Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1906-07-13

On no account would the sailor n.n-
tion sharks He might be mistaken.
and Jones would guffaw at his deep
sea" fancies. Anyhow. 1t was Brands
affair. a friend might advise; he
would never tattle.
The head keeper. vaguely excited.
peered through his glass. Both boat
and swimmer were In the annular field.
Brand had resumed the breast stroke.
The swing of the tide carried the
broken bow toward him. He was not
more than the boats length distant
when he dlved suddenly and the cor
morants Tapped aloft. A black fin
darted into sight. leaving sharply d.
vided trail in the smooth patch of
! water created by the turning of the
derelict.
Jones was genuinely startled now.
my Godw he cried. What is it?'
"A shark" yelled Jim. Il knew it.
warned him. En- but he's game, Is
the capn."
"Why didn't you tell me-" roared
Jones. Under reversed conditions no
would have behaved exactly as Jim
did
| But It was no time for words. The
men pecred ut the sudden tragedy with
an intensity which left them gasping
for breath. More than 200 yards away
in reality. the magnifylng glasses
brought this horror so close that they
could see-they almost thought they
| ff. fnncnly- Irn fip
ton. The rapidly moving black signal
reached the small eddy caused by the
mans disappearance. Instantly great
ginuous, shining body rose half out Of
the water and powerful tail struck
tho side of the boat resOunding
whack.
Jim's first expletive died in his
throat.
"He's done it," Jones heard him say.
'He's ripped him. Oh. bully! May the
Lord grant there's only one"
For a single instant they saw the
dark hair and face Of the man above
the surface. The shark whirled about
and rushed. Brand sank. and again the
giant man eater writhed In agonized
contortiOns and the sea showed masses
Of froth and dark blotches. The flut-
terings of the birds became irregular
and alarmed. Their wheeling flights
partly obscured events below. The
gulls. screeching their fright. or 1t
might be interest, kept close to the
water. and the cormOrants sailed In cir.
Giles alOof.
Jones was pallid and streaming with
persplration.
Il wouldn't have had it happen for
fifty quid," he groaned.
Il wouldn't ha' missed 1t for hun.
drcd." yelped jim Its fight to q
finish, and the cap'n III win. There
amt another sea lawyer on the Job. an
Brand knows how to handle this one"
Their mates head reappearcd. and
Jim relieved the tension by a Righty
shout:
Hell swim wild now, Brand. Keep
out of his track"
! Sure enough. the ugly monster began
to thrash the water and career around
on the surface in frantic commissions.
The second stab of the knife had reach
ed vital part. Brand. who perhaps
had seen Malay diver handling his
lifelong enemy, coolly struck out to-
ward the stern of the boat The shark,
churning the sea into white foam,
whirled away In blind pursuit Of the
death which was rending him. The
man, unframed but somewhat breath
less. clambered over the folds Of the
sail into the boat
GLORY be"' quavered Jones, who
was Baptist.
Jim was about to chant his thanks in
other terms when his attention was
caught by Brands curious actions.
In stepping across the after thwart
he stopped as though something had
stung him. His hesitation was mo-
mentary. Pressing his left hand to
mouth and nose. he passed rapidly for
ward. stopped. caught limp body by
the belt which every sailor wears and,
with mighty effort. slung 1t into the
sea. where 1t sank instantly. So the
shark. like many human cOngener Of
higher intellect. had only missed his
opportunity by being too preclpitate.
while the ccrmorarts and gulls. ewing
him ominously, did not know what
they had lost.
Then the man returned to the sail
and peered beneath. Neither of the on
lockers could distinguish anything of
special interest under the heavy can
vas sheet. Whatever 1t was. Brand
| apparently resolved to leave II alone
for the moment
TO BE CONTINUED