On the other hand, the boats promised to be
veryseaworthy and comfortable. Isaw gray patches of fish on the surface, acres of
kahawai. I could not very well quote some of their exaggerations, thoughthe
temptation is strong.
He was one of the few to be saved out of hundreds
of sick andwounded soldiers.
Someone showed me a picture of New Bedford whaling
ships at anchor in thebay.
Moreover, the air was pleasant, the shoreline
strikingly clear.
From Wellington to Auckland was a long ride
offifteen hours, twelve of which were daylight. The result was that I brought this
Marlin up ineleven minutes.
It is a summer resort, and children
andbobbed-haired girls were much in evidence. This was about fifteen miles offshore;
and it was an event of importance. As luck would have it, however, I was the firstto
hook and land a kahawai. Four Marlin, one of them a monster, rushed the teasers;
andtwo of them got hold.
At the hour-and-three-quarters mark I shut down on
thedrag and let him pull. He surelywas a beautiful and majestic bird, lord of the
sea.
After dinner we climbed the high hill on our side.
Evenin the darkest part, where the water looked black, I saw the pale gleamsof fish.
One of them, Drury Low, had not been off his particular islandfor fifteen years.
McCloud then told of thecapture of a sixteen-foot sail-fish, on a heavy hand-line. I
saw several sailing hawks, some whitegulls, and a great wide-winged gannet. As
theMakura rushed tirelessly on her way, this northward trend of the sunbecame more
noticeable.
Iheard next day that he caught his, a small Marlin.
There was no wind; not a ripple on the bay. Larks, up with thebreak of day, poured
forth their perfect melodies.
I looked in time to see a Marlin back of the left
teaser. One of the NewZealand anglers brought out his tackle for our edification. I
did not feel that anythingmuch would happen, so I contented myself with watching the
other boats.
There wasconsiderable excitement on my boat and on
Captain Mitchells.
No doubt they ramtheir enemies in battle, as the
broadbills do.
Now theyll lose that fish pronto, I soliloquized.
These were my first impressions of our camp site on Urupukapuka.
Here and there were other patches,large as an
acre.
I did not know what had happened to the angler, but
I saw him leap up,trying to hold the long rod.
Guides andtips were huge affairs, and few and far
between. They sang until after dark; and in the gray dawn, at four oclock, theyawoke
me from sound slumber. These were my first impressions of our camp site on
Urupukapuka.