A Very Close Shave

onc (i.iy tiie man at the 1iit1 callad 1 1 1 v attentlon to a medium sized hark Ihat was followlng in 1 1n; wake ut tüxe siii), voraclously devourlng the iisfic iood emptied thircmgb the chute by the coolc the sirw;inl. When iiir saltar, Jack Doonelly by name, wae Telleved from liis triek at the wheel de exclalmed as he paaaed me; "Had time to fall ovei'board, uow eir." "Wliy so?" I natiwally questkraed. He iioiniril t the shark that liad tollowed alongslde the mldshlps as we walked forwai-d. ■What do yon balt them witli?" I aski'd. "A ptece oí fat pork, mostly, sir: nn' thcy raba er bit a brimstone on't li I nigfht, 90 's it shiiK-s like a bonito t-yi hm' fcher old undertaker kin see it in the darle." The iiixi ilay was oloudy, but I traliede ponnd ol salí pork on the end of ;i hook and chata, and watched it steadlly muil dog-'wateh. At elghi belle Bhe day aftér, I lost glght of htm altogether: bo, aftér taking the buu and flgurlng out onr latitud and lemgitude, lsai down on thc port bltte aiiafi oí the wheelhouBe, whcrc 1 90OD Ix'i-aiiic iniiniTscil in Daua's "Two i'eara Before '.lic .Mast."' I liad attaclicd niy sha.rk line to a small 'handy billy, and had hookcd -.bc tackle toa sorew ey e om the bits. Thai which would liavc ordinarily have been the luoise end ar haullng part "vvas also bclaycd to t.lio bits, a circumutaJice that proved very fortúnate for me. The wlmd (lied down, amd the sran waxrd botter and hotter a the yards iri'.ikcd in the slings with the listless rockinj; of the vessel. The creaklng acted as a hülaby to the rockinp, and the win put me to sleep. I can never know tJie length of my nap. When I was awakened it was witli no gentle hand - not even a rough one. I "was being bumped ove.r the monkey rail by the handy bllly, 5n the slack of whicii my foot had ca-ught, as I pro-bably Ktirred It while asleep. My "Two Yeairs Before the Mast" went a Long waya abaft tlie mast, and made an additioui to Neptune's nautical library. It probably did not take more than an instant to drag me over the ship's nid'. Yet 1 heard the man at tbc wheel ciy out, "an ovMerboardl" and saw a Ufe preserver jiass over my bcad as the latter struck the bead of the vess'l ncar the mizzen chalns, whcre 1 wound up with aaharp jerk, more utpriscd tban lmrt. I hung by my foot, whlch was held by tbc round tutti of the "haul in" ol' the handy bllly. I was more surpri.sed than injnred, but I immediately beeame more Erightened than 1 had been suxprised. Directly below me, wlthin what I imagined was easy jumping distanee, the white belly of a shark tlashed beneath tho water, and was followed by the appearance of it.s head below the Biirtacé. All of my anatomy bet ween my throat and my knees seemed to leave me. I had just sufficent Btrength to reaeh upward and grasp one oí the iron bracee beneath the mizzen chaina and look my arm tipjhtly around it. On -laneing below I ncarly lost my seiises. but was reassured as 1 saw ihai tiü' chain of the balt led into the slbark's ïnouth. It was struggliag to iree lteelt trom the hook mstead of stiiivinii: to make a meal of me. A K'.-.-ui.ne wliizze.l by ■ne, and a linzza a,rose on board as u entered hls HsliBhlp. ■llanu' (mi, boy- lianu' on!" 1 heard acherry voice say. "Now, tip ns flipper, my hearty. Looae that tackle au' let go, my darlin's! Avast thea-e! Pull hlm ín tai! fust, so'a he c.ui'i bite. Dld ye never lapd er shark, ye l;il)l)e-:-V' 'l'hen .1 ., .-U's arm closed around my litless forai ae my numbed fooi was veleaseil ïrom lts iiiocirint;-. "And (iliai's ther bigeesi flsh ye ever cotcthed ylt, sir. ril qult plum duif cf 'taln't!" exclaimed a forecastle man u hen I opened my eyes on the main batch a few minutee later and vii-wed the shark tha1 was floundertng on t.iir deck witli a handapike bhroAigh bis fiilis. Tho next day the cook handed m-e tlie vei-tcbrae of the sliark strim on n iwlne, and during the voyage liomeward, a year later, I scraped each veriihia nntii U ghone wlth a luster cqua) to of pearl. On reachlng New York, I.had tliem mount-ed on a steel roil tlpped wlth ebony and R-old, and the iuteretlcea ■.■lied ia wlth liard rubber. Icarrled ir prondly nntii the ceniennial year, vphen scme one mislook ii i'o" hia own whlle 1 was dlnlnf; tn n cafe and apjioinia ted it, leaving in its place ai applewi . ! stick, worth prabably i dlme; yo 1 have nothlng lef! io reiiiiiul me "f my misliap while