line is one hundred fathoms long. The hooks are
generally from four to six feet apart and there are about one hundred
and twenty on each line. We have to pull in over twenty-four hundred
fathoms or over twenty-six thousand feet of line, to which are attached
about five thousand hooks."

"Indeed," I said to the captain, "it will be hard work and will take
quite a while, especially if many fish are caught."

"I hope, nevertheless, we shall catch many," he replied with a smile,
"for most of us have a home to keep and a wife and children to clothe
and feed."

We began to haul in the lines on the reel. How we watched! How deep our
eyes tried to see into the water! It was quite exciting. We were
fortunate: a big shoal of fish had been passing on that part of the
banks, and on many a hook a cod was hanging. After we got through, we
pulled towards another of our buoys, passing several that belonged to
other fishermen on the way.

Having pulled in about three hundred fathoms of our next line, we found
that the rest of the line had drifted into a net and some of the hooks
were caught and entangled in it, and we had a hard job to free the line.

Then we rowed to a third buoy belonging to us and began hauling. Almost
every other hook had caught a fish. The faces of the fishermen were full
of happiness. They felt that on that day they would have a great catch,
when suddenly one of the men shouted, "Our line is entangled; I wonder
whether it has fouled a net or another line." But as we pulled in the
line we raised another line with it not belonging to us. We had a hard
time to separate them, but after nearly half an hour's work succeeded in
doing so. We had caught over two hundred cod on this line.

Our fourth line proved to be entangled in nets as well as also in
several lines belonging to different owners. The untwisting was
something awful, and it was no joke to separate them. Fortunately we
could tell to whom the lines belonged, for each one is marked from
distance to distance with the number of the boat and the letter of the
district from which the craft comes. The rest of the lines were so badly
tangled that we concluded to cut them. Then we pulled the cut pieces
with the fish on them into our boat, intending to give them to their
owners--not a difficult task, as the marks of ownership were on the
tackles--and if they belonged to another settlement the fish would be
sold and the money given them.

Captain Johansen and t