the beast At his word we hauled in
the line, only to let it go again as the devil
fish yanked it from our hands, or to pay out
slowly as it tugged in the desperate tug-o'-war,
If we were able to withstand its mad lunges.
We forgot all about time. We forgot the
squall, the place. and all else, as we became
engrossed in the grim fight even forgot my
terror of the unknown as worked desperately
to capture the beast.
was surprised some time later-an hour
or two later-to see the sun burst out. had
not NpnaY he rail- Tfo h0of
was stin pitching wildly, so that we had to
brace ourselves, and occasionally we were
thrown in struggling heap as wave caught
us broadside while we were hauling in with
all hands on the line.
And then we found that we could hold our