Seite 171 von 416

Bijonah Tanner, who stood by the pen watching the silver stream

as it flowed over the side into the pen, mussed his beard and

shook his head. The fish were fair, but not what should be

expected at this time of year. He would sail along to another

favorable anchorage. This was his first day on the Banks and two

days after Nellie's discovery of Elsa's packet.

It was only noon, but Bijonah was speculating, and when he saw

the fog bank coming he refused to run any risk with his men, and

recalled them to the schooner by firing his shotgun until they

all replied to the signal by raising one oar upright.

It must not be thought that it was the fog that induced Bijonah

to do this. Dorymen almost always fish when a fog comes down, and

trust to their good fortune in finding the schooner. Bijonah

wanted to look over the morning's catch and get in tune with the

millions under his keel.

By the time the last dory was in, the pile of fish in the pen

looked like a heap of molten silver.