The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1884-04-04

ST.
:; Is: ]: =: =; :: :;::::|)'Bco7s.
been q work eRR
saa.. 1Fad bpED TO THE LAST
Al the tins NJ IS PET CESr.
sea. was a1stsHf ssas popular decoy.
drawn up for molnes sssTy Viii If spsss
noticed q shaas.dowy boaas1r: ,; Novel.
some distance fabove me arassrssa~sfd me.
In a moment 3 very fish had disappeared,
The very rus,staceans lay still uponsthe.
sand and the cuttle fish sourried away
as fast as the could. i was not think
ing Of ansyte and my first thought was
that it Was the shadow of a passing
boat. But suddenly a feeling Of terror
seizedllme. / felt impelled to flee from
something I knew not what. A vague
hNfror seemed grasping after me, such
Ias child fanciea when leaving a dark
ensd room. BY this time the shadow
had come nearer and taken shape. nc
scarcely needed q glance to show me
that it was q maneater, and Of the larg-
est size. Had / signaled to be drawn
d, then il would have been certain
death. All I could do was to remain
still until it left. It lay off twenty or
Twenty-Five feet, Just outside the rig
ging Of the ship, its body motionless,,
its fins barely stirring the water. about
its gills.
twas q monster asit was, but to add
to the horror the pressure Of the water
upon my head made itappear as ifpour-
ing flames from its eyes and mouth, and
every movement of its fins and tail
seemed accompanied by a display Of fire.
works. I was sure the fish was thirty
feet long, and 80 near that IcouldA SEQ
its double row ofwhite teeth. Inyofun-
tarily I:shrunk closer to the side of the
vessel. But my first movement betrayed
my presence. I saw the shining eyes
fixed upon me; its tail q~uivered IS it
darted at me like o streak Of Light. /
|shrank closer to the side Of the ship.siiI
saw it turn on one side, its mouth open,
and heard the teeth snap as II darted by
me. It had missed me, but only for a
moment. The; sweep Of its mighty tail
had thrown me forward. I saw it turn,
balance itself, and its tail quivered as il
darted at me again. There was no es-
cape. It turned on its back as it swooped
down on me- like a hawk on q sparrow.
The jaws opened and the long, shining
teeth grated as they closed on my metal
harness.
It had mo. 7 could feel its grinding
teeth on my copper braastplate qesist
tried to bite me in two, for, fortunately
it had caught me Just aoross the middle,
where Twas best protected. Having
seized me it went tearing through tic
water. could ii,eir il bound forward
ut each stroke OF its tail. Had itnet
been for my copper helmet my head
would have been torn off by therush
through the water. I was perfectly
consciods;; but somehow felt no terror
at MI There .gea only a feeling of
nnmbnsss.I won1ared how long it
would he before those teeth would
crunch Hlronfsh and whether
they would stEikel first into my
back OF my breast Then Thought of
Maggie and tha baby and wondered who
would take cafe OF them and if she
would ever kndE wh!ssts had become, Of
me- All these Thoughts passed thxnngh
my brain in an instant, but in thahS tine.
the connecting air tube had aNah
snapped and my haad seemed ready
burst w~ithspressnre, SSvhilet the mbnsfers
teeth kept Ypeling and
sli TSlllE III the sqs6 wasssbss
ii Is ponr III It'd heard the bubble.
bubble, bubble, ass the air escaped into
the creatures mouth began to hear
great guns and see fireworks and
rainbows and sunshine and all kinds of
pretty things, then I thought e. was
floating away on q rosy summer cloud,
dreaming tosthe sounds OF sweet music.
Then all became blank The shark
might have eaten meat his leisure and
i never would have been the wiser.
Imagine my astonHhmsnt then when I
opened ny eyes on board this boat and
saw you fellows around me. Yes, sir,
thought1 was dead ana ate !, lsure.
ssAlfetto wasafoand by hisAco1arades a
few minutes after the snapJ1na of the
line. He wnspicKed anpiinsensible with
several holes punched in the metallic
part Of his diving suit.
N4dEsEAtaE So ~ II ~. stEf AsIaGyf 5EAIfs-