Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1906-07-20

Unconscious that he had stated the
primordlal thesis, he left the foraGers
alone. Hauling the sail out Of the wa
ter. he discovered that the stern board
was missing. broken off probably when
the mast fell. His trained scrutiny
soon solved a puzzle suggested by the
state Of the cordage. Under ordinary
conditions the upper part Of the mast
would either have carried the sail clean
away with 1t or be found acting as
sort of sea anchor at short distance
from the boat.
But 1t had gone altogether. and the
strands Of the sail rope We're bitten.
not torn, asunder The shark had
striven to pull the boat under by tug
ging Mt the wreckage.
Having made the canvas shipshape.
Jim settled the next pressing question
by Selling an empty tin and sluicing
the fore part. Then he passed n rope
under the after thwart and reeved 1t
through q ringbolt In a rock placed
there for mooring purposes IN very
calm weather like the present.
When the Trinity tender paid her
monthly visit to the lighthouse she was
moored to buoy three cable lengths
away to the northwest. If there was
the least suspicion Of a sea over the
reef 1t was indeed tlcklish task land
ing or embarking stores and men.
Closehauled. the boat would ill for
ward as the tide dropped. This was
matterless. BY that time all her NOV
able contents-she appeared to have
plenty Of timed meat and biscuits
aboard, but no water-would be re-
moved to the storeroom.
The sailor was sorting the packages
Wondering what queer story Of the
deep would be forthcoming when the
recent history Of the rescued child was
ascertained-when Brand hailed him.
"Look out there. Jim. l am lowering
an AK"
The weapon was duly delivered.
"What's the AK for, cap'n" was the
natural query.
II want to chop out that sharks
teeth. They Will serve as mementos
for the girl II she grows up, which IS
likely. judging by the way she is yell
ing at Jones.
"Wot's he a-doin' Oft" came the sharp
demand.
"Giving her q bath, and excellently
well too. lie is evidently quite domcs-
tcated."
IF that means under Mrs. Us
thumb you're right. cap'n. They tell
<bof xubap hn', achprar
"Jim, the first time I met you you
were wheeling a perambulator. Now,
load the skip and l will haul In"
They worked In silence few min
uteS. Brand descended, and a few
we'll placed cuts relieved the man eater
Of the serrated rows used to such seri-
GUS purpose In life that he had attained
length Of nearly twelve feet. Set
double In the lower jaw and single In
the upper. they We're Of size and
shape ominously suggestive Of the
creatures voracity.
1T Is a good thing" said Brand.
calmly hewing at the huge jaws. that
nature did not build the Carcharodon
galeidOe on the same lines as an al
ligator If this big fellows sharp en-
broidery were not situated SO close to
his stomach he would have made n
meal Of me. Jim, unless 1 carried n
torpedo"
Hes q blue shark" commented the
other, ignoring for the nonce what he
termed ''some Of the cap'n's jawbreak-
ers"
ayes. 1t is the only dangerous
species found so far north.
"His teeth are like so many fixed
bayonets. OF course you would like to
keep 'em, but he would look fine In a
museum. Plenty Of folk in Penzance,
especially visitors. would pay a bob
q head to see him"
Brand paused in his labor.
Listen. jim" he said earnestly. Il
want both you and Jones to oblige me
by saying nothing about the shark.
Please do not mention my connection
with the affair In any way. The story
will get into the newspapers as it is
The additional sensation Of the fight
would send reporters here by the score
I don't wish that to occur"
"Do you mean to say
'N1r. Jones will report the picking up
Of the boat and the finding Of the baby
together with the necessary burial OF
q man unknown
"What sort Of chap was hef" In
terrupted Jim.
| I'll don't know-a.s ailor-that Is al
can tell you. He must have beer
dead several days."
'"Then how in the world did that
baby keep aliver
II have been thinking over that prob
lem. imagine that. in the first place
there was a survivor. who disappeared
since the death Of the poor devil Out
there" He pointed to the sea. "This
person, whether man or woman, looked
after the child until madness came
caused by drinking salt water. The
next step Is suicide. The little one
left living. fell into the bilge created
by the shipping Of a sea and adopted
by the mercy Of Providence, a method
Of avoiding death from thirst which
ought to be more widely appreciated
than 1t Is. She absorbed water through
the pores Of the skin. which rejected
the salty elements and took In only
those parts of the compound needed by
the blood. You follow mer'
"Quite. It's a slap-up idea"
'It is not new. 1t occurred to q
ships captain who was compelled tc
navigate his passengers and crew O
thousand miles In open boats across
the Indian ocean as the result of 0
fire at sea. Well, the child was vel
nourished. in all likelihood, before the
accident happened which set her adrift
on the Atlantic. She may have lost
a few pounds in weight, but star
walton is a slow affair, and her plump
ness saved her life in that respect
Most certainly she would have died
today. and even yet she is in great
danger. Her pulse Is very weak, ant
care must be taken not to stimu
late the action Of the heart too rap
idly"
When Brand spoke In this way jim
Spence was far too wary to ask per
sOnal questions. Sometimes, in the
early days Of their acquaintance, he
| hod 20 IN, H,i