The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1902-07-25

of a clock for fear he'd notice me-
though / knew his eyes were placed
so ne could only see level and upward
and then I'd grip myself tight ami
watch aim through the ghost sun
Eight
yet for all my fright, I couldn't
help being fairly fascinated by the
way he handled himself No fish seen
from under water seems able to make
an mgraceful move. and that great
lSfooter threw Off curves like a show
! penman doing decorative birds. I sup
pose it's because a shark has a kind
of elastic cartilage instead of bone,
but know TO eel was ever freer in It's
motions And he could turn, not only
IN his long length, but as If on pivot,
] though now I'm nature he could do it
with nothing but fms and tail beat me.
But the times when he came in be-
/ bind me or dropped down from the
surface to see me worIing-those we're
minutes when the only feeling ] had
was cold, sick dread He would hang
I there, his nose almost under my arm
! CT over my shoulder could feel the
water move with him he was so close
and look on like a big dog watching
a man whitewash a fence.
He wasn't ugly or threatening.
r.erely interested in a lazy, casual sort
Of way. But while he was there I
never moved, even to turn my head
And when he came in slantwise from
above, and l caught a glimpse of his
great blunt muzzle and crescent jaws
ragged with arrowhead teeth / would
make one gasping vow that if l got
! up safely no money would ever get
re down again.
'But once out of water and on the
tug among the men. l hadn't the spunk
to speak. Two words to the boss and
led have had the shark put out Of
business in no time, some way or 9th
or Not one diver in 20 has his right
courage under water, but I was too
| young TO acknowledge that then.
pretended that I'd got used to my visi'
tor-indeed, that I was rather interest
cd in watching him,
Il don't suppose l fooled them much.
Tivey, the engineer, seemed to guess
the truth of the matter anyway, and
with an old mans delight in picking
On a younger one, he did what ne
could to add to my misery. He'd throw
cut his greasy waste whenever the
brute came around, by way of keeping
i from deserving. And sometimes
when l was up, he'd pitch piece of
pork nailed to a barrel stave It's jaws
would clash on it like a bear-trap, and
the old fellow would chuckle horribly
and say Wait till We get absent
minded some time down below, and
move your arm too sudden! You'll
ind that everything that moves quick
:" pork to him'
Then the next time the brute came
near me l would sit all hunched to-
gether, and as felt him nose me, now
this side, now that, l qualled as if
from squirt Of icy water. Once he
hrushed me with his elephants ear of
forward fin and rolled his great
eirth against me as he turned I stiff
fened out with jerk that almost
spilled me off the sings
We'll that sort of thing couldn't
go on, and it didn't, but the end of it
came from a direction and with a
suddenness l hadn't had any hope Of
AS you may know, a good many Key
West spongers, when regular business
is slack, DO little 'tiger-ldlling' For
sharks about half liver and it tries
cut gallons to a Gods gills, though OF
course the quality's inferior Now ii
seemed the Batabano people were in
the habit of doing some occasional
sharking too.
One night, when we'd been singing
, their captain turned to me and asked
il wanted some fon-a? I said did
What did he do then but offer me the
use of his harpoon and line and two
dollars for my time if I'd get him my
nan-eater! accepted the offer quick
ly enough, and the other men were
: keen for the sport.
, Early the next morning the spong
! ers brought over their line. There
: was hundred fathoms of it, with g
: sixfoot snood Of steel chain and &
! regular old-time blubber-spade Of 6
: harpoon The men rugged the small
t MINDLESS for a reel, and I had then
/ set it we'll up in the bow, figuring tc
f avoid fouled lines. Then I put on ex
/ ira weight, for my idea after making
my strike was to drop from the slings
like a plumb, and then lie low on bot
7 tom l started down in a sort of Joy
Gus excitement.
Il hadn't much more than laid the
. IRON down hesfda me and cot to wnrl