with it frantically. And, meanwhile, there
was great industry among the black triangular dorsal fins that
advertised the movements of the sharks which owned them underneath the
surface. Nobody on board the _Flamingo_ had any particular love for
Cranze, but all hands crowded to the rail and shivered and felt sick at
the thought of seeing him gobbled up.

Then out of the middle of these spectators jumped the mild, delicate
Hamilton, with a volley of bad language at his own foolishness, and lit
on a nice sleek wave-crest, feet first in an explosion of spray. Away
scurried the converging sharks' fins, and down shot Hamilton out
of sight.

What followed came quickly. Kettle, with a tremendous flying leap,
landed somehow on the deck of the lighter, with bones unbroken. He cast
a bowline on to the end of the main sheet, and, watching his chance,
hove the bight of it cleverly into Hamilton's grasp, and as Hamilton had
come up with Cranze frenziedly clutching him round the neck, Kettle was
able to draw his catch toward the lighter's side without further delay.

By this time the men who had gone below for that purpose had returned
with a good supply of coal, and a heavy fusillade of the black lumps
kept the sharks at a distance, at any rate for the moment. Kettle heaved
in smartly, and eager hands gripped the pair as they swirled up
alongside, and there they were on the lighter's deck, spitting,
dripping, and gasping. But here came an unexpected developement. As soon
as he had got back his wind, the mild Hamilton turned on his fellow
passenger like a very fury, hitting, kicking, swearing, and almost
gnashing with his teeth; and Cranze, stricken to a sudden soberness by
his ducking, collected himself after the first surprise, and returned
the blows with a murderous interest.

[Illustration: OUT OF THE MIDDLE OF THESE SPECTATORS JUMPED THE MILD,
DELICATE HAMILTON.]

But one of the mates, who had followed his captain down on to the
lighter to bear a hand, took a quick method of stopping the scuffle. He
picked up a cargo-sling, slipped it round Cranze's waist, hooked on the
winch chain, and passed the word to the deck above. Somebody alive to
the jest turned on steam, and of a sudden Cranze was plucked aloft, and
hung there under the derrick-sheave, struggling impotently, like some
insane jumping-jack.

Amid the yells of laughter which followed, Hamilton laughed also, but
rather hysterically. Kettle put a hand kindly on his w