o I resolved to go over to
him. I made signs that I would do so, and he signified that he was very
glad to hear it. Old Surley seemed as pleased as I was at seeing Jerry,
and leaped and bounded about, barking every now and then, after his own
fashion, to show his satisfaction. Two or three times he ran down to
the water, as if he intended to plunge in and to swim across; and each
time he came back whining and looking up in my face, as if he had
thought it would be wiser not to venture in. I had good reason
afterwards to admire the instinct which prompted him to refrain from
doing what he evidently wished to do.

I had my gun with me, as well as some provisions, which, of course, I
did not wish to wet; and so I had to consider how I could get them over
dry. A raft was the only means, but I reflected that it might prove
somewhat difficult to tow. Still, I did not like to be beat, so I made
signs to Jerry what I was going to do. With a hatchet which I carried
in my belt, and with which I had provided myself to make an arbour for
the night, I soon cut down wood enough to form a raft which would carry
all my things, including my clothes; and I had a line in my pocket
strong enough to tow it along.

All was ready; I launched my raft, and was loading it with my property,
when my eye caught sight of a shoal of fish darting up through the
passage, followed by a black, triangular fin, which I quickly recognised
as that of a huge shark. I saw the horrid monster overtake and gobble
up some of the fugitives, and then quietly come back, as it appeared, to
swim sentry at the entrance of the lagoon. Perhaps he knew that the
fish would make an attempt to get out again the same way. Be that as it
may, I felt no inclination to encounter the gentleman.

When Jerry at length discovered the cause of my hesitation, he made
signs entreating me to go back rather than to endeavour to cross, as I
proposed. Still, I did not like to be driven back, even by a shark. I
made signs that I would make a raft for myself. There were plenty of
materials, the work would not take long, and it would be a triumph to
have overcome a difficulty. I thought the idea a very bright one; so I
at once set to work to build a raft large enough to carry me across the
channel. Jerry tried to make me understand something or other; but I
was so absorbed with my own idea and the work on which I was engaged,
that I could not make out the meaning he wished to c