heir limited
vocabulary supplied.

But the monster, which must have been some fourteen feet long, only rose
a little so that his black triangular fin appeared above the surface.

Jackum grinned, stooped, and picked up one of a bundle of spears which
lay along at the side, and handed it to the boy, signing to him to stand
up in the boat.

It was not much of a weapon, being only a straight bamboo sapling with
an ill-made point hardened in the fire.

"Gib big poke," cried the black.

"If I don't they'll think I'm afraid," thought Carey; so he seized the
spear, feeling not the slightest inclination for his task, and drove the
point down on the shark's back.

It was an unlucky stroke, for, instead of penetrating as intended, it
glided over the slimy skin, while, overbalancing himself in consequence
of meeting with no resistance, Carey to his horror found himself
following his stroke, and he would have plunged overboard had not a
muscular black arm darted like a great snake about his waist and plucked
him back. For a moment or two the boy gasped, but he recovered himself
directly.

"Shake hands, Jackum. Thankye."

The black grinned, and took the extended hand for a few seconds.

"Let's try again," said Carey; but the shark had sunk down out of sight.

"Ticklum," said the black, grinning. "Come soon."

Carey was disappointed, for he wanted to redeem his character, though it
was not an easy task to try and emulate the blacks with their own
weapons. But Jackum was right; it was not long before the great fish
re-appeared, now on the other side of the canoe, rising slowly till its
fin was above water, its intention being apparently to pick one of the
paddlers out for a meal.

His appearance there, however, was not approved of, the blacks by their
actions showing that they considered it highly probable that their
visitor would get entangled with the bamboos of the outrigger and
capsize the boat.

Jackum took the lead by snatching the spear from Carey, evidently
considering that the position required skilled instead of amateur
manipulation; and, as his fellows turned their paddles into choppers and
struck heavily at the shark's back, Jackum drove his spear down with all
his might.

It went home in spite of its clumsy make and miserable point, for in a
moment it was twitched out of the strong hands that held it, the water
came flying in a shower over Carey, consequent upon a tremendous blow
delivered by the fis