"Put him in my boat," I answered.
The Coveted Prize
Which was easier said than done, for it took the three of them to transfer him to my craft, from which I removed the middle thwarts to make room for his silver kingship. He was deposited on the bottom of the boat and the men resumed work.
He Rose in His Might
Then the silver king rose up in his majesty and stood on his tail, towering above me, for he was over six feet tall. I immediately grabbed him in my arms with a grip born of desperation, for I knew it was my last and only chance to secure a tarpon. The boat was dancing about on the crest of the sea and the north wind howled. The palmettos on shore lashed their broad fronds as they bent before the gale. It was a difficult matter at best to keep one's feet, but with a slippery silver giant in one's arms it was a wonder that we both did not go overboard.
A Slippery Customer
But I held on to him and got him down in the bottom of the boat. No sooner down, however, than he was up again. This time he slipped from my grasp and went down full length on the bottom with a noise like the felling of an ox in an abattoir, causing the men to pause in their work and look around.
"Let him go!" shouted the Captain. "He'll knock the bottom of the boat out and drown you!"
"I'll risk it," I replied. "I won't let him go if I have to go overboard with him. I am bound to land him in Washington if I have to go by water."
A Wild Dance