t can we do! what can we do!" She did
not appear to think so much of her own and the mate's danger as of that
of the black.

The mate, for a moment, was almost unnerved, for he felt his utter
inability to defend himself or the little girl should the monster attack
them; still, like a brave man, he summoned up all his courage, and
considered how he could possibly tackle it and defend Alice. He looked
around to see if there was any spar or other floating object near at
hand on which he could place her while he fought the shark. Could he
find a spar, he would push it in the shark's mouth as it swam towards
him; he had likewise his clasp-knife hung round his neck, but the blade,
he feared, was too blunt to be of much service; he opened it, however,
and held it in his teeth ready to use. As he glanced round he saw the
chest which he had observed when on the back of the whale, but it was
too far off to be of any avail in the present emergency. In the
meantime he had kept a vigilant watch on the hideous hammer-head, to be
ready for an encounter should it dart towards him.

He had also been watching the proceedings of Nub. He soon saw that the
black was manoeuvring to gain an advantage over the shark, which did not
appear to observe him. Poor Alice, overcome with terror, had almost
fainted in his arms; he urged her to keep up her courage.

"Don't be afraid, Miss Alice; don't be afraid, my child," he said
soothingly. "There is a big chest not far off, which will serve as a
raft for you, and it will support Nub and me while we swim alongside it.
See--see! Nub is going to tackle the shark; and he well knows, depend
on it, what he is about. I have heard that the natives in these parts
do not fear the creature, terrible as it looks, and I don't see why we
should. Come, we will swim towards the chest, and Nub will join us when
he has finished off Jack Shark,--which he fully intends doing, depend on
that."

The mate, as he spoke, began to swim in the direction of the chest; but
he soon found that, having Alice to support, he could make but slow
progress; he therefore recommenced treading the water, turning his face
towards the shark, that he might be the better able to encounter it
should it make a dash at him. He now saw that Nub, having got close to
the creature, his long knife in his hand, was swimming up alongside it.
He expected, in another moment, that he would plunge his weapon into the
shark's body; but instead