The Helena independent., 1892-08-21
4 SHARK IN The SURF ,
Fate Of . Young Pearl Buyer Who
Travelled From Ceylon to
Madras.
Meaning of the Sailors Remark,
ssThere's q Shark In the
Surf"
Tho Parses, who Was Continually Going
t. and Fro. with No Visible Means
of support.

Written for THE HELENA INpErENDFNr.l
~ WILD SEA WAS RUNNING HIGH
WI in the open harbor Of Madras. Th
/1l sea always runs high there. and th'
last two miles must always bs mad
in surf boats. The morning whom thu
stsanship Tigress dropped anchor and ra1
up her signal for the boats. great snRr,
waves were bowling along before fresf
monsoon: and even tho surf boats found il
hard to keep dry.
Among our passengers from Ceylon FOL
Madras ws hsd a dappsr young fellow. who
was az good judge Of pearls ~ ever saw
He had bs0n to Ceylon buying for an Eng
lish house, and was now on his way to the
Persian gulf to complete his stock. he was
to leave us at Madras to go overland &c
Bombay.
He knew how to buy pearls but he did
not know how TO take care OF them. Before
he had been on board a day hs had told me
all about his luck in Ceylon, and had
showed me his entire assortment. One OF
the pearls was simply gorgeous. HAD mol
been for \ faint dot OF blue upon one slos
il would have been worth q small fortune.
He was delighted with my appreciation and
endowment of the stones. and he showed me
his treasures several times during sns anos'
VOYAGE, Twice he left me alone with shen.
It was not. however, through any particular
confidence in me, for l suspect no maze
ouite a. free with his treasures among sew
eral of the passengers. One was Parsee
who was forever going between Ceylon and
Madras; for what purpose l eoald never
discover, though l had met him several
times.
Whatever else he was I was sure that the
paraee was great rascal and was sur
prised and sorry for the young pearl man
TO find him making most intimate trlsno
Together they stepped down the ladder
10 enter surf-boat as We neared Madras.
The voune man went down first with his
case of precious pearls in his hand. The
Parsee was stepping into the boat, when he
paused, and spoke to its black captain.
II have forgotten something he SAID,
turning to the younger man. II must come
nv another boat. I will meet you ut the
hotel.''
He gave the surf-boat push with his
foot and began to climb the ladder.
A sailor who was standing me muttered:
"There's shark in the surf yonder."
But instead of looking away over the water
ne lQOk6O OlEoCbAy AOHA APoA s09 oAooo
and then at the young pearl man.
OF course there was shark IN the SURF.
There arc always sharks in that surf, but to
nae the sailors sentence meant something
more than that.
The Parsee simply walked behind the
saloon house, stood there two or three
minutes, then left the steamer BY another
boat, Ny curiosity was thoroughly
aroused. Glass in hand I watched the two
boats, q quarter of q mile al art, still won
dering what the sailor meant by "a shark
in the SURF"
Presently one Of the great waves lifted
the first surf-boat, but instead of taking
the usual advantage of it to dip their oars
and pull, distinctly noticed the boatnen
sitting like statues. The almost naked
fellow standing in the stern, with long
oar to guido the craft, suddenly leaned
upon the oar and the boat turned. was
caught broadside on the wave and the next
instant was oapsized. l saw the passenger,
with the pearl case still IN his hand,
plunge head first into the water.
Like 10 many cells the black boatmen
wriprled about in the water till they
riphted their boat, then clambered over
the side and began to Lail it out
Not one of them seemed to give thought
to their passenger.
sounded even as far as our steamer, and to
my horror l saw the young fellows body
lifted ont of the water, not ten feet from
the surfboat. It made ono whirl in the
air, discloslnq the head of a shark holding
it across the back, then sank again.
As the next boat passed the place l saw
the Parsee throw something overheard that
left white spot on the water. which re-
mained as long as I watched it, convincing
me that it was buoy of some sort set for
some purpose.
A few days later We were anchored in the
Hoogly river, off Calcutta.
l was walking down the principal Eng
lish thoroughfars when | saw the Parsee
emerge from the door of lapidary. He
evidently recognized me. but he turned
quickly in the opposite direction and walked
away.
"A shark in the surf" muttered, and
with only vague idea half formed in my
mind, i entered the shop and inquired of
the dealer if he had an assortment of pearls
on hand.
"How fortunater' he exclaimed. II was
never 80 low as this morning. Pearls a, {
in very great demand. But I have Just
purchased large lot OF the finest pearls
ever saw. Ipurchased them very low for
cash, and can not only give you tho first
choice Of the magnificent collection, but {
great bargain beside. They are beauties
Yesn'
Yes" l replied, ''they are beauties. Es-
peoially this large one with dot of blue
upon one side. Too bad that it has the
daw."
knew then why the Pnrsee went down tc
the surf boat and spoke to the captain but
went ashore by another boat. knew why
he LETT the white buoy in the water.
knew why he continually journeysd be-
tween Ceyion and Madras and knew what
the sailor meant when he watched him and
RutteTad: "Thers's Il shark in the surf. ,
DEADLY LONDON FOG.
Every Ten Days 1t Kills Fully $500