handle and Roote was a small man, but that net went flying out as
though tossed by a giant.

"You're a jim-dandy with the twine, all right," said the seine-master
admiringly. He turned to the rowers, "Put your backs into it, boys," he
said; "drive her for all you know how. We've got to give this new
contraption a fair chance."

"How much net out now, sir?" he asked the statistician in a few minutes.

"Quarter of a mile," was the reply.

"Shall we close in then, eh?"

"You'd better."

The seine-master, feeling that the school of mackerel had been inclosed,
turned the seine-boat towards the dory and, under the powerful arms of
the fishermen, the circle was soon completed. It was a perfect set.

The wind had been rising rapidly, and just as the seine-boat reached the
dory a sharp rain squall struck. But the cry was, "Purse up!" for until
a seine is partly pursed up, there is no telling whether the fish are
really in or not. For a moment, however, it was almost impossible to
purse up, the wind and rain were beating so savagely.

"Pull!" said Roote, suiting the action to the word, and all hands joined
him. The net was light, far lighter than the old fishermen's nets, and
there was more than one audible comment to the effect that the net would
break, and that it was too bad they hadn't one of the old-style nets
around the school, but the pursing in continued, and the net showed no
signs of breakage. Presently first one, then another, fish flashed above
the water, and a minute later the shine of the mackerel showed, and then
the whole school, including thousands of fish, rose in a body to the
surface, beating the water with their forked tails, and threshing in mad
confusion from side to side.

The seine-master turned to the Fisheries official with a good deal of
concern.

"That's a big haul," he said; "will your net stand it?"

There was no hesitation in the reply.

"Yes," he said.

"Then I'm willin' to admit," said the seine-master, "that you win. I'd
never ha' believed that you could get as big a net as light as that an'
able to hold the fish. That'll save us fishermen a pile o' labor."

But the official was not to be tempted into talk, even on the question
of his own invention. He simply nodded, and went on pursing in.
Presently the _Shiner_ came pelting down the breeze, still carrying
quite a bit of canvas, there being not enough hands on board to reef.
The weather was getting dirtier every minute.

"He