"Look out!—he'll have it!" shouted one of the crew in his excitement.
"Silence!" roared the bos'n, defeating his own object by the sound of his voice, for once more the shark turned and made off. His companion, however, approached the concealed hook, and, sinking beneath the surface, made ready to seize the bait, but, apparently scenting danger, he too sheered off.
"Try 'em with some pork," suggested Lord, the quartermaster, and accordingly Johnston brought us some fat pieces of salt meat, with which the hook was effectually concealed.
A few minutes' play with the new bait was sufficient. The larger shark reappeared, and, heedless of danger, headed straight for the prize. As it turned on its back; I could see its whitish yellow body, and the huge gaping jaws fringed with triple lines of serried teeth. There was a snap, and the stout rope tautened like an iron bar.
"Clap on, all of you!" yelled the bos'n to the men, but the order was unnecessary, as already the eager crew were hard at work; hauling in the line. When sufficient slack had been taken aboard, the free end was led outside everything to the fo'c'sle, and the men were ready to haul their prize on deck.
"Do you think we had better let them do it?" asked my father. "There is hardly room on deck for'ard, and besides, there will be such a filthy mess."
"Yes, let them work off their superfluous energies on it," replied my uncle. "An extra swabbing down of decks won't do much harm."
"Reggie," he added, "stay here and watch the fun, for a blow from a shark's tail can do a lot of damage, I can assure you."
At a word from the bos'n the men, who had armed themselves with axes and sheath-knives, began hauling again, and, in spite of its furious struggles, the monster was slowly but surely brought home, its powerful teeth snapping in impotent fury on the stout iron shank of the hook.
Then came an unexpected difficulty. The rope had been brought on board through a fairlead on the gunwale, and it was evident that no amount of strength could hoist the shark over the side, while with our fore and aft rig it was impossible to utilize the yards as derricks.