"Well, what next?" queried the one-eyed Birch, leaning back in his chair and lighting one of Captain Hollinger's cigars, as did the rest. "Now we're rid o' the Kanakas, mates, and the ship's ours, what next, I asks?"
"Jerry's the cap'n now," grinned Dailey. "How about it, Shark Smith?"
"I'm a-goin' down after that there Pirate Shark," announced Jerry, his mouth grim and set. He seemed to enjoy the consternation of the others hugely. "Now look ye here, mates. We've lost that dynamite. The only way to get at the treasure is to kill that there shark. He's mine, an' I'm a-goin' to kill him, mates. Bob, lad, you'll lend old Jerry that 'ere kris, won't you?"
The old man's lack of fear, or rather his stubborn determination to kill the Pirate Shark, was amazing. There was something about the gentle-faced old quartermaster, in spite of his plotting and his villainy, which attracted the boys—perhaps it was merely because he professed to like them. That he really cared nothing about them, except as hostages, they knew very well; he was caring for them in order to save his own skin.
However, Jerry soon proved that his brains were working as fast and as surely as ever. He listened to the protestations and arguments of the others unmoved, and at last brought down his fist with decision, until the dishes rattled in their skids.
"Mates, and you, lads, look ye here. That shark, I says, has had one good meal to-day, ain't that so? Well, he's a wise un, he is. He'll know that no more divers'll come down after he's gobbled one, so he won't hang around waitin'. He'll mebbe go off to take a stroll, like.
"All I want, mates, is to get inside that there wreck, with that kris in my hand. Then if he comes at me, why, he can't get at me, d'ye see! So long as a man's got his back to a wall, wi' solid bottom under him, a shark can't get him. It's when he's goin' down or comin' up that the shark can come along an' tip him over an' cut his lines and end him, mates."
This argument was plausible, and impressed all with its good sense. However, that did not remove the danger. It was highly probable that the shark was still hanging under the shadow of the Seamew waiting for more divers, and Jerry's courage did not alter matters in that respect.
The Kanakas had reported that the bottom was coral rock, and that the wreck seemed to be lying on its side, with gaping openings through the deck where the masts had been. During the discussion that followed Jerry's expressed plan, it was decided that if the ship was indeed an old galleon, she might have lodged on the rocks and split apart under the action of the currents, which would account for the openings in her decks. She was so overgrown with marine life, the Kanakas had said, that little could be made out during their short visits below the surface.
"No use talking, mates," declared Jerry obstinately, "I'm a-goin' down, and the sooner the better. Mates, you 'tend the pumps and keep watch for any sign o' that there black fin. If you see it, haul up. Bob, lad, lend me that 'ere kris, will you?"