Any ordinary man would have quailed at such a scene as this; but Bunkichi, with no sign of nervousness, put the straw figures in the bow of the boat and proceeded toward the place where the shark usually made its appearance. He could now see the master and others above the precipice as they began attaching the rope to a strong limb of the sturdy pine which projected seaward. Thus all the preparations were made for hauling him up at the given signal, while the lad was also preparing himself for the encounter and reconnoitering the scene from his boat.
At last the iron-like fin of the monster was seen to cleave the water. Apparently rejoiced at the sight of a man, as Bunkichi’s figure must have been now and then reflected on the water, the shark in quest of prey raised its head above the water and made for the boat.
“Come on, you villain,” muttered the lad, who stood up in the bow with the dummy in his hand.
The terror-stricken young men at the top of the precipice no sooner saw the monster than they were on the point of pulling up the rope; but the master stayed them, saying: “Steady, men, steady! Wait till he gives us a signal.”
The master anxiously watched the lad’s action, while the crowd hardly breathed as they stood still with hands clenched.
With a splash, Bunkichi threw the figure in the way of the wanizame; the shark turned over, the white portion of its body gleamed, and it snapped the stuffed figure, drawing it under the water. Up it came again, and the lad threw out the second dummy; but the monster did not take any notice of it, but made straight for the lad. Above, on the top of the precipice, the master awaited Bunkichi’s signal with breathless interest, but no signal was given yet. With his dagger drawn in one hand and raising the third straw figure in the other, Bunkichi threw it at the enemy’s head. Whether it was that the poison was already taking effect or that the charm of the noted sword frightened the monster, it turned back on a sudden and retreated a few yards. Before the anxious crowd could divine the next movements of the shark, it began to plunge about in and out of the water on the farther side of the boat. Then, seemingly in agony, it swam about with almost lightning speed, now toward the shore and now toward the ocean, and the sea became like a boiling whirlpool in which the little boat seemed every moment in danger of being overwhelmed.
Bunkichi, who saw his plan had succeeded, at once began to row back. At this juncture, as fate would have it, the monster made a sudden dash at the boat, which was at once overturned. The signal had hardly been given when, after a moment of awful anxiety, the lad was in the air, suspended by the rope. The monster again made a mad rush, only to bruise its head against a rock, and with weakened strength returned toward the deep, riding on the retreating tide.
“The lad was in the air, suspended by the rope”
As for Bunkichi, the rope was drawn up steadily and with care, and he soon found himself safely perched on the stout branch of the pine.