The Argosy, Volume XLIV — page 236: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

232 well kill ourselves with luxuries as with starvation.” I stepped toward a kaybee, and just at that moment a flying fish went skim- ming over about twenty feet of water. “{ say, Ross!” “What?” “These. kaybees live on fish they catch themselves. Why not turn them loose and let them fish for us? They’ll do it, Pll wager a dollar.” Ross stared at me. “ Bayne,” he said, “ that 1s a life-sav- ing suggestion. Of course they'll do it. Cut ’em loose. They can’t get away.” We were like two boys with a new dis- covery in sport. We quickly set the birds free, and with a great flapping of wings and a screech they flopped into the sea. “1 thought [ heard my kaybees,” said the professor, coming from the cabin. “What! Gone!” “Bayne ate one and I the other,” said Ross. The professor stood staring at us until from a short distance away came a sound. “ Difficulty to the rescue!” Ross. And sure enough it was Difficulty with a fish that weighed about three pounds in his shovel bill. We stood there anxiously waiting. The big bird swam toward the raft. “Tt is an experiment, professor,” I said. “ Mary fainted from hunger last night, not having eaten anything all day, and we thought the kayhees would bring us fish.” The professor rubbed his hands to- gether in delight. “The very idea!” he exclaimed. “TI don’t see why we did not think of that before.” “ Bayne wasn’t hungry cnough,” said YOSS. shouted “fe never thinks when he is comfortable.” It was a most exciting moment for all, but I think the importance of it went deeper into my heart than into the heart of Ross or the professor. Tere was salvation for us all. Here was the gate to a life of happiness with the girl I loved. Here was a leap from nothing to everything. JT met the kaybee at the side and rere gle THE ARGOSY. grasped the fish. The bird leaped to the deck and struck at me with his wings. But I was persistent. Ross took hold of the bird’s neck and I wrestled with him. At last I succeed- ed in getting the fish away, and over he went again with a terrible outcry. I got the engine bed of brass, which we had ripped out of the broken launch, and in that [ made a fire, chopping up a stool for wood. I had the fish frying in a few min- utes. “What is this I smell?” asked Foster as he came out. “Fish? Fish? J thought we had lost our tackle.” “T’ve got a line, but nothing else, as you know,” I said, “and we have noth- ing that the fish here would bite on. But we have a trap that will get us all the fish we want. See?” I showed him the two kaybees swim- ming about and diving, and he danced a hornpipe around the deck. “J was going to say good-by to-day,” he said. ““ But I guess we'll see little old New York again.” Mr. Donaldson was as delighted as the rest of us, and we arranged a plate of fish for Mary, serving her before any one else. That gave us a few minutes together, for no one went in with me when I carried it to her. “ Mary,” I said, “ here is some fish. We are not going bun ery after all.” “Tish!” she exclaimed. “T thought we could not catch any.” “ But the kaybees can. We’ve turned them loose.” “Oh! And how we have. ridiculed them! They will save our lives,” she said. “And we will be happy, Marvy. kiss you? ” “Yes, Mr. Bayne,” up with a smile. “ Don’t call me Mr. Bayne any more. Mv name is Archibald. It’s a mouth- ful, IT admit. You might make it Archie, or Baldy, for short.” “JT don’t hke Baldy. VU call you Archie,” she said. In an hour we had another fish, and then Difficulty and his mate had a meal. “I feel now,” said Mr. Donaldson, “as though we were going to finish our May I she said, looking ECOMRRIC LOG SS) (GO) awa in