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"You're not so far off in calling it a sea-serpent," his companion said; "at least, it's more like the fabulous monster than any other fish that we know." "But how are you going to catch it?" the boy asked. "By hand," the professor replied, slipping off his outer clothes. "You mean you're going in after it?" queried the boy with amazement. "Certainly," the other answered; "it's harmless enough."
Almost instantly the animal disappeared, and the attempt was vain. As yet, however, the monster had shown no intention of attacking either boats or people. At this moment Mr. Ward returned and I interrupted my reading to say, "There seems as yet no reason to complain of this sea-serpent. It flees before big ships. It does not pursue little ones.
I said my usual "leading" word to lure him into channels of tradition. "Yes," he affirmed. Then, still in a half whisper, he proceeded to tell me that it all happened through the agency of a single joint from the vertebra of a sea-serpent.
There is a legend that a party of French monks, terrified by a dragon which rose out of the sea, possibly an ancestor of the sea-serpent of more modern days, put in to Christchurch haven, and were entertained by the canons, with whom they abode for many years; possibly this door may be of their workmanship or design.
I never knew her to get along so fast, considering the wind; and really there was a short time when I began to think she held her own, the lugger being jammed up as close as she could be. But this was all delusion, that craft coming after us more like a sea-serpent than a machine carried ahead by canvass.
Why, hardly anybody has ever seen him, even!" "Yes dear, but I thought Mr. Juxon " "Of course, Mr. Juxon is the most wonderful man but he could not catch the sea-serpent. Just fancy! When he got up from his fall, he looked and he saw him quite half a mile away. He must have gone awfully fast, should not you think so? Because, you know, it was only a minute."
The true arguments against the existence of a sea-serpent, namely, that no Ophidian could live long under water, and that therefore the sea- serpent, if he existed, would be seen continually at the surface; and again, that the appearance taken for a sea-serpent has been proved, again and again, to be merely a long line of rolling porpoises these really sound arguments would be nothing to such people, or only be accepted as supplementing and corroborating their dislike to believe in anything new, or anything a little bigger than usual.
"What on earth have you got there, young one?" asked Dr. Phil; for Adolphus Farrar was bareheaded, and carried his hat very gingerly, with its corners clutched together to form a bag. "The big sea-serpent himself," answered Dol mysteriously. Of a sudden he opened his dripping hat, and spilled out a small water-snake, about ten inches long, upon the doctor's lap.
"Follow me," answered the bird, and like a spreading cloud it flew along the coast. Rabba and Ali followed on their horses. "Look," cried Ali, suddenly, pointing out to sea. A huge snake and dragon were fighting, and at last the sea-serpent, which was almost as big as the whale that had destroyed the towns, swallowed the dragon.
After breakfast the Major smokes a cigarette and looks meditatively at the barometer, the captain gets his old accordion and squeezes out the Russian National Hymn, while Bush and I go on deck to inhale a few breaths of pure fresh fog, and chaff the second mate about his sea-serpent.
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