In less than two minutes Chap felt a tug at his line. He gave a pull, and his first impression was that his hook had caught in something at the bottom, but the jerking of his line soon let him know that there was a fish at the other end of it. Then he began to haul in; but this hauling in was very different from anything he had been accustomed to.
It took all his strength to pull in the line hand-over-hand, and although he was greatly excited, and worked as fast as he could, it came in but slowly. Sometimes the fish pulled back so hard that Chap thought he would be dragged into the water himself; but, digging his heels into the sand, he tugged away manfully.
The line was a stout one, but it cut his hands, and his arms began to ache from the unaccustomed exercise. But he kept bravely on until the head and back of a great fish appeared above the surface of the water.
Wildly excited, he gave a few mad pulls, and then rushing backward, he hauled high up in the sand a flapping, floundering fish, nearly three feet long. It was a handsome creature, dark on the back, but bright yellow beneath.
For a moment Chap gazed on his prize with triumphant delight, and then he gave a shout, which brought Phœnix, and soon after, Adam.
Phœnix was almost as delighted as Chap himself. This was something like fishing. He had never seen a fish like this in his life.
“Now, then,” cried Chap to Adam, “what do you say to that? Is that fellow big enough for you?”
“Yes,” said Adam, “it’s big enough, and it’s too big. That’s a cavalio, and people eat them when they can’t get anything else; but its flesh is pretty coarse, and I couldn’t manage to cook a fish that size the way I’m goin’ to do it.”
“You ought to mention the exact size of fish you want,” said Chap, in a disappointed tone, “and then, perhaps, a fellow could catch them for you.”
“It is a pity you didn’t get something between the two,” said Adam; “but you can’t expect to hit anything right square the first time. But, hello! here comes the quartermaster, and I believe he’s got a blue-fish.”