still standin' at de
bottom. I belibe Lucinda Nelson, sah, fur she's a great 'oman an' known
a heap ob tings. Niggah folks all go to her fur hoodoos an' chahms an' I
reckon she mus' be close on two hun' yeahs ole."

Captain Balbo who was laying close by did not seem to pay much attention
to the story of Port Royal Tom. He had heard it often before; but he
pricked up his ears when Lucinda was mentioned and eagerly questioned
the pilot as to her present whereabouts. Turning to Paul, he said:
"Oi've heard a good dale about, this fortune-teller, an' Oi intind to
visit her; she may be able to put us onto somethin' good" Paul laughed
at the idea of her knowing anything about wrecks or sunken treasure;
but the captain persisted in his determination to find her when they
landed.

The wind having dropped, the schooner was becalmed and lazily pitched
around on the gentle swell. The captain called loudly to his help-
mate Betsy to bring up some fresh cigars and a bottle of grog and
settled himself more comfortably on deck to enjoy the pilot's stories.

"Have you ever seen Port Royal Tom?" Paul asked the captain.

"No," responded the Captain; "but a frind av moine did an' ye may rest
ashured that he is around here somewhere. Oi wouldn't be surprised if he
were in the ould ware-house that our frind, the pilot mintioned."

"I guess yo' see a great many shahks in yoah time, massa Cap'in:" said
the pilot.

"Yis," responded the captain, "Oi saw lots av thim." He nudged Paul with
his foot and a merry twinkle lit his eyes. "They're curious brutes an'
not built like human bein's."

The pilot and Paul were now all attention as the captain seemed inclined
to spin a yarn.

"Whin Oi wuz a shtrapping young fellow about eighteen, Oi wuz sailin'
aboord a trader. Wan day we were layin' becalmed, as we air now, off
Turk's Island. While we were quietly sittin' on the bulwarks, we saw a
monstrous shaark off our starboard beam. The ould mon at the toime was
snorin' away in his cabin, an' it was a foine chance to have a little
fun. We out wid the shaark hook and havin' baited it wid a temptin'
piece av junk, attached it to a shtrong line which we rove troo the
davitts. Afther smellin' round it, the shaark turned on its side an'
swallowed it. All hands clapped on to the rope an' we hoisted him clear
out av the wather. A bowline wuz passed over his tail an' we got him on
boord an' a few blows wid the axe along the spine q