gave no heed to
the rapid departure of the boat. He took half a dozen quick steps to the
stern and leaped over the quarter, judging the distance so accurately
that he landed fair on the foremost thwart of the seine-boat as she
dropped astern, a couple of the men catching him as he jumped.

"Easy on the painter!" he cried. Then, next moment:

"Stand by the dory," as the smaller of the boats, with two men aboard,
came sliding by and was almost thrown on top of the seine-boat by a
cross-sea.

There came a fire of orders from the captain, which Colin could hardly
follow, and he wondered how the helmsman and one man on deck could keep
up with them.

"Ease off the main-sheet! Dave,"--that was the man at the wheel,--"swing
her away a bit. Steady there! Slack the foretops'l and stays'l halyards.
Lively now! Jibe her over, Dave! Down with the balloon, there! Quick as
the Lord'll let you! Over she comes! Stand by in the boat and dory! Keep
her down, Dave! Down, man, down! It's a good school."

There was a moment's pause.

"You in the boat and dory?"

"All ready, sir," answered the seine-master.

"Ready, dory?"

"All ready."

"Hard up, Dave! Steady a little. A little! Don't you know what a little
is? Ready in the boat, there! Steady with that wheel! Now you've got
her. You in the boat, there. Got that new-fangled net ready?"

"Ready," cried the statistician shortly. Then Colin understood. The trip
was for the purpose of testing out a new net devised by the Bureau and
the Fisheries man was a net expert. No wonder he knew a boat!

"Stand by the boat. Ready, the dory! When I give the word! Hold on a bit
with the painter! Now let her go! You in the dory there, show your
lantern! All your own way now!"

Colin tugged at his oar. Never, in all his experience in rowing, had he
tackled anything like an oar of that size, but he pulled for all he was
worth, and a glow ran through him to feel that he was holding up his
end. The light dory with two men aboard, came racing after them. It was
nearly a half-mile pull before the seine-master cried:

"Over with the buoy!"

And the buoy was tossed overboard for the dory to pick up and hold to
windward.

Then the silent Fisheries officer got busy. Without a word, he reached
for the net. It was made of a lighter twine than customary, and not
thickly tarred, having also different corks to the usual type, and
sinkers all over the net. It looked like a fearfully complicated thing
to