Sentence:  ... I watched for sunken stones; I was learning to clap my teeth smartly before my heart flew out, when I <WSD>shaved</WSD> by a fluke some infernal sly old snag that would have ripped the life out of the tin–pot steamboat and drowned all the pilgrims; ... 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To skim along or near the surface of; to pass close to, or touch lightly, in passing.