Big Game at Sea 



lobe of the tail was longer, lithe and capable of 

 remarkable power; but the eyes now appeared smaller 

 and were, if anything, more inexpressive, and gray. 

 Its motion was dignified, yet there was the same 

 peculiar swing given by the tail, and when he wished 

 to turn, the massive head was jerked slightly in the 

 given direction and the tail swung to meet it. He 

 had now several boon companions. Three or four 

 remoras had joined partnership with him, fishes about 

 a foot in length, black, with a peculiar sucker on the 

 top of the head. When weary of following the 

 shark they merely attached themselves by the sucker 

 to his back and were towed along. The others were 

 several little striped pilot-fishes, which hid beneath 

 the shark's head. They were very curious and darted 

 out at every strange object that appeared. 



The man-eater at this time had developed a re- 

 markable power of scent. A dead animal half a 

 mile away could be traced up the wind or current 

 with marvelous quickness and fidelity. His plan 

 when a scent was found was to beat up against it 

 like a ship against the wind, swimming with great 

 rapidity, turning the instant it was lost; and as this 

 was always on the surface, with his big dorsal fin out 

 of water, he was not a pleasing sight to men in a 

 boat who had left their fish hanging overboard. The 

 spectacle of a shark of extraordinary bulk darting 

 about in so erratic a manner was taken by some as 

 menacing, and they resented it in various ways. 



