Then, as he realized that he was hooked, the fury of the shark became frightful. He sprang out of the water, lashing the waves into foam. The mast creaked and strained, and the counter of the Ariel was pulled down until the water rushed over the side.
“Get up the sail,” shouted Lester, rushing to the tiller. “He’ll capsize us if we don’t.”
Teddy and Bill sprang to help Fred, and the sail was quickly hoisted. The wind caught it at once, and as the breeze was a stiff one, it swelled out the sail to the fullest extent, and with this added resistance against the struggles of the shark, the Ariel was soon on an even keel.
“There!” exclaimed Lester, with a sigh of relief, 126 “now we can hold our own. I thought for a minute that we were going over. And just now I wouldn’t want to get too close to that pirate. Something seems to have ruffled his temper.”
The rage of the shark was beyond belief. At first he tried to disgorge the hook. But it had a secure grip and his efforts only served to exhaust him. Then he snapped furiously at the chain with his mighty jaws.
“Do you think he can break it?” asked Bill anxiously.
“Not on your life,” answered Lester serenely. “If it were rope, he’d snap it as though it were thread. But even the jaws of a shark can’t bite through a three-inch iron chain.”
The shark darted here and there, trying by sudden jerks to break the chain. But it held fast despite his tremendous efforts. Then he changed his tactics and hurled himself against the Ariel with a force that made the timbers shiver.
“Do you think he can start a leak?” asked Fred, as the deck shook under him.
“I hope not,” answered Lester, “but he might. The Ariel is a mighty stout boat, but she wasn’t built to stand the rushes of a crazy shark.”