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surface.
    â€œIt's a big marlin. It might go five hundred pounds,” Daybright said. “Good eating if we can get him on board.”
    â€œGotta be some way to do it.”
    â€œWe can winch him on if I can get another hook through his mouth.”
    At once Daybright began throwing out lines, attaching them to a winch that was used to ease the Dolphin backward in a port. Then he brought a piece of iron with a hooked shape on one end. “Let me get this in him, and I think we can do it.”
    Apparently Dawn Catalina had heard the yelling, and she came up on deck. She was wearing a delicate pink dress made of very fine silk. It was adorned with ribbons, and she looked beautiful. But it was not a dress for the deck of a ship—especially not when landing a fish.
    Daybright got the fish gaffed and then ran back and turned the winch. “Give me a hand, Dave.”
    The two of them worked it hard, and the huge fish came slowly over the stern.
    Reb was yelling all the time, and the others were cheering enthusiastically. The boat shifted, the fish gave a sudden flip and was on deck.
    â€œLook out,” Daybright yelled. “He could stab you with that sword of his.”
    The fish turned sideways. He slid along the deck and gave a tremendous lunge, doubling over and releasing his tail. The tip of it caught Dawn in the stomach.
    â€œOooph!”
    If the full force of the tail had caught the girl, she would have been knocked overboard. As it was, she flipped backward, legs flying and ruffled pantaloons showing in the bright sunlight.
    Daybright jumped to her side, reached down, and lifted her to a sitting position. These fish were dangerous! “Are you all right, Miss Catalina?” he asked with concern.
    Dawn's face was red, and she was trying to get her breath. Finally she did and began to scream incoherently. “You clumsy oaf!”
    Daybright stared at her. “I'm afraid I wasn't the clumsy one,” he snapped. He pulled her to her feet and looked at the slimy trail the fish's tail had made on the front of her dress.
    She looked down and saw it and said, “My best dress!” She jerked away from him. “I might have expected it from you!” She flounced off and disappeared down the ladder, screaming, “Sarah! You come at once and help me clean up this awful mess!”
    As soon as she was below, everyone on deck broke into wild laughter.
    The fish was still flopping around, and Daybright picked up a short club and knocked him on the head. Then he looked at Sarah and said, “There'll be a bonus in this for you if you can calm her down.”
    Sarah grinned suddenly. “Let me borrow that club, Captain. I think I know how to handle this.”
    A round of laughter went up again, and Josh warned, “Don't give it to her, Captain. She'd use it. I know her!”
    Sarah erased the laughter from her face and went below. The next thirty minutes were as hard as anything she'd ever had to endure. She helped Dawn remove the dress and put on fresh clothing, all the time suffering a string of insults. Nothing she did pleased the girl.
    Finally she escaped and went back on deck.
    Daybright was waiting. “Was it bad?”
    â€œBad enough.” Sarah's lips were tight. She had kept her temper but only by a small margin. “You may have touse that club, Captain. I've never seen anyone so unreasonable. It was her fault, not yours or anybody else's.”
    â€œI don't think Miss Dawn Catalina is used to accepting blame for her actions.” Then he added thoughtfully, his eyes turning moody, “She may have to learn that the hard way. On a long voyage, people sometimes have to face up to what they are.”
    At supper that night, the entire crew gathered around the table—Daybright had showed them how to tie the wheel in position to keep the ship on course.
    â€œFor a short time,” he said, “we won't get too lost. Time to have a little