“Sharks!” cried Captain Sprowl; but it hardly needed his warning cry to apprise the boys of the nature of this new peril.
Fortunately, Jack kept his head and made a prodigious splashing in the water whenever a fin came close. This had the effect of scaring off the sharks for the time being, although had Jack delayed an instant in grasping the rope, securing himself, and giving the word to haul up quickly, there is little doubt that they would have rushed at him en masse and made escape impossible. As it was, Captain Sprowl had his rifle ready to shoot the first one that drew near the boy, but luckily there was no need of his shooting.
By the time the sharks had rallied from their temporary alarm Jack was being hoisted upward, and within a few minutes was once more on board. Congratulations on his daring act were loud and hearty and, as may be imagined, when Dick came to himself his thanks were not rendered the less sincere by the knowledge that the plucky young inventor had risked his life to save him.
When all was in readiness the engine was set in motion once more, and the machine shot ahead still on a due westerly course. Before long there was visible, on the western horizon, a dim blue line that at first looked like a bank of low-lying clouds.
It was Tom who first proclaimed it for what it was:
“Land ho!” he sung out in nautical fashion, and a ringing cheer was the response.
“What part of the country is it, I wonder?” exclaimed Jack. “I hope we will land near a town or settlement of some sort.”
Captain Sprowl looked dubious.
“Hard telling what we’ll strike,” he said, “but we’d best be prepared not to find any hotels or tably de hoteys around, unless the ‘gators and sea-cows have started one since I was on this coast last.”
“Ever here before?” asked Dick, who by this time had fully recovered.