The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-10-31
OUT OF THE WORLD AT coR1Nro

Richard Harding Davis in Harper's Magazine
Richard Harding Davis, in the November
Harpers, tells the humorous story OF an en-
forced stay at Nicaraguan port, where killing
time is the principal occupation OF the resi-
dents.
Every afternoon we all tramped a mile or
two up the beach in the hot sun for the sake OF
quarter of an hour of surf ba thing, which
was delightful in itself, and which was rem
dered especially interesting by our having 10
share the surf with large man-eatlng sharks,
When they came, which they were sure to do
ten minutes after we had arrived, we generally
gave them our share.
The photograph men and orr party did not
believe in sharks, so we would venture out
some distance, leaving the Englishmen and
the Germans standing like sandpipers where
the water was hardly up to their ankles and
keeping an anxious lookout for US and them
selves. Had the sharks attempted to attack us
from the land they would have afforded excel
lent protection. When they all yelled at once
and ran back up the beach into the bushes we
knew that they thought We had been in long
enough, and We came out and made as much
noise as we could while doing so.
But there would be invariably one man left
behind-one man who had walked ont farther
than the others, and who, owing to the roar OF
the surf, could not hear our shrieks of terror
1t was interesting to watch him from the
beach, diving and splashing happily by him.
self, and shaking the water out of his ears and
hair, blissfully unconscious of the deserted
waste OF waters about him and OF the sharp
black fl that shot like torpedo from wave to
wave.
We would watch him as he turned to speak
to the man who the moment before had been
splashing and diving on his right, and, miss
ing him. turn TO the other side, ana then whirl
about and see US all dancing frantically UP and
down In row along the beach, reckoning and
screaming and waving our arms. We could
observe even at that distance his damp hair
rising on his head and his eyes starting out OF
their sockets as he dug his toes into the sand
ana pushed back the water with his arms, and
worked his head and shoulders and every
muscle IN his whole body, as though he were
lighting his way through mob OF men. The
water seemed very opaque at such times, and
the current appeared to have turned seward
and the distance from shore looked as though
II were increasing at every step.
When night came to Corinto we would sit
out on the wharf in front OF the hotel and
watch the fish darting through the phosphor-
eseent waters and marking their passage with
a trail OF ire, or we would heave log into it
and see the sparks fly just as though we had
thrown 1t upon smoldering fire. One night
one OF the men was obliging enough to go into
ii for our benefit, and swan under water
sweeping great circles with his arms and legs.
He was outlined clearly in the inky depths
below as though he wore a suit of spangles.
sometimes a shark or some other big fish drove
shoal OF little fish toward the shore, and they
would turn the whole surface of the water into
half-circles of fire as they took leap after leap
| for safety.