“Well, you were wishing for an adventure and you got one,” laughed Oliver. “Want any more of them?”
“Not just for the present,” replied Gus with a shiver. “Suppose you and the rest hadn’t put out the fire, what then?”
“It would have been bad enough, and no mistake,” replied Oliver.
At the breakfast-table Captain Morris again thanked Oliver for what he had done. He said he had found out that the fire had been caused by friction amongst the cargo, and that no one in particular was to blame.
During the day, the sailors busied themselves in throwing out all the burned matter and in rearranging the cargo, so that a repetition of the affair might not occur.
Oliver and Gus watched the operation for a while, and then turned their attention to the sea where countless sharks loomed up in all directions.
“The water here is generally full of them,” said Mr. Whyland. “I have spent a day or two fishing for them.”
“Fishing for them?” repeated Oliver in surprise.
“Yes.”