CHAPTER VII 



THE SHARK'S TEETH 



Fishing for dog-fish, for giant shark! The story has 

 been told over and over again; it is found somewhere 

 in nearly every book of travel. In fact, it has become 

 so hackneyed that it seems to have become part of the 

 amateur writer's stock in trade. We all know its 

 incidental details; there is the hook in due proportion 

 to the size of the monster, the bait made of a huge 

 piece of fat, the distrust shown by the fish at first, 

 conquered at last by the gluttony which drives it to its 

 fate. And we know the end of the story. The shark, 

 victim of its own rapacity, is hooked, hauled on deck, 

 and there deposited, still leaping desperately about and 

 showing every sign of life. Everybody goes into 

 ecstasies about its huge length, which is, of course, 

 several yards. Everybody is terrified by the enormous 

 mouth with its formidable array of sharp-pointed teeth, 

 which opens and shuts in the convulsive struggles 

 of the creature, as though to show its armament 

 the better and create a stronger impression. Every- 

 body on deck gathers round, taking care to stay 

 at a safe distance and keep out of the way of the 

 lashing tail and the desperate leaps. Finally one of 

 the sailors cuts off its head with an axe, and dis- 

 embowels it. The stomach and intestines are opened 

 to see what there is in them and to discover what the 

 monster had been eating before it was caught. Usually, 

 besides a mass of half-digested fish, there are found 

 various objects that had fallen from the ship. At last 

 the remains of the " monster " are thrown overboard, 

 and other sharks hasten to take advantage of the 

 104 



