The Pirate Shark | Page 6

without any Mister either, Jerry, and I'm glad to meet
up with you."
The three shook hands. Mart noted that old Jerry had a very strong chin
and a tight-lipped mouth, for all his gentle appearance, and his hands
were very gnarled and knotted. His dress was old and weatherstained,
but had nothing of the sailor in it. Mart had seen enough of sailors
along the waterfront, however, to know that clothes do not count in
such cases.
With a final duck of his head, Jerry Smith turned and shuffled away.
"Well, what d'you think o' that!" Bob stared at his chum as the
stoop-shouldered figure vanished up the companion. "Pirate! Say, do
you reckon he ever saw a pirate ship? I guess dad has things twisted
about him, eh?"
"I'm not so sure," returned Mart slowly, thinking of that firm chin and
knotted hand. "I'm not so sure, Holly. You can't go by what you read in
books, always. Sure, I know he's a nice old fellow, but he's a queer fish
just the same. And as for bein' a pirate, there's that man Morris, who's
workin' on the Tribune now as city editor. He's as quiet and nice as you
ever see 'em, but they say he's been all kinds of things. That shows you,
Holly, that you can't go by looks."
"Anyhow, I guess he's reformed by now," stated Bob decisively. "And
pirating is out of date these days. He's only an interesting character, as
the books say."
"He sure is," agreed Mart promptly. "Say, Holly, we're going to have a
whopper of a time in the next month or so, ain't we?"
Bob grinned happily. "You're dead right, old boy! Say, it's noon--"
"By golly, that's right! When do we eat? I'm some empty."

"Right now. Ah Sing has the grub ready, I guess. Hike along, you
pirate!"
And Mart hiked with a wide grin.
CHAPTER III
OFF FOR TRINGANU
It was Sunday afternoon. Joe Swanson and the second mate,
"Liverpool" Peters, had departed that morning to enjoy their last few
hours on shore. Captain Hollinger, Mart, and Bob were alone on board,
save for the steward, and the three were sitting around a big pitcher of
lemonade under the after-deck awnings. The financier-yachtsman was
enthusiastically outlining his plans for sport during his trip.
"We're going to have a great time, boys," he exclaimed heartily, "I've
got everything on board you can think of, from tackle for sharks to
dynamite."
"Huh? Dynamite?" asked Mart quickly. "What's that for, Cap'n?"
"I don't know," returned the captain coolly. The two boys stared.
"What--you don't know?" asked Bob in surprise. His father laughed.
"No. I put it aboard at the suggestion of old Jerry Smith. He said we
might have need for it during the diving operations, and I simply took
his advice. He's pretty well posted on everything out in that section of
the world, and promises me some exciting sport shooting tigers."
"I thought tigers were found only in India," put in Mart, puzzled.
"That's where they usually shoot 'em, isn't it?"
"No," said the captain, leaning back and lighting his cigar. "No, Mart,
you're off there. You'll find tigers all through the Malay States and up
into China proper--I believe they've even been found in parts of Japan.
We're going to have some great shooting, boys! And while I'm off with

you in the jungle, or hills--for I'm not sure which we'll find--old Jerry
can be managing the diving and dredging operations at the other end
without bothering me till the work's ready for inspection."
"What's Jerry gettin' out o' this?" queried Mart thoughtfully.
"Oh, I'm to allow him one-third of the stock. Our consul at Singapore is
already getting us the concession, and Jerry has letters from the Sultan
of Tringanu to all the native chiefs."
"What're they like, dad?" Bob sat up. "The letters, I mean."
"They're written in Arabic," laughed his father. "There are a good many
Arabs out in that part of the world, and I suppose Arabic is the usual
written language; or rather, the Malays use the Arabic characters.
They're all Mohammedans, anyway."
"Can't we take a squint at those diving outfits?" Mart looked out at the
sparkling waters of the bay, and sighed. "Oh, I'd give 'most anything to
go down and really get underneath the ocean! Where are the outfits,
Cap'n?"
"Boxed up in the hold, Judson. There's no chance of our using them till
after we get to Tringanu. Swanson knows a good deal about diving, and
Jerry Smith promised to pick up a couple of men who were used to it,
so we'll be all right there."
"Oh!" Mart suddenly sat up and squared around in his seat. "Am I
under Swanson's orders, Cap'n?"
"Nominally, yes, as a