“I suppose that was what you might call a tank steamer, wasn’t it?” said Bert, and his remark raised a general laugh.
But now an elderly man among the passengers, who up to now had listened to the boys’ conversation with a smile on his face, but had not spoken, said, “Why don’t you ask the captain to rig up the swimming nets? I’m sure he would be willing to do it for you, if you asked him in the right way.”
“Swimming nets!” exclaimed Dick, “what’s a swimming net?”
“Why, it’s simply a sort of a cage that they rig up alongside the ship, and anybody that wants to can swim to their heart’s content inside it. The net keeps sharks out, and makes it safe.”
“Say, that would certainly be great,” exclaimed Ralph. “Come along, fellows, and we’ll see if we can’t persuade the captain to fix us up. The idea of a good swim certainly hits me where I live.”
The rest were nothing loath, and they jumped to their feet and rushed off in search of Captain Manning. He was soon found, and listened smilingly to Ralph, who acted as spokesman for the others.
“I guess we can arrange that, all right,” he said, after Ralph had finished. “It will be at least two hours before our repairs are finished. Between you and me, I’d like to jump in myself,” he added, regretfully.
He gave orders accordingly, and the crew soon had the netting rigged. Before they had finished, news of what was going on had flown through the ship. All who felt so disposed or had bathing paraphernalia with them, appeared on deck attired for a dip. Needless to say, Bert, Dick, and Ralph were among the first to put in an appearance, and great was their impatience while the crew were putting the finishing touches to the “cage.” While they were waiting, Ralph said, “Look at that, fellows. Those two sharks that we were talking about a little while ago have disappeared. I guess they must have overheard our conversation, and given us up for a bad job.”
“They’re certainly not in sight, at any rate,” said Dick. “However, I think I shall manage to control my grief at their desertion.”
“It always gave me a creepy feeling,” said the passenger who had first suggested the swimming nets, “they hung on so persistently, just as though they felt sure that their patience would be rewarded some time. It seemed uncanny, somehow.”