"Yah. Of you can reach it and der can is still dere, ve soon get ridt of der sharks. Ve poison der sea, by Yupiter."
"By pouring the acid into it!" cried Nat enthusiastically.
As he was the nearest to the stern of the submerged boat, it fell to him to open the locker and there, sure enough, was a big ten-gallon can of caustic acid. The boy dragged it out and extracted the cork. The pungent liquid was then poured on the waters about the boat.
Instantly the sea in the vicinity turned white as milk and they could see the sharks' bodies flash as they fled before the poisonous impregnation of the waters.
"Hooray!" shouted Nat, forgetting that even with the sharks gone they were almost in the same position as before, so far as hopelessness was concerned.
Almost at once, however, the realization overcame him. Adrift on the broad ocean, immersed to their waists in a sodden boat, what hope had they of rescue. In the extremity of his despair Nat groaned aloud. But his doleful exclamation was interrupted by the captain. That individual, who had been raising himself as high as he dared in the boat and gazing about over the sunlit, desolate waters, gave a sudden guttural shout, that was almost a scream:
"Look! Look!" he shouted, pointing. "Py yiminy, dere's a ship or I'm vun Dutchman!"
CHAPTER XI.
TRICKED!
Hardly willing to believe his ears lest the strain of disappointment should be too much for him in case the captain proved to be mistaken, Nat followed the direction of the excited mariner's pointing hand.