Richmond Palladium (Daily), Volume 34, Number 285, 21 August 1909 — Page 6

By U. en kins Jfcains

HE believed not in the futility of this worldly existence nor in its troubles. For him the life was justified by immediate results, and as for trouble, he sought it at all points. His two fathoms of muscular length slid through the sea with his weapon always ready, always unsheathed, and its immense strength and deadly sharpness warranted his faith in his ability to prove himself upon all errants or trespassers. He was what the fishermen termed a "soadfish," or, properly speaking, swordfish, a giant of the mackerel tribe His weapon was four feet long, four inches wide at the hilt, or where it joined his jiead, and it tapered exactly like an armed warrior's blade, like the mailed fighter's weapon of the land. The point was not quite as sharp as that of the steel-clad human fighter's, but it was very tough and keen enough to penetrate anything of flesh and blood with the greatest of ease. He could drive it four feet deep into the belly of a whale without exerting half his strength, and it made a ghastly wound. With his six hundred pounds of flesh and bone behind . it, flying through the water at the rate of twenty miles

an hour, he could drive that' sword through a ship's ' bottom through a four-inch plank. The flat blade had sharp edges, and he could strike sideways a terrific, J chopping blow which would put a smaller denizen of the sea beyond the cares of. self-support. He always came upon the coast at the beginning of spring, striking in along the land where the colossal wall falls a sheer mile or more into the deep ocean bed a few miles to the southward of the Hatteras Shoals. f ' Nine miles below the Diamond Shoals Lightship the sandy bottom sinks 'quickly to a thousand fathoms or more, and below in the bed of the Atlantic the mighty wall is swept by the tepid waters of the Gulf or Florida Stream. At the beginning of summer the swordfish came in toward the land as was his custom. He was a fighter, a follower of unending strife, a knight who knew no surfeit of battle as long as he had strength to follow and strike his foe. The wounds he inflicted he took not at all into consideration, and often wantonly struck and slashed frantically mto a peaceable school of fish for the pure love of the slaughter. The first denizen of the deep water who claimed his attention was a giant ray, or sea-devil. This monster, weighing a full ton or more and measuring fully fifteen feet across the tips of his wings or flukes, came sliding along the edge of the shoal, heading up from the southward, where he had spent the cold weather. The quiet . sea was much to his liking, and he sought the sunshine of the surface. : It warmed him and he flung his whole immense bulk skyward, breaching clear and falling back into the water with a roar like a small cannon as his flat flukes struck solid upon the surface. The joy of life was in him. Out upon the smooth sea lay the Knight of the Bank basking in the bright sunshine. The sudden smash of the great body falling into the water attracted his attention. It seemed like a challenge. He gave a quick wing to his shark-like tail and in a moment his high dorsal fin, thin and sharp and curved backward, was cutting the water like a knife, shearing its way toward the intruder. The sea-devil, monstrous, fearless, noticed a form approaching. In an instant it took the shape of a long, thin object with a long, pointed weapon held before, and as he swung to meet it, he opened his huge jaws for a savage bite, for he knew at once that he was to meet an attack which would be no slight fracas, no small scrimmage and a breakaway. The Knight of the Shoal took in the immense bulk and put on. more power. He had found a foe of no mean proportions. Here was no runaway, panic-stricken . fish, unable to defend itself, but a mighty antagonist who would give him something to do. He saw the giant mouth opening before him, and as he did so he swung downward gracefully, swerving into a circle with an arc of some twenty fathoms, and as he reached the lowermost curve of the dive he sped up to a mighty rush and came darting toward the surface like a projectile, the dark bulk of the sea-devil almost directly above. Quick as thought the devil slewed and started . for the sand below, but quicker yet Came the swordfish. With a furious rush he drove the sword through the sea-devil, the point coming out a full three feet in his back, but the monster had swung enough to avoid stroke upon a vital part and the blade pierced only the thick, solid mass of flesh of his side fluke. His blood dyed the sea and streamed away like a jet of smoke from the wound as they both now tore along side by side. It was a 'bad stroke for the knight, for he had

