mb, I welcomed the yellow-brown back when it came to the surface a
few yards from the canoe. But here was another difficulty. How was
the fish to be got into the boat? I could see now that it was
certainly twenty pounds, and A. confessed that he had never used the
gaff. Ben was out of the question, having his oars to look after, and
even if he had been free the position would not allow me to bring the
fish up to him. The gaff was strong and big, and it was furnished with
a rank barb, generally a detestable implement in my estimation.

Yet it proved our salvation. The gaff handle, I should state, was
tapered the wrong way--that is to say, it was smaller at the end where
it should have afforded some sort of grip to the hand. A. slipped the
barbed affair into the body with great adroitness, but he had no
experience of the strength of such customers, and at the mighty plunge
it made the gaff slipped out of his hands, and I had my fish (with the
added weight of wood and steel) once more on my conscience.

Fortunately the tension on the line had not been relaxed. A. remained
cool; Ben ordered him to seize my line. "I'll knock him out of the
boat if he does," was the shout of another of the party, with a dulcet
aside, "Lay hold of the gaff, old chap; we'll have him yet." And we
did have him; A. leaned over, grasped the stick, hoisted the fish,
kicking furiously, out of the water, and deposited it amongst our feet,
where, in the confined space, there was for awhile an amusing
confusion. Ben had a "priest" under his thwart, and by and by I found
a chance for a straight smite at the back of the neck. The 'lunge
received his _coup de grace_, and we cooled down to sum up. Truth to
tell, the three of us had for the last five minutes been as excited as
schoolboys; the odds had been so much against us that the tussle was
not what is termed a "gilt-edged security" until the fish lay still in
the bottom of the canoe. He had been well hooked far down the throat
by one triangle; the phantom with the other two came out of its own
accord at the application of the priest, and the double gut of the
triangle that remained inside was cut through.

Ben was profuse in his apologies for attempting to interfere and for
making light of my rod and line, and frankly explained that he had
never seen the like before in 'lunge fishing. The absent triangle lost
me two fish in succession, and we went ashore to repair the damages and
to wei