The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-08-20

Here were new and exhilarating de-
! lights of the rarest sort. To explore
strange corners, to stand waist deep
now the tide was out-in the skipper s
own cabin and, poking about with fin
! gers ond toes, unearth strange things,
worthless now, but interesting; to peek
and pry with an excited heart, in the
| hope that he might light upon Won
derful find-perhaps treasures over
/ looked, perhaps. At the thought of
perhaps seeing something CHASTITY, al
though he knew all the crew had been
saved, Wat suddenly felt lonely and
afraid. He ran quickly up on the
broken deck. He was startled to note
how long. by the sun, his walk and his
swim and his explorations had taken.
Now he felt hungry, and he knew it
must be long past tiffin time al his
mothers house. Thin? He looked
again at the sun and the shadows of
the rocks upon the sea and calculated
correctly that it must be o'clock and
school would be coming out in an hour
Wat ran 70 jump overb bard. His
foot was on the broken rail and Lis
hands We're raised to dive. In an in
slant he would have been in the water,
when he staggered back, white as
flour. shaking at the nearness of his
escape. Slowly, with lazy coinGia-
cence, with hardly 4 flick of its great
tail, there swan beneath the boy. most
leisurely, great shark. 1t moved
about close 10 the surface, its dCrsal
fin sometimes above the water like a
sail, and its cold. cruel, vicious. hungry
eyes stared mp at The truant. Wat sank
down, sick and fainr.
He had been foolish, worse than fool
ish. Time and again he had been
warned, with the other boys, about the
sharks, which. though they do not act
uaIly lnfest these waters, are by no
means rare. The cove was compare
lively safe, but beyond it there was
always danger. 1t was the old story
of the wolf. Shark" had been cried
so often TO young Wat that he paid
little attention to it. Now he was
trapped.
After time Wat got up and looked
cautiously overheard. The shark was
not there, but when he ran 20 the other
side. it was there. The monster knew
his meal was safely cornered. Round
and round he swan. lazily and uncon-
cernedly, enjoying the warmth of the
sun near the surface. Wat was unable
TO Withdraw his eyes from it. 1t fas-
cunated him as snake does a monkey
Now and then the fish would roll over
on its back and then Wat would hide
his eyes. shuddering at the sight of
that bideous mouth and those gleam-
ing teeth. Once, when the shark had |
Deen on guard for an hour or more If |
paused at the seward end of the |
wreck, and then swan slowly outward. |
Hope sprung in the boys heart. and
ne slpped quietly to the other end. in |
tending 20 glide noiSeleSsly into the |
water and strike out for shore. IF ne |
had done so, he might have got safely
away while the shark continued To |
SWIM WIN ABOUT thinking it's prey was still
mere put-Wat had not the great
courage TO risk it. He hesitated and
N another two or three minutes If was
100 late. The brute came back and
at tancied, as it resumed its method
cal watch, that it looked I'D AFT him
nockingly. nm
Inc truant grew hysterical with fear
and horror. He was quite able to real
re ms position. If he swan shorewar-d
lie would meet a certain cruel death |
1=rhaps the most horrible of deatbe
Bat the cove and the hulk law far
)eiow the sea road. and between that
'oau ana the ocean were great masses
II trees and jungle which shut ont tho
'ea from land passengers. Not once in
| week, perhaps, might any one seel,
nat secluded spot, While ships passed
ar. far out. Thus there was IittIe
nance of speedy help, and an almost
Inevitable end by starvation and ex-
)osIre, for, though the days are warn,
he nights in Natal are often cold. and
Vat was naked to all the chill winds
f the sea.
When his hysteria grew uncontrol,-
-ple, MS means and tears gave place to
QUO sobs, but still the placid sentry
4 the hulk swan round and round.
he sobs at length ceased, and in their
tead came loud cries which soon We're
brill, resounding shrieks. But the
hark swan round and round. till the