"No, no! 'Twas his wooden laig, I tell ye. Held the critter's sword jammed through the thick of the timber. He made such a hullabaloo that Enos and the crew seen what was up an' they left the critter they was stalkin' an' made sail for Oly's dory. But there's no knowin' what a swordfish'll do when he gets to lashin' around permisc'ous like. "This one Oly had struck onto was a big feller. Oly's got the sword to home now--two foot, four inches and a ha'f. That's somethin' of a sword. An' 'twas jammed tight through the bottom of the dory and Oly's laig. "'Cast loose, Oly!' yelled Cap'n Enos when the _Snatch It_ comes near. But Oly was rattled. All he seemed able to do was to grab the oars again and pull hard's he could. "An' him pullin' one way and the swordfish jerkin' t'other, somethin' was bound to give, fin'ly. An' what give fust, was the straps of Oly's laig." "Oh, my!" gasped the little girl. "Yep. He was cast loose for fair. He went over back'ard in the dory, his good laig and the stump of t'other one _an'_ the oars, kicking up in the air. The swordfish twitched that dory crosswise of the seas. 'Nother minute an' she was swamped an' Oly Littlefield was overboard." "Oh, Mr. Cap'n Littlefield!" "That's right. That's what happened. And the water was mighty wet, too," chuckled the narrator of the tale. "Ye know how a one-laiged man swims--without his laig on him? Jest as graceful as a flat-bottomed scow goin' through a tide-rip. "And the dory was sinkin' and fair drownin' of that swordfish," he went on. "While ev'ry time Oly came bobbin' up an' got his head out o' water, he bawled to Cap'n Enos and the crew to save his oars and the dory. Nev' mind the swordfish an' him." "Dear me! And were they drowned after all?" queried the little girl. "Wal, Oly warn't. And they saved his oars an' most of his gear. But they had to grapple the dory with a kedge anchor and tore it purt' near to pieces floatin' it. The swordfish tore himself loose from both harpoon and his sword, and so got away." "My, my!" gasped Carolyn May. "Wasn't that exciting?" "I sh'd say 'twas. 'Twas too much for Oly. He never did go swordfishin' again after that accident. It cost him a new laig, ye see." "But--but _that_ wasn't how he came to lose his real leg," observed the little girl. "Who? Oly? I sh'd say not," agreed Captain Littlefield. "No, no! He'd long had a wooden laig when he got mixed up with that swordfish." "But how _did_ he lose his leg?" cried Carolyn May, with desperation. "Why, I declare!" exclaimed the captain, but with a twinkle in his eyes that she did not see. "He never said a word about it to me, for a fac'. One time I come home from sea on shore leave from the old _Sandusky_, and here Oly was hoppin' 'round on one laig. I dunno as I ever axed him what he done with his good laig." CHAPTER XXVII TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS