“Load the muskets, Desmond, and if we cannot kill that brute astern, and get a few slices out of his carcase, we will, at all events, drive him away.”
The muskets had been kept clean and ready for use. They were soon loaded, when the midshipmen, bringing the weapons to their shoulders, took, as they thought, a steady aim and fired. The shark instantly sank out of sight. Whether they had hit him or not, they could not tell, but it was possible that the bullets, being deflected by the water, had glanced clear of his head. They at once reloaded, expecting that he would return; but though they looked down into the clear water astern and on either side, the monster was nowhere to be seen.
“He won’t trouble us again,” said Desmond. “I feel pretty sure my bullet went into him.”
“And I think mine did,” said Tom; “but neither could have killed him, or he would have floated up.”
“Then the sooner we get out the lines and try and catch some fish for supper the better,” exclaimed Billy.
Taking off the heavy leads, two of the lines were baited with pieces of rancid pork and allowed to tow astern. The lines had been out for some time, but not a bite had been obtained.
“Perhaps the lines are not deep enough, or the bait is not as good as it should be,” observed Desmond, beginning to haul in upon his line. He had got it in a third of the length, when he felt it torn from his grasp, and he caught sight of a monster running off with it. The next instant, as Desmond had the line round the thwart, it snapped short off. Away went hook and line. Directly after, Tom’s line, hanging over the other quarter, without any warning was snapped off.
“It’s that brute of a shark come back again,” cried Tom. “Get the muskets, Desmond, and if we can entice him near, we will settle him this time.”
“He’s too knowing for that, sir,” observed Jerry. “You may fire away every shot you’ve got—he’d see them coming, and be out of the way before they reach him.”
Tom, not believing this, determined to try once more. He got out another piece of pork, and fastened it to the end of one of the broken lines.