But they were some distance away, and the two boats opposite blocked their view, so they could not quite make out what was happening.
Ye Yaodong was also a little curious about that enormous sailfish. He wondered whether it was still there.
Would those three boats join forces to surround and catch it?
But those boats were used for smuggling. They probably had no tools aboard for killing fish, did they?
He craned his neck and squinted, but all he could see were the goods piled on the two boats opposite. He could not see what was happening to the other boat or how badly it had tipped.
"Why don't we go a little closer? Not too close, just to look?"
Father Ye called over to the other boats to ask. Only after everyone agreed did he steer toward them.
But just as they approached, a sailfish with its sail flared raced across the water ahead, giving them an enormous fright. Father Ye stopped the boat in a hurry, and the two boats beside them also stopped abruptly.
An ordinary boat could not withstand that sharp bill.
Fortunately, it sped straight past. Then they saw it stop on the water not far away, jabbing this way and that and swinging its body back and forth.
Ye Yaodong brought over a stool to stand on. Bracing himself against the little cabin wall, he climbed up and looked into the distance.
He saw many dead fish floating on the surface. Then it opened its mouth and sucked furiously, sweeping all the dead fish and bloody water into its mouth in an instant. Immediately afterward, it swam off swiftly, charging onward like a racing sailboat.
It had run into a school of fish. That was why it had stopped, thrashing and churning through