12 CATCHING A SHARK. 



sudden dive directly downward, nearly carrying out both 

 our lines. 



I feared now that we should lose him, but he seemed 

 to have gone deep enough to suit his taste, and turned 

 slowly up again; all his movements could be seen as 

 distinctly in this transparent water as those of a bird in 

 the air. One or two more dives of a similar character at 

 length tired him, and he was brought close to the vessel. 

 One of the seamen then sent a harpoon with deadly aim 

 right through him, which caused a furious struggle, by 

 which the hook was snapped short off from the wire. The 

 harpoon, however, held firm, and its rope served to guide 

 a bowling-knot, which caught under the shark's fins, and 

 he was dragged on to the deck. A storm of blows and a 

 chop on his tail soon reduced his strength, which had 

 shown itself in struggles and leaps ; his demise was then 

 peaceful. He was fully seven feet long, and seemed a 

 string of muscles. He disappointed me by his craven 

 surrender ; a salmon would have given far more play. 



Great interest was shown in inspecting the shark's in- 

 terior ; a button marked V E or EN might have caused 

 endless speculation, and wonderful tales to be invented. 

 Alas ! his stomach contained nothing but a bundle of 

 feathers ! A roar from the whole crew was given at this 

 discovery. 



What could he have been about ? acting a fishy 

 pantomime as a pillow, or turning himself into a com- 

 fortable resting-place for Mrs. Shark's head ? The fact 

 was, that there had been a great deal of poultry plucked 

 within the last few days, and the feathers were thrown 



