The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1903-06-26
SHARK CAME ABOARD.
An UnwelcOme Visitor That Entered
the Cabin and Reve1ed in the
Best Dainties.

This is the story of q shark and q
cable ship-an anecdote told by vet
Bran seaman of a thrilling experience
aboard "cabler" with one of the
monster maneaters who infest the wa
tiers of the Mediterranean. And this is
how he told it to brother seaman as
they were comparing notes on the abil-
ity of the maneaters to live out of the
water for a great length of time, re-
lates the Brooklyn Eagle:
'The long Grapnel," said he, twas a
Fable ship and we were at st. Helena,
anchored close in, and the second en-
gineer got hook, baited it with fist
full of oily waste from the engine room
and began to fish for a huge shark
that was hanging about our stern.
las it happened, the governor of ST..
Helena, or some big pot, was coming
to dinner that day, and the table in the
saloon was set out with the best glass
and pineapples and bananas, and what
not, all in the way of dessert. Well,
the shark was bit coy, but just as four
NN~@~ " ~ . "a ANAAAS AiS q ObDACA bhS OehAS'
1.-The old man was ashore and we
clean forgot about the governor COM
ing to dinner, forgot everything but
the shark plunging and Juggling at the
line.
"Well, we had hoisted the brute ten
feet or so clear of the water when the
first roller struck US, pointing our bow
balks at the sky and swinging the
shark out till his tail nearly touched
the water, then, swash! we went into
the trough, pitching our propeller up
to. the sky and swinging the shark in
board.
"The blight of rope slipped, and
smash! came the shark on to the after
gratings; % foot he was, apd as thick
as Pickford's van almost.
'Swish! came the next roller, and as
we went into the trough the shark
shot onto the deck, skidded along it as
ii he were on skates, cannoned against
the starboard bulwarks, and as the
next roller took us on the starboard
bow it shot him head first down the
saloon companionway clean out of
sight, and you wouldn't have known
there was shark on board only for the
screams of the second saloon steward,
who was coming up with a tray of
cocktails just as old blow-hard was
going down.
''The shark lay head to the open sa-
loon door. He gave his tail flap and
seemed undecided whether he would
go on into the saloon or come tail first
into the cable tank; the next roller
decided the question, for it shot him
right into the saloon and banged the
door on him, for all the world as if he
had pulled it behind him.
Il heard various sounds from the
saloon, where all our best glass was
put out and covers laid for Is people;
but l did not go in. Well, you may
fancy the state we were in, the ship
pitching and all.
Just then our old man came aboard
and there was gay time, tell you.
We got rifles and tried to shoot the
brute through the sky1ight. You could
see him rolling about in pineapples
and dollhouse flowers and broken
glass; but he had damned his head be-
tween the legs of the table, which had
split in two, and the after part of the
table fitted him just like sunbonnet
and the bullets glanced off it; so we
gave over.
"At six in the morning the skipper
called the second engineer and told
him as he had brought the brute
aboard he must get rid of him, or he'd
stop his grog and shove him down the
saloon skylight to keep his friend
company.
''Well, the second engineer thought,
and thought, and thought. Then he
got leg of mutton and dangled it
down the skylight on string till it
was under the table flap of old Chase
me-Charley's sunbonnet. He couldn't
resist it; he turned on his back, opened
his mouth, and the photographer, who
was ready with his gun, shot him clean
through the heart"