He dropped the great spoon and its armature of hooks over the side, and Brace glanced after it, to see it for a few moments as the line was allowed to run, the silvered unfishlike piece of metal beginning to spin and, as it receded farther from the boat, to assume a wonderfully lifelike resemblance to a good-sized roach swimming pretty fast. It disappeared in a very few moments in the disturbed water, but soon after it rose to the surface again and began to make leaps and darts of a yard or two in length. "I thought so," said Lynton drily. "That weight isn't heavy enough for the rate at which we're travelling." "Let out more line," said Brace, "and it may sink lower then." The mate nodded, and drew about a dozen more yards from the open winder. "That ought to do it," he said. "I'll give the line a twist round that thole-pin, and then we shall hear it rattle if there's a bite and-- here--hi! Bless my soul!" _Whizz_! _whoop_! _bang_! The thole-pin had darted overboard, the winder was snatched from Lynton's hand and struck violently against the steersman's leg. Then both he and the mate made a dart at it to stop it, but came heavily in contact as they stooped. The tiller flew wide, and the boat careened over so dangerously that, if the man who held the sheet had not hastily let go so that the sail went flying, the mate would have gone over the side, and would soon have been left behind, as the boat was now going along at a considerable speed. It was only a matter of a moment or two, and then the tiller was steadied, the sheet hauled home, and the boat glided swiftly on once more. "I say," cried Briscoe, as Dan sat grinning with delight, "what's it all about?" "About?" cried Lynton angrily; "why, my bait was taken by either a shark or an alligator. There's a hundred yards of new line gone. What's to be done now?" "You'd better rig up another, I should say," said the American drily, "and hold on and give out when the fish runs." "It's a rum un," muttered the mate. "I say, my lad, just keep your head out of my way next time. Are you aware that it's just about as hard as a cocoanut?" "Never mind, Lynton," cried Brace. "Get out another line as soon as you can, while the fish are biting so freely." "I don't know about that. The old man will kick up a row about that line being lost. It was his, and he'll want to know how it came about that I lost it." "Never mind: we brought plenty with us. Look sharp." CHAPTER TWENTY ONE. A RIVER MONSTER. The boat's way was checked, and every eye was now fixed upon the second mate as he prepared and threw out another artificial bait. At the same moment the sail was allowed to fill, and the boat glided on once more. "They don't get this line," said Lynton confidently, "for I'll hold it all the time. Let her go, Dan: take a pull on that sheet."