ledge to search for the missing man--

"I have looked, Captain, and Gomez is nowhere to be found."

There were more awful oaths from Jose--for it was indeed that renowned
and most notorious scoundrel,--and then he again spoke:

"He must have fallen in and been drowned--curses on him for a clumsy
fool! Yes; and there are the sharks that have taken his worthless
carcass. Come, you; we will return to the schooner. It is useless to
search further for him, for he will never come back."

Meanwhile the sharks were coming ever closer and closer still, while the
footsteps of the pirate and his companions were heard retreating. The
minds of the hiding trio _were_ much relieved at the departure of Jose
Leirya and his villains, and particularly at Jose's mention of his
intention to return to the vessel; but the suspense of waiting for them
to retire, while the sharks were edging ever nearer and nearer, was
awful. The triangular fins of these terrible monsters were now darting
rapidly hither and thither, and at every dart the voracious fish came
nearer than before. Momentarily they expected to see one or more of the
fins disappear below the surface, and they knew that when that happened
they might anticipate seizure by the shark a few seconds later. But as
yet the fins remained visible on the surface of the water.

Poor Roger was nearly fainting with anxiety and apprehension, while
Bevan was rapidly becoming exhausted. At length the strain on their
nerves became unendurable, and Jake Irwin said: "I don't think those
fellows'll hear us now, even if we splash; and if we don't splash, they
sharks'll be at us in a few minutes. Anyhow, I'm a-goin' to risk it!"

Forthwith they all began to splash vigorously, although as yet they
dared not shout. The sudden commotion of the water, coming after the
dead silence that had previously reigned, startled the great fish, and
the fins instantly scattered in all directions, to the great relief of
the fugitives. But, as Jake said: "That won't keep 'em off very long;
they've smelled blood, and they'll be around again directly."

He then swam a stroke or two, very cautiously, out from under the ledge,
in order to have a peep at the pirates and ascertain whether they were
still in sight. They were, but if they pushed on without stopping they
would be out of sight in a few moments. But the question was--would
they be able to keep the sharks at bay for that short time? It was
doubtful