The Pirate Shark | Page 9

went forward to the bridge, watching the men sluicing down the decks forward.
"You bet," nodded Mart, laughing with sheer enjoyment of the blue sky and bluer ocean. "Where'd you pick 'em up, Jerry?"
Both boys turned to the quartermaster, who was at the wheel in the little house behind them. He smiled, as watches were changed and Dailey came up to relieve him.
"Where'd I find them, Mart? Oh, I just ran across 'em. Dailey, here, used to be on a ship wi' me, once." He looked around, and the leathery seaman grinned slightly.
"Who'll do the diving?" asked Bob, as they walked back to the wireless house and flung themselves into deck chairs, while old Jerry filled his pipe.
"Two o' the Kanakas, lad. They're main good at that."
"Are you goin' hunting with us?" shot out Mart. "Tiger hunting?"
"That depends, lad, that depends," and Jerry wagged his head solemnly. "I never killed a tiger yet. I've killed whales, though, aye, and tiger sharks! Think of the mystery of the sea, lads--wave after wave, with the fish down below and us up here above! Fish tell no tales, lads, fish tell no tales. There's strange things out where we be bound for."
"What?" asked Bob eagerly. "Sharks?"
The quartermaster nodded. For a moment he seemed to hesitate, then turned to Mart and laid a hand on the boy's knee.
"Lads, did you ever hear tell o' the Pirate Shark?"
Mart thrilled at the name, and the tone of the old man's voice gave him a creepy feeling, as it often did.
"No!" he exclaimed delightedly, scenting a yarn. "What about him?"
"Well, I've heard as he's livin' in the very place we're going to--that Kuala Besut, off Tringanu."
"Huh?" grunted Bob, sitting up quickly. "And us going to dive? Not much!"
Jerry laughed softly, gazing out at the sparkling waters.
"The Kanakas ain't afraid, lad. Only they don't know--they don't know. You see, this here Pirate Shark is pretty famous down through the Chiny Sea. But old Jerry Smith, he's the only one that knows. He's the only white man, lads. The Chinks know, and the Malays know, but they wouldn't go near the place. The mystery o' the sea, lads--wave after wave! The gold down below, and us up above--and fish tell no tales, lads--"
He fell silent, still gazing at the horizon. Mart glanced at Bob, and caught a significant wink as Holly tapped his forehead. Mart frowned.
"What do you mean?" he asked sharply. "Is there a shark by that name? What kind o' stuff are you handing us, Jerry?"
The old man turned and looked square at him, and his gentle face seemed suddenly changed into a swift vehemence that was amazing. But it vanished instantly, and he was himself again--as if he had put on a mask, thought Mart quickly.
"The Pirate Shark," answered old Jerry slowly. "Yes, I'll tell you about it, lads. There ain't many as knows where the Pirate Shark is, but old Jerry Smith, he knows. He's a big shark, he is--mighty big, an' a man-killer. He come up first at Thursday Island, years ago, an' caught half a dozen Jap pearlers. Then he showed up in the Flores Sea, an' for a year the fishers didn't dare visit the pearlin' beds. After that he went over to the Sulu Islands, down to Java, back to the Chiny Sea--always killin' men, natives or white. Then he vanished for a while--mystery o' the sea, lads, wave after wave--"
Again the old man paused, dreaminess on his gentle face. The boys were leaning forward eagerly, and Bob brought him back abruptly to the subject.
"But what about this place we're goin' to? Is he there now?"
Once more that peculiar look flitted across the wrinkled face--a look of swift suspicion, that vanished as quickly as it came. Jerry smiled softly.
"Why, yes! See here, lads, you promise you'll say nothing? I likes you fine, but I don't want news leakin' out. I'm an old man--fish tell no tales, lads--"
"Of course," agreed Mart instantly. "We'll keep quiet, Jerry." Bob nodded.
"Well, this is a yarn as a Chink told me, lads. But it's true, gospel true! A long time ago there was only Portugees an' Dutch in the Chiny sea, an' they carried on somethin' awful, fightin' an' robbin'. Once there was a big battle--"
"Yes!" volunteered Bob eagerly. "I was readin' about it last night--that time back about 1600 when the Dutch fought a Spanish armada for a week an' licked 'em!"
"It was a big battle," went on old Jerry. "One o' the ships drifted up to the coast of Tringanu an' sunk. Some o' the men got away, but she's there still--right where we're goin', lads, in Kuala Besut Bay. She's got treasure aboard, gold an' pearls an' such, an' the Pirate Shark's guarding her."
"Oh, rats!" laughed Mart, to whose practical mind treasure stories were