hough a strong ebb was running out to the sea, and if crossed
immediately, before the wind arose, there could be no unreasonable risk.
My canvas deck-cover was carefully pulled close about my waist, and a
rigid inspection of oars and row-locks was made; then, with a desire to
reserve my strength for any great demand that might be made upon it a
little later, I rowed with a steady stroke out into Hatteras Inlet.
There was no help nearer than Styron's, two miles away on the upper
shore, while the beach I was approaching on the other side was
uninhabited for nearly sixteen miles, to the village at its southern
end, near Ocracoke Inlet. Upon entering the swash I thought of the
sharks which the Hatteras fishermen had told me frequently seized their
oars, snapping the thin blades in pieces, assuring me, at the same time,
that mine would prove very attractive, being so white and glimmering in
the water, and offering the same glittering fascination as a
silver-spoon bait does to a blue-fish. These cheerful suggestions caused
a peculiar creeping sensation to come over me, but I tried to quiet
myself with the belief that the sharks had followed the blue-fish into
deeper water, to escape cold weather.

The canoe crossed the upper ebb, and entered an area where the ebb from
the opposite side of the inlet struck the first one. While crossing the
union of the two currents, a wind came in at the opening through the
beach, and though not a strong one, it created a great agitation of the
water. The dangerous experience at Watchapreague Inlet had taught me
that when in such a sea one must pull with all his strength, and that
the increased momentum would give greater buoyancy to the shell; for
while under this treatment she bounced from one irregular wave to
another with a climbing action which greatly relieved my anxiety. The
danger seemed to be decreasing, and I stole a furtive glance over my
shoulder at the low dunes of the beach shore which I was approaching, to
see how far into the inlet the tide had dragged me. The white water to
leeward warned me of a shoal, and forced me to pull hard for the sound
to escape being drawn into the breakers. This danger was hardly passed,
when suddenly the waters around me seethed and foamed, and the short
waves parted and closed, as great creatures rose from the deep into the
air several feet, and then fell heavily into the sea. My tiny shell
rocked and pitched about wildly as these animals appeared a