ful henchman by the belt, to thus prevent him
from being dragged overboard, as the line suddenly tautened out like a
bar, flinging up a great shower of spray as it did so, while a terrific
plunge in the water far astern revealed the fact that a second monster,
whose presence had hitherto been undetected, had taken the bait and
become hooked.

"Let go the line, you idiot, let go!" hissed Escombe through his
clenched teeth, as he braced his feet against a stanchion and flung
himself back, clinging with both hands to Arima's belt, while that
individual vainly strove to hold the now frantically struggling
reptile--"let go, man, if you don't want to be dragged overboard and
eaten alive! Haul down the foresail, there, for'ard!"

The stout raw-hide line twanged like a harp-string as the terrified
Arima relaxed his convulsive grip on it and was hauled back inboard to
safety by his master, and the yacht's forward progress was checked with
an abruptness that threatened to drag the bitts out of her as the strain
of the line, with the plunging, struggling monster at the end of it, was
suddenly thrown upon them, while the shock sent every individual, fore
and aft, sprawling upon the deck, to the uproarious and most undignified
amusement of the young Inca, and the mortal terror of his faithful
subjects. Then, as all hands scrambled to their feet again and
instinctively regained possession of their weapons, the hooked saurian
started to "run", in the vain hope, possibly, of breaking away from the
restraining influence which had so suddenly and unaccountably seized
upon it. The yacht was whirled violently round--almost capsizing in the
process--and dragged, with her bows nearly buried in the hissing and
curling water, back toward the head of the lake, at a steadily
increasing pace, as the now thoroughly terrified plesiosaurus surged
forward at headlong speed in its frenzied endeavour to escape, with its
companion keeping pace by its side.

The yacht had only travelled a distance of some three miles down the
lake when the monster had taken the bait, and on the backward journey
this distance was covered in about a quarter of an hour--a fact which
bore eloquent testimony to the tremendous strength of the creature.
Harry was beginning to feel exceedingly uneasy lest his vessel should be
towed into such shallow water that he would be compelled to cut the line
in order to save her from being dragged ashore, when the quarry, which
proba