driven his sword so fiercely that he had much trouble to withdraw it, and all the time the mighty devil was heading for the shoals, hoping to gain the sand. By the time he had worked the weapon free, the knight found himself in less than a dozen fathoms of water and the sea-devil was scuttling along the bottom in a circle, trying to come to close quarters with his assailant, whom he was dragging along and unable to reach. In a moment the devil turned. He felt the freeing of the sword, and with open jaws and threshing flukes he came at the knight. For a moment it looked as though the warrior would get it pretty badly, for he was close upon the. bottom and the devil was upon him before he had time to give himself sufficient headway to drive his sword home. To turn to flee would be fatal The jaws would seize him, and once held he would have little opportunity to get away, for the devil would never relax his hold while he Jived. He acted with a sudden resolve and drove with all hispower right under the huge bulk, gouging into, the sand and forcing his- way between the mass of

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THE FIRST DENIZEN OF THE DEEP WATER WHO CLAIMED HIS ATTENTION WAS A GIANT RAY OR SEA-DEVIL.

the monster and the ground. The sea-devil, carried along by his own momentum, drove over the struggling knight so quickly that he failed to get his grip except upon the end of the tail-fluke, which tore through his teeth. In less than ten seconds the knight was hurling himself headlong again upon the monster, his sword pointing straight at the center of the body. Before the sea-devil could swing about the weapon pierced him, going clean through his body. He grabbed the knight savagely, bit and tore him, but his failing strength enabled the sword-fish to back away. Another and another stab was delivered, and soon the great bulk sank, supine, upon the sand, a vast dead mass of flesh. The Knight of the Outer Shoal swam slowly away. He was- badly cut and somewhat tired from the fracas, but he rose to the surface ready for anything, or any one who still had the hardihood to dispute the possession of the Hatteras Bank. During the following week he fell in with vast schools of bluefish which he chased and slashed unmercifully, killing them by the hundred, and once he came in contact with a school of sand-sharks that came slinking over the bank. He pierced fifteen of these monsters and drove the rest away for the time being, but the scavengers came back during the hours of darkness and

devoured their fellows that lay either dead or badly wounded in the shoal water. A great pelagic shark, a huge broad-headed fellow with triangular teeth, came in along the edge of the Gulf Stream and for a time disputed the right to infest the shoals ; but the knight of the bank fought htm to a finish, piercing him several times through the small part of the body, and only desisted after the huge fellow drove away full speed to the eastward at a rate v.ie knight could not keep up with and use his weapon with telling effect He left him a badly cut-up shark about fifty miles out in the stream and came slowly backto his position near the edge of the great ocean wall. One day a school of small-toothed whales came in close to the lightship. They were of the black fish family, strong, vigorous and remarkably active. Not more than thirty feet in length, they swam along with horizontal flukes and high dorsal fins, like giant porpoises. The Knight of the Outer Bank lay waiting for a foe that day, and as the monsters came swimming slowly in upon the shoal, disporting themselves, plunging and

jumping like so many small fish, his fierce soul felt that he would at last meet with foemen worthy of his deadly prowess. He was not mistaken. The whales were of the predatory breed, hungry cannibals that hesitated not to eat their own kind whenever opportunity offered. Neither did they hesitate to offer combat to anything in the shape of animal or fish that happened in their path, save only the great cachalot, or sperm whale, whose long jaw and deadly flukes they found beyond their power. There were six worthies in the school and they came gamboling over the shoal, nor regarded with any concern the long, tapering weapon which lay pointed at them, just beneath the surface. The knight waited not for a challenge, but bore down upon them with a rush, his weapon aimed for the foremost monster. Quick as lightning the whale plunged forward, but not quick enough to avoid the stroke. The long sword pierced him through the lungs and heart, and he came weakly to the surface blowing a bloody spray from his spiracles. The swordfish backed clear and as he did so the next in line of the foemen dashed at him. He drove his weapon full speed at the whale, but it struck only a glancing Mow, cutting a gash five feet long and fully six inches deep in the smooth side

