Part 18 (1/2)
The sharkbait But he sniffed at it a moment and then commenced to swim slowly around it in wide circles
”He's a little bit suspicious,” whispered Lester ”This is so ood to be true”
For several reat fish kept up his circular movement, but the onlookers noticed that the circles were steadily growing ses hier that his appetite in,”
chuckled Lester
Suddenly the shark seemed to reach a decision Like a flash he darted toward the bait and it disappeared in his rapacious maw
”Hurrah!” yelled Teddy in uncontrollable excitement ”He's hooked at last!”
CHAPTER XVI
A DESPERATE STRUGGLE
For a second after sing the bait the shark reht up with a round turn as he reached the end of the rope
It half stunned him and wholly bewildered hiain, but with the same result
Then, as he realized that he was hooked, the fury of the shark beca the waves into foam The mast creaked and strained, and the counter of the _Ariel_ was pulled down until the water rushed over the side
”Get up the sail,” shouted Lester, rushi+ng to the tiller ”He'll capsize us if we don't”
Teddy and Bill sprang to help Fred, and the sail was quickly hoisted
The wind caught it at once, and as the breeze was a stiff one, it swelled out the sail to the fullest extent, and with this added resistance against the struggles of the shark, the _Ariel_ was soon on an even keel
”There!” exclaih of relief, ”noe can hold our own I thought for aover And just noouldn't want to get too close to that pirate Soe of the shark was beyond belief At first he tried to disgorge the hook But it had a secure grip and his efforts only served to exhaust hihty jaws
”Do you think he can break it?” asked Bill anxiously
”Not on your life,” answered Lester serenely ”If it were rope, he'd snap it as though it were thread But even the jaws of a shark can't bite through a three-inch iron chain”
The shark darted here and there, trying by sudden jerks to break the chain But it held fast despite his treed his tactics and hurled hiainst the _Ariel_ with a force that made the timbers shi+ver
”Do you think he can start a leak?” asked Fred, as the deck shook under hiht The _Ariel_ is a hty stout boat, but she wasn't built to stand the rushes of a crazy shark”
”What about giving hih?” suggested Fred
”Suppose you try it,” was the answer ”Get a tight grip on the rail and bend away over Then the next tiht it will stun hirasped the hatchet and disposed hiripped the rail with his left hand, while Bill and Teddy held his legs tightly
”If you go over, we go over with you,” Teddy assured him