ed him with
thoughtless eagerness, and, in his attempt to get hold of him, lost his
grasp. Over he went. In vain he caught at the foot-rope; and giving a
turn, struck the water with his head. Down beneath the surface he went.
Bill saw him falling, and knew well he could not swim. In spite of old
Grim's caution about the sharks, without a moment's hesitation in he
plunged, and swam towards the spot where Tommy had gone down.

"A man overboard! A man overboard!" was shouted by numbers who saw the
accident.

The corvette was going at the rate of only three or four knots through
the water. Bill swam rapidly on, his eye fixed on the centre of the
circle made by Tommy as he fell.

"He's gone! He's gone!" shouted out several voices from the ship.
Tommy, however, quickly again came to the surface, and Bill caught him
as he appeared.

"A shark! A shark!" cried several voices.

Among the first who saw the shark was Jack Windy. He had a large knife
in his hand, employed in some work, and, without waiting to cry out,
overboard he went, and swam up to where the boys were struggling in the
water. Old Grimshaw at the moment saw the danger of his young friend,
and not knowing what Jack was about, overboard he went, with a boat's
stretcher in his hand, purporting to do battle with the monster. At
that instant the captain came on deck.

"Who's overboard?" he asked.

"Bill Sunnyside--Sunshine Bill, sir," cried out several voices.

"The lad whom I promised his widowed mother to protect," thought the
captain, for he scarcely uttered the words aloud.

He had on a light silk jacket. There was no necessity to throw that
off, but taking his watch out of his pocket, he handed it to one of the
midshipmen, and, in another instant, he also was overboard, and swimming
away towards Bill and Tommy.

"Turn on your back, Tommy!" cried Bill. "If you catch me round the
neck, we shall both be drowned."

Tommy was too much frightened to understand what Bill said. The latter
had, therefore, to tear himself from his grasp, and to swim away a
little distance, only to return, however, to seize him by the collar.

The monster of the deep during this time had been eyeing the human
beings in the water. Had there been only one, he would have attacked
him immediately; but the number of persons swimming about made him
somewhat timid. Jack, seeing that Bill was handling Tommy
scientifically, kept his eye on the spot where he had seen the