"THE SAILORS WERE HAVING A GOOD TIME"
And little Jacob turned his head, and then he scrambled in. Now and then some of the flying fish flew right across the deck of the Industry. And some of them came down on the deck, and some struck against the masts and ropes; and the sailors were standing all about, looking excited, as if they were playing a game. They had their caps in their hands, and when the fish flew across the deck, they tried to catch them in their caps. And some they caught and some they didn't; but the sailors were having a good time, and they laughed and shouted at their play.
And a sailor who had just caught a fish in his cap brought it to little Jacob.
"Now you can see it plainer," said Captain Solomon.
Little Jacob looked and he saw a fish that was less than a foot long, and the color on its back was a deep, ocean blue, and the fins were a darker blue, and it was all silvery underneath. And it had long fins coming out of its shoulders, almost as long as the fish, and they looked very strong and almost like a swallow's wings.
By and by little Jacob looked up at Captain Solomon. "Why do the men want to catch so many of them?" he asked. "Because it's fun?"
"Well, no," said Captain Solomon. "It is great fun. I've done it myself, in my day. But these fish are very good to eat. Any kind of fresh meat is a good thing, when you know there's nothing better than salted meat to fall back on. You'll see how good they are, at dinner."
Little Jacob sighed. "Oh," he said. "Thank you for showing me."
And he was rather sober as he went back to his place on the bowsprit to watch. But when dinner time came, he ate some of the flying fish and thought they were very nice, indeed.