5The conversation had ceased. Lester had all he could do to handle the tiller and shape his course, and Fred had to be on the alert in his management of the sheet, which strained and tugged under the force of the wind. It was a time for action rather than speech, and Bill and Teddy, who just then could do nothing but serve as ballast, looked on in silence as the Ariel tore through the waves.
Suddenly an object that appeared on the starboard side excited Teddy so much that a cry broke from his lips.
“Look at that big fish over there!” he exclaimed. “It’s a monster. What is it, a porpoise?”
“Porpoise nothing,” said Lester briefly, letting his eye wander a moment from the tiller. “That’s a shark.”
“A shark!” was the cry that broke at the same time from Teddy and Bill, neither of whom had even seen that “pirate of the sea,” and they felt a shivery thrill from the sudden discovery.
“Yes,” answered Lester, “and from the size of the fin, he must be a whopper. We seldom see them so large in these waters.”
“Is he a man-eater, do you think?” asked Bill in an awed whisper.
“That depends,” answered Lester. “If he’s a blue shark or a hammerhead, he probably is. They pulled one out about fifty miles from here last year, and when they cut him up, they found a man’s boot 6 in his stomach. They’re good things to keep away from.”
“I should say they were,” agreed Bill. “I’d rather take my chance with a rattlesnake.”
Again they lapsed into silence, but their eyes never left that ominous fin that showed just above the water, cutting it like a knife.