with the stick which he held in the
other.

Meantime I saw the fin of the shark as the monster kept swimming about
in his neighbourhood, eager evidently to make a dash at him, yet afraid
of approaching. At length we got the almost drowned man up to the side
of the vessel, and were hauling him up, Jack still being in the water,
when some feeling, I scarcely know what, prompted me to look in the
direction where I had just before seen the shark. The monster was no
longer there. I instantly cried out to Jack. The words were scarcely
out of my mouth, when he made a spring and scrambled out of the water by
the main-chain-plates. Then, turning round, he dealt a tremendous blow
at the tail of the shark, who had closely followed him.

"I'll teach you to play such a sneaking trick as that, my boy!" he
shouted, as the greedy fish swam off discomfited.

I breathed more freely when brave Jack was once more seated alongside of
me on the keel of the vessel Sandy McTavish, whose life he had thus so
gallantly preserved, now came to his senses, and in a short time was
sufficiently recovered to take care of himself. Our position, however,
was far from enviable. Here were we, four human beings, seated on the
keel of a vessel which might any moment go down, with neither land nor a
sail in sight. For some time, after all our exertions, we sat silent,
collecting our thoughts.

"Well, Jack," said I, "what are we to do?"

"Wait patiently, till God sends us help, sir," he replied. "We can't
help ourselves. It's fortunate we've just had our dinners. We shall
hold out the longer."

We scarcely exchanged another word for some hours, but kept wistfully
glancing our eyes round the horizon, in the hopes of a sail appearing.
Shortly before darkness came on, and the hour of ten passed by, I began
to feel rather hungry. At the same time I happened to put my hand into
my pocket, and there I found the greater part of a ship's biscuit,
which, as I was quitting the cabin, I had mechanically thrust into it.
I almost shouted for joy as I found the prize--though it was not much to
be divided among four men. The discovery made the rest fumble in their
pockets. McTavish had a tobacco-box, which he had only just filled, and
Jack found a huge lump of grease, which, though not very savoury, was
not to be despised. How it had come there he could not recollect.
These treasures, however, we determined not to begin to consume till the
following mor