quick turn round the bitts, was able to
stay its downward progress. And then it became a matter of sheer,
downright drag by all hands ere the huge bulk could be brought near
enough to the surface to permit of the use of their weapons on it, when
it was found that its companion still clung faithfully to its side.

At length, after some fifteen minutes of exhausting labour on the one
hand, opposed to stolid dogged resistance on the other, the monster
reptile was dragged so close to the surface that the point of its snout
was actually raised above the level or the water, and the whole of the
gigantic body, right down to the extremity of the broad-ended tail,
could be clearly seen hanging suspended vertically in the pellucid
depths beneath the yacht, while swimming agitatedly round and round the
suspended body could occasionally be seen the creature's mate, now
plunging deep, as though, thoroughly terrified, it had at length
determined to abandon so dangerous a neighbourhood, and anon returning
with a swift rush to the surface, and furious dartings to and fro, as
though meditating an attempt at the rescue of its companion.

And now, for the first time, the hunters were able to obtain a
thoroughly clear and satisfactory view, at close quarters, of the
gruesome-looking brutes, and a truly hideous and nightmare-inspiring
sight it was; a sight which, as Escombe gazed at the ponderous,
powerful, thick-skinned bodies, the enormous, protruding, balefully
glaring eyes, and the long, cavernous, gaping jaws, armed with great
serrated teeth--those of the upper jaw fitting in between those of the
lower--caused him to feel, more strongly than ever, the conviction that
in destroying the creatures he was a public benefactor.

The captured brute now hung so nearly motionless, with the point of the
great barbed hook protruding through its upper jaw, that it was evident
its strength must be practically exhausted; and Escombe, standing by to
open fire with his magazine rifle in case of an emergency, gave the word
to his companions to deal the death stroke, advising some to endeavour
to reach the creature's brain by means of a spear-thrust through the
eye, while others were to attempt to pierce the heart. But, with the
arrival of the crucial moment, the nerves of the natives seemed to
suddenly fail them; they became flurried and frightened in the very act
of raising their weapons to strike, and every man of them missed his
mark, inflicting