of the animal. Then his momentum carried him right into the midst of the rest, who flung themselves upon him with a vigor and velocity that taxed his swimming powers to the utmost. One animal seized him just forward of his dorsal fin and set his pointed teeth deep in the flesh. He struggled frantically to get clear, but he only did so after the teeth tore away the piece of him they held, for the whale would not relax its grip. It was a grisly wound and it warmed the fighter's heart He felt the pain and swung about, striking and cutting with his sword in a perfect fury. He drove his weapon again and again into the body of one and managed to back clear. The whale rose to the surface and rolled on his side, swimming feebly. Another met the point of the weapon with his fluke and it cut the tendon so that the fin was useless. He drifted out of the conflict while the two remaining animals stood their ground only long enough to get a taste of the deadly point before plunging away to seaward, leaving a thin, smoky track in the blue water with the blood from their wounds. Then the knight used his weapon on the wounded and their sufferings were at an end. He was still master of the shoal. During the next week or two he lay most of the time quietly upon the surface in the sunshine, for his wound was severe. A week of heavy easterly weather followed and he kept off the land, following the edge of the great wall and seldom coming to the surface. He was bet coming restless, and the desire to move farther on was I taking possession of his faculties. Then one day it fell k calm again and he stood in for the lightship. As the day wore on he became aware of two swordfish approaching 1 from the eastward. The pair came slowly in upon the bank. One was a female of good proportions and the other, her companion, was a powerful fellow as large as himself. Something within him caused a disinclination toward the big fish, and he began to prepare for a fracas. The female he felt drawn to, and the more he felt this the greater was his anger toward the big fellow. He would not attack the female, in fact all the ferocity he would usually have expended upon two foemen he now concentrated upon the one, the big male, who came along unconcernedly as though he had rights the knight was bound to respect Instead, however, of making a direct assault without warning, he swam slowly toward the pair and met them on the edge of the blue water. He would inspect the couple, and as he did so his spleen at the stranger became more and more pronounced, until never before had he felt such a dislike, such a hatred for a foe. He circled around the pair and jabbed the big one ruthlessly with the point of his sword just enough to prick him and incite ill-feeling. Then he gave a great sweep, swung around in a great circle and lay waiting, head on, for the fray which the stranger now saw was forthcoming. The big fellow was annoyed at the scratch from the knight's weapon and lost no time in preliminaries. He was a fighter, a savage fighter,' and he neither asked nor sought for a reason for the affair. It was sufficient for him that he had been molested while in peaceful pursuit of happiness with his female companion, and the entire fierceness of his disposition now flared up at the stranger who seemed to dispute his right to live. For an instant the monsters lay facing each other upon the calm sea. Then, as if starting at the signal of a herald, the fighters plunged forward full speed, their swords aimed at each other and every muscle and tendon strained to the utmost to drive them ahead in the mighty charge. The two swordsmen, or rather swordfish, met point to point, but such was. the velocity of their charge that they went rushing past each other, their weapons striking each other fairly enough upon their heads, the long tapering noses turning the blows and causing the point's to glance off. But the sharp edges cut deeply and each bore a nasty wound. Turning at once under full headway they came again at each other and again their pointed heads made the strokes slide into ragged cuts. Then, before they could gather way enough to get clear, the' jabbed and struck at close quarters, stabbing and . cutting in an amazing manner. The sea was a foaming circle about them, dyed with their blood, the whiteness of the suds taking on that deep purpling look which tells of the quantity of red mixed with it Their struggle was so rapid, so vigorous, and so sustained that the eye could not follow their movements. Only a whirling of broken water, with here and there a flash of their bodies showing through, told of the battle taking place in the sea. Now and then a sword rose in the air to fall again. Once the Knight of the Shoal flung himself dear of the sea to fall sword downward toward the back of his enemy, but the stranger was too quick and sprang from under just in time to prevent being transfixed. The female lay upon the sea watching the outcome of the affair and appeared little concerned as to which one was vanquished. To the victor she belonged, and the survival of the fittest seemed to satisfy her choice in natural selection. With him she would go, go to the farthest

