rom turning wholly on its back.

A yell of triumph went up from the delighted boys.

"Glory, hallelujah!" shouted Teddy.

"That was a dandy throw, old scout!" cried Bill, clapping Lester on the
back.

"This is our lucky day," yelled Fred in great exultation.

Lester flushed with pleasure. He had vindicated his throwing ability,
and had proved himself a worthy son of his sea-going forebears.

"Father will be tickled to death when he hears of it," he remarked,
trying to speak coolly, as though harpooning a shark was a daily
occurrence with him. "He hates the brutes with all his soul. He was
nearly nipped by one while in the water off the Bahamas, and his mates
just hauled him on board in time."

"Well, now that we've got him, what are we going to do with him?" asked
practical Bill.

"Could we pull him on board, do you think?" inquired Teddy.

"Not in a hundred years," replied Lester. "If we had a pulley big enough
and rope strong enough, we might hoist him up, but in no other way. I
guess the best way to do is to crowd on sail and tow him in to Milton."

"How much further do we have to go?" asked Fred.

"Oh, it's a matter of ten or twelve miles yet," was the answer. "If we
were free, we could make it in a little over an hour the way this wind
is holding up. But the shark will be a big drag against us, and it will
take us at least twice as long. The harpoon sticking out at that angle
helps to keep us back."

"What do we care how long it takes us to get there!" gloated Teddy. "We
have all the time there is and I don't care whether it takes us two
hours or ten. We'll have something to show the natives when we do get
there."

"Oh, they've seen plenty of sharks," said Lester. "But I don't think
they've often clapped eyes on one as big as this."

"After we reach Milton, how are we going to get the shark ashore?"
persisted Bill.

"Oh, that will be no trick at all," was the answer. "The beach shelves
out gradually there and I can take the _Ariel_ pretty close in.
Then you fellows can tumble overboard and wade in, dragging the shark
with you. We couldn't lift him, but it will be easy enough to drag him
up on the sand."

"I'm anxious to get close to him so that I can study him," said Fred.

"You might have been nearer to one than you liked the day you went over
after Ross," laughed Bill.

"Yes," admitted Fred, "he'd have had the laugh on me then. But they
laugh best who laugh last."

"And we're laughing las