jack, ralph, and peterkin, three lads wrecked on an island in the pacific, go out on a log to fish. they catch a large fish, but soon afterwards have an unpleasant adventure.]
no w , while we were thus intent upon1 our sport, our attention was suddenly attracted by a ripple on the sea, just a few yards away from us. peterkin shouted to us to paddle in that direction, as he thought it was a big fish, and we might have a chance of catching it. but jack, instead of complying, said, in a deep, earnest tone of voice, which i never before heard him use- "haul up your line, peterkin; seize your paddle ; quick-it"s ashark!"the horror with which we heard this may well be imagined, for it must be remembered that our legs were hanging down in the water, and we could not venture to pull them up without1 intent upon: engaged earnestly on.
upsetting the log. peterkin instantly hauled up the line, and grasping his paddle, exerted himself to the utmost, while we also did our best to make for shore. but we were a good way off, and the log being, as i have before said, very heavy, moved but slowly through the water.
we now saw the shark quite distinctly swimming round and round us, its sharp fin every now and then protruding above the water. from its active and unsteady motions, jack knew it was making up its mind to attack us, so he urged us vehemently1 to paddle for our lives, while he himself set us the example. suddenly he shouted, "look out! there he comes!" and in a second we saw the monstrous fish dive close under us, and turn half over on his side. but we all made a great commotion with our paddles, which no doubt frightened it away for that time, as we saw it immediately after circling round us as before.
"throw the fish to him," cried jack, in a quick, suppressed voice: "we"ll make the shore in time yet if we can keep him off for a few minutes."peterkin stopped one instant to obey the command, and then plied his paddle again with all his might. no sooner had the fish fallen on the water than we observed the shark to sink. in another second we saw its white breast rising; for sharks always turn over on their sides when about to seize their prey, their mouths being, not at the point of their heads like those of other fish, but, as it were, under their chins. in another moment his snout rose above the water; his wide jaws, armed with a terrific1 vehemently: forcibly.
double row of teeth, appeared. the dead fish was engulfed1, and the shark sank out of sight. but jack was mistaken in supposing that it would be satisfied. in a very few minutes it returned to us, and its quick motions led us to fear that it would attack us at once.
"stop paddling," cried jack, suddenly. "i see it coming up behind us. now, obey my orders quickly. our lives may depend on it. ralph, peterkin, do your best to balance the log. don"t look out for the shark. don"t glance behind you. do nothing but balance the log."peterkin and i instantly did as we were ordered, being only too glad to do anything that afforded us a chance or a hope of escape, for we had implicit2 confidence in jack"s courage and wisdom. for a few seconds, that seemed long minutes to my mind, we sat thus silently; but i could not resist glancing backward, despite the orders to the contrary. on doing so, i saw jack sitting rigid3 like a statue, with his paddle raised, his lips compressed, and his eyebrows bent over his eyes, which glared savagely from beneath them down into the water.
i also saw the shark, to my horror, quite close under the log, in the act of darting towards jack"s foot. i could scarce suppress a cry on beholding this. in another moment the shark rose. jack drew his leg suddenly from the water, and threw it over the log. the monster snout rubbed against the log as it passed, and revealed its hideous jaws, into which jack instantly plunged the paddle, and thrust it down its throat.
1engulfed: swallowed.
2implicit: entire; unquestioning. 3 rigid: stiff.
"jack thrust the paddle down its throat."so violent was this act that jack rose to his feet in perfor- ming it; the log was thereby rolled completely over, and we were once more plunged into the water. we all rose, splutter- ing and gasping, in a moment.
"now, then, strike out for shore," cried jack.-"here, peterkin, catch hold of my collar, and kick out with a will."peterkin did as he was desired, and jack struck out with such force that he cut through the water like a boat; while i, being free from all encumbrance1, succeeded in keeping up with him. as we had by this time drawn pretty near to the shore, a few minutes more sufficed to carry us into shallow water; and, finally, we landed in safety, though very much exhausted, and not a little frightened by our terrible adventure.
-r. m. ballantyne
1 encumbrance: hindrance.
