left."

Gregory saw that she was right. Mascola's boats were crowded closely
about the _Albatross_ and his own fleet was completely fenced off.

"What did I tell you? He's got them already. Look! He's ready to move.
While we've been crawling along in this old tub, he's cleaned up."

The alien fleet began to get under way as she spoke and headed about.
Darting past his boats came Mascola. Noting the tardy arrival of the
oncoming launch, he made straight for them. Slowing down, he drifted by
with his white teeth flashing in an insolent smile. Then he opened the
throttle and the _Fuor d'Italia_ leaped forward and raced away with an
angry roar.

When they reached the _Albatross_, Big Jack was apoplectic with rage. It
was some minutes before he could master his speech sufficiently to
explain the situation. Mascola had arrived when they were hardly out of
sight, had watched them pulling in the fish and had gone at once to
summon his boats. The aliens had come upon him from around the point in
ever-increasing numbers. Had hedged him and taken his school. When the
cannery boats arrived the albacore quit biting and took to other
waters.

Dickie Lang issued orders for the return of the fleet to Legonia. Then
she vented her wrath on Kenneth Gregory.

"So you thought you had Mascola beaten, did you? What did I tell you?
Didn't I say he'd come back at the first chance? Albacore fishing is
where he's always been strong. And that's about all there is from now
on. We've got to come alive and forget these ideas and get down to brass
tacks. Mascola beat us hands down and we couldn't lift a finger to stop
him. What are you going to do about it? That's what I want to know."

Gregory curbed his rising anger and answered quietly:

"Before I tell you what I'm going to do, I'd like to ask you a question.
What could we have done legally to break through Mascola's fence?"

"Nothing. That's where he had us. He got there first. To get in to the
fish we'd have had to ram his boats and he'd have you up before the
local inspectors in no time if you had done that. If he had laid his
nets around ours it would have been different. You could demand sea-way
and run through them if he didn't move. But this way he had us over a
barrel. And he knew it. It's a trick no white man would do. But I guess
even you will admit now that there isn't a drop of white blood in that
dago's body."

"Then about the only way we could have beaten him," pursued Gre