ently
respectable and prosperous, and feeling once more a man after the
degrading duck episode in North Queensland, was strolling about George
Street with Bannister, and at peace with the world and himself. For the
skipper's wife had been impressed with his intellectuality and modest
demeanour, and was already at work decorating his cabin--as Bannister
had prophesied.

_Jack Shark's Pilot_

Early one morning as we in the _Palestine_, South Sea trading schooner,
were sailing slowly between Fotuna and Alofa--two islands lying to the
northward of Fiji--one of the native hands came aft and reported two
large sharks alongside. The mate at once dived below for his shark hook,
while I tried to find a suitable bit of beef in the harness cask. Just
as the mate appeared carrying the heavy hook and chain, our skipper, who
was lying on the skylight smoking his pipe, although half asleep,
inquired if there were "any pilot fish with the brutes."

"Yes, sir," said a sailor who was standing in the waist, looking over
the side, "there's quite a lot of 'em. I've never seen so many at one
time before. There's nigh on a dozen."

The captain was on his feet in an instant. "Don't lower that hook of
yours just yet, Porter," he said to the mate. "I'm going to get those
pilot fish first. Tom, bring me up my small fishing line."

"They won't take a hook, will they?" I inquired.

"Just you wait and see, sonny. Ever taste pilot fish?"

"No. Are they good to eat?"

"Best fish in the ocean, barring flying-fish," replied the skipper, as,
after examining his line, he cut off both hook and leaden sinker and
bent on a small-sized _pa_--a native-made bonito hook cut out from a
solid piece of pearl-shell.

Then jumping up into the whaleboat which hung in davits on the starboard
quarter he waited for the sharks to appear, and the mate and I leant
over the side and watched. We had not long to wait, for in a few minutes
one came swimming quickly up from astern, and was almost immediately
joined by the other, which had been hanging about amidships. They were
both, however, pretty deep down, and at first I could not discern any
pilot fish. The captain, however, made a cast and the hook dropped in
the water, about fifty feet in the rear of the sharks; he let it sink
for less than half a minute, and then began hauling in the line as
quickly as possible, and at the same moment I saw some of the pilot fish
quite distinctly--some swimming alongsi