"Well, the only part of him that's really worth anything is the oil in his head," the captain replied slowly. Then, turning to the sailors, he said. "You boys want to pull him up and get the oil? You can have it if you do and maybe you'll get fifty dollars worth, maybe more."
"You bet," was the immediate and unanimous response.
"All right, then. You'll have to rig a tackle up forward where the mess can be cleaned up easily."
The tackle was soon arranged, and the captain ordered the boat stopped long enough to allow the men to pull the huge fish from the water.
"He sure is some minnie, as Cap't Ole said," Bob grinned as the shark came over the side and, a moment later was stretched out on the forward deck.
"Twenty-six feet and three inches," Captain Ole announced a few minutes after he had measured the fish. "You'd have lost that bet, Josh," he added turning to the second mate who was watching him closely.
"He's bigger nor I thought," he acknowledged.
"I'll bet that fellow hates his own shadow," Jack whispered to Bob as they leaned against the rail watching the sailors as they cut a hole in the shark's head, the exact spot being indicated by Captain Ole.
"He sure does nurse a mean grouch," Bob agreed.
About two quarts of a clear light yellow oil was dipped from the cavity in the shark's head and then the carcass was thrown overboard.