point on the northern coast, and she waited, gazing oat of her great eyes to see the subsidence of the conflict which meant the death of the weaker or less agile of the two. After a furious fight lasting a quarter of an hoar the combatants withdrew to points about fifty fathoms distant upon the surface. The knight was sore wonude4 for he had received a gash five inches deep upon his belly, lost the sight of one eye and had his dorsal fin split in two. .His antagonist had received a frightfut stab through the body into which the sea water ebbed and flowed at each movement, leaving a little trickle of smoky stain in the sea like the whiff from a pipe. He was growing weak, but his courage was high, and he waited but a short time before renewing the contest It was for him to conquer before another round, for he would not be able to stand the struggle or sustain the tremendous exertion as his less-injured foe. The Knight of the Shoal instinctively knew this and waited, waited as long as possible, for the wounds he had already inflicted to do their work. Then when he saw his adversary advancing for the last desperate encounter, he gathered . himself for a mighty charge. With a rush which lacked not a bit of the velocity of the first encounter they came together. Their swords struck and cut deeply along their flanks. Then the stranger whirled swiftly and was upon the Knight of the Bank before he expected him. With a wild rash he leaped for the surface and flung clear of the sea, bending his body and endeavoring to point his sword downwards. The stranger just missed htm by an inch and, carried onward by the momentum of the charge, he passed while the body of the knight curved in the air. Down came the sword. It struck the stranger just at the thick of the tail and penetrated, passing through and parting the bone. Instantly the Knight of the Shoal whirled free and circled for a chance to finish. ' The ' stranger, fatally wounded, faced around to meet his death bravely, and the knight waited not, an instant, but struck him furiously through the body until his sword stuck a good two feet clear upon the other side. Then he rested and proceeded to withdraw it easily, for his work was done. Sorely wounded, but still full of fight, the Knight of the Shoal approached the female. She came alongside of him and they went slowly off toward the northward together. In the morning after, they were again in the cold shore water, but still heading northward and drift ing easily along, leaving the Hatteras Shoals far behind. The sun shone warmly and they remained close to the surface, feeding quietly and taking no particular interest in anything save each other. Far away the low shore of the Jerseys rose from the sea, but they heeded them not, swimming and drifting farther and farther toward the cooler water of the eastern coast . A week or two later a schooner passed over the bank twelve miles or more to the southward of Block Island. The Knight of jthe Outer Shoal and his mate were drifting along in the sea just awash, their dorsal fins and the tips of their tails just cutting the calm surface. They were traveling together now, and never separated for more than a few minutes at a time. The schooner had a small engine in her after-cabin and the "chug, chug" of the exploding gas from the cylinder sounded strangely distinct over the calm ocean. A man upon her bowsprit end stood in a small iron pulpit and in his hand was a long harpoon. " " Soad-fish right ahead," he called to the men aboard, and as he did so, he waved his hand to the helmsman to steer the vessel to the side he wanted. He saw the couple heading slowly across the bows and calculated to intercept them. . The Knight of the Outer Shoal saw a shadow hovering above him and heard the "chug, chug of the en- -gine growing louder. It did not concern him greatly, for he feared nothing at alL Then, suddenly, something struck him upon the back and penetrated his vitals. Ht saw the vessel close upon him, and with a sadden tarn of fury he rushed right upon her, striking her with his sword a terrific blow. The pain within him maddened him. He felt himself growing weak and he found he could not withdraw his weapon. It had penetrated the ship's side and was even then a good foot dear inside her bilge. He had only one idea now, and that was to inflict as much damage as possible. He felt the in- ' stinctive fighting spirit of a thousand generations of fighting ancestors. He struggled, and as he fought the light grew dimmer. He felt himself weakening; hot that only made him exert himself the more He threshed - and wrestled to be free and strike another blow. Something struck him heavily upon the sword and he felt himself being dragged to the surface. A sword exactly like his own struck him just back of the eyes and the light went oat A bowline was passed over his tail and he was hoisted on deck, while the man npon the bowsprit end searched the sea vainly for his mate. Seems like he were something of a fighter, said fisherman, stooping over him to cut out the barb, "but I reckon hell weigh six hundred all right"

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