The combat raged for a quarter of an hour, and was fearful in the extreme, though but dimly seen by those in the lift, owing to the combatants having stirred up the bottom.
This murkiness cleared away at last, and then one of the sharks could be seen lying dead at the bottom of the sea.
The lift was hoisted up.
“Pity we couldn’t get the dead shark, sir,” said Barclay musingly.
“We have only got to wait a few hours and watch; as gases form in the dead monster, he will float to the surface.”
And this was precisely what occurred.
A boat was lowered and the liver secured. The amount of oil extracted was enormous, and would serve as fuel. It was carefully bottled, as a sailor called it, in an air-tight tank.
But many more sharks were taken in the following way.
The lift was lowered, and the flash-light turned on. Then after giving time for these operations, hooks baited with pieces of pork were lowered.
These were almost immediately seized by some powerful tiger of the sea, and soon after he was drawn up, and in-board.