oot upon its head, the fierce creature bent half round, and then let
itself go like a spring, with the effect that it struck Bob's shoe so
smart a blow with one of its spines that the shoe was pierced by the
toe, and it required a tug to withdraw the spine.

"Are you hurt, Bob?" we both cried earnestly.

"No, not a bit. My toes don't go down as far as that. Ah, would you?"

This was to the fish, which was lashing about fiercely.

"Let me do it, Bob. I'll kill it in no time, and I know how to manage
him."

"So do I," said Bob independently, as he made another attack upon the
dog-fish, which resented it by a fresh stroke with its spine, this time
so near to Bob's leg that he jumped back and fell over the thwart.

"I say, that was near," he cried. "You have a try, Big."

Our school-fellow wanted no second bidding, and taking hold of the line,
he drew the fish's head under his right foot, pressed down its tail with
his left, took out the hook, and then with his knife inflicted so
serious a cut upon the creature that, when he threw it over, it only
struggled feebly, as it sank slowly and was carried away.

"There's a cruel wretch!" cried Bob. "Did you see how vicious he was
with his knife?"

"It isn't cruel to kill fishes like that," retorted Bigley. "See what
mischief they do hunting the other fish and eating everything. See how
they bite the herrings and mackerel out of the nets, only leaving their
heads."

"He wouldn't have said anything if the dog had spiked him," I said.

"Why, so he did spike me," cried Bob; "and--"

"I've got another," I cried, beginning to haul up, and as I hauled Bob
sent his freshly-baited and disentangled hook down to the bottom.

I had caught another flat-fish about the size of the first, and directly
after Bob caught one. Then there was a pause, and I took another
dog-fish, and after that we fished, and fished, and fished for about
half an hour and caught nothing.

It was December, but the air was still, and we did not feel it in the
slightest degree cold. I suppose it was the excitement kept us warm,
for there was always the expectation of taking something big, even if
the great fish never came.

Just as we were thinking that it was of no use to stay longer the fish
began to bite again, and we caught several, but all small, and then all
at once, as I was lowering my lead, I cried out:

"Look here! I can't touch bottom."

"Nonsense!" said Bob, lowering his line, but