et
ready. Raising his carbine, he fired over the head of the lion. The
shot had the desired effect, for the brute sprang, to his flippers,
presenting his broad breast to the crew and at that moment the order was
given to fire. The beast staggered and attempted to reach the sea; but
fell over, while the smaller ones dropped off the rock in fright.
Convinced that the monster was dead, Boyton ordered the boat lowered;
but strange to say not one of the crew would get into it with him,
they were so terrified. Taking a knife, ax and revolver, he persuaded
one of the men to back him to the rock along which the sea surged
heavily and when near enough, made a spring for it. He managed to draw
himself upon the ledge where the monster laid, though the sea caught him
to the arm pits before he could do it, and found his prize to be fully
fourteen feet long from snout to flukes. He plunged the knife into its
throat to make sure of the work. Then he called to the crew to get
ashore as there was no danger; but the men were afraid to risk it, the
other sea lions being greatly excited, and Boyton began to remove the
skin as best he could without assistance. The only way to do it was to
run the knife along the stomach and cut away the blubber, rolling the
skin back as he did so. He took out the entrails and flesh, so that
instead of removing the skin, he really hewed the body out of it,
throwing the offal into the sea. While the cutting was going on all
appeared to go well with the other sea lions that were swarming about
in a great state of excitement; but when he chopped at the flippers or
any bony obstruction with the hatchet, they leaped on to the rock in
such numbers that he had to shoot into them to frighten them away. After
two hours or so of hard work lie had the body with the exception of
the head and flippers out of the skin. He ordered the crew to haul in
close and throw him a line which he made fast to the skin and it was
pulled aboard, while the small boat backed in and took the Captain off.
They sailed back to Chorrilos where some fishermen were engaged to
trim the pelt and spread it on a roof in the sun to cure. It was the
finest skin Paul had ever seen and he was very proud of it.

The next morning he was ordered to appear at the palace in Lima and was
detained there for three days on business connected with a new
submarine boat. When he returned to the sloop, he was surprised to se