a row of long sharp saw-teeth, looking big and strong enough to have sawed through a wooden plank.
"There's another one!" cried Freddie.
"And another! and another!" cried Aunt Amanda.
There must have been five or six of the great fish.
"I hope they won't come near this boat," said Toby. "One of 'em would just about turn us upside down if he struck us."
"Mercy!" said Aunt Amanda. "Don't say such a terrible thing."
At that moment a great round black back appeared above the surface of the water, some hundred yards or so away, and in another moment a great black blunt head joined itself to the back, and a spout of white vapor rose from the head.
"A whale!" cried several voices at once.
"Oh!" said Aunt Amanda. "Suppose he should come this way?"
The five or six fins of the great fish near the sardines now disappeared. The whale threw up his enormous tail, and went down head first beneath the water. Almost immediately, one of the saw-toothed fins reappeared, much nearer the raft than before.