e on the back of a
bucking broncho, but here on the sea felt out of his element.

"Oh, no," replied Lester, carelessly. "That is," he hastened to add,
"there's always more or less danger when one's out in an open boat in a
storm. But this _Ariel_ of mine is a jim dandy, and I don't think
we'll have any trouble. Even if she should go over, we could hang on to
the bottom, and there are so many boats in these waters that we'd soon
be picked up."

Despite his careless air and confident words, it was evident from the
way he scanned the sky and the tumbling waste of waters that he was
secretly uneasy.

The sky had by this time become completely overcast, and although it was
only mid afternoon, it was as dark as though twilight were coming on.
The wind came in stronger gusts, and the waves broke ever more
threateningly against the side of the boat. The land was blotted out,
and only the tossing waters met the view in every direction.

"I ought to have turned around sooner," Lester muttered to himself, "but
I was so interested in the letter that Fred got from Mel I didn't notice
those storm clouds coming up."

The conversation had ceased. Lester had all he could do to handle the
tiller and shape his course, and Fred had to be on the alert in his
management of the sheet, which strained and tugged under the force of
the wind. It was a time for action rather than speech, and Bill and
Teddy, who just then could do nothing but serve as ballast, looked on in
silence as the _Ariel_ tore through the waves.

Suddenly an object that appeared on the starboard side excited Teddy so
much that a cry broke from his lips.

"Look at that big fish over there!" he exclaimed. "It's a monster. What
is it, a porpoise?"

"Porpoise nothing," said Lester briefly, letting his eye wander a moment
from the tiller. "That's a shark."

"A shark!" was the cry that broke at the same time from Teddy and Bill,
neither of whom had even seen that "pirate of the sea," and they felt a
shivery thrill from the sudden discovery.

"Yes," answered Lester, "and from the size of the fin, he must be a
whopper. We seldom see them so large in these waters."

"Is he a man-eater, do you think?" asked Bill in an awed whisper.

"That depends," answered Lester. "If he's a blue shark or a hammerhead,
he probably is. They pulled one out about fifty miles from here last
year, and when they cut him up, they found a man's boot in his stomach.
They're good things to keep