ng, boy. It's as fast theer as a barnacle
to a ship's copper; an' 'll stay, I hope, till I get my claws upon it,--
which won't take very long from now. Pass a piece o' cord this way.
Quick."

The boy stretched out his hand, and, getting hold of a piece of loose
string, reached it to his companion. Just as the snare had been made
for the shark with the piece of sennit, and with like rapidity, a noose
was constructed on the string; and, having been lowered into the water,
was passed around the body of the little fish which appeared adhering to
the belly of the shark. Not only did it so appear, but it actually was,
as was proved by the pull necessary to detach it, and which required all
the strength that lay in the strong arms of the sailor.

He succeeded, however, in effecting his purpose; and with a pluck the
parasite fish was separated from the skin to which it had been clinging,
and, jerked upwards, was landed alive and kicking upon the raft.

Its kicking was not allowed to continue for long. Lest it might leap
back into the water, and, sluggish swimmer as it was, escape out of
reach, Ben, with the knife which he still held unclasped in his hand,
pinned it to one of the planks, and in an instant terminated its
existence.

"What sort of a fish is it?" asked William, as he looked upon the odd
creature thus oddly obtained.

"Suckin'-fish," was Ben's laconic answer.

"A sucking-fish! I never heard of one before. Why is it so-called?"

"Because it sucks," replied the sailor.

"Sucks what?"

"Sharks. Didn't you see it suckin' at this 'un afore I pulled it from
the teat? Ha! ha! ha!"

"Surely it wasn't that, Ben?" said the lad, mystified by Ben's remark.

"Well, boy, I an't, going to bamboozle ye. All I know is that it
fastens onto sharks, and only this sort, which are called _white
sharks_; for I never seed it sticking to any o' the others,--of which
there be several kinds. As to its suckin' anythin' out o' them an'
livin' by that, I don't believe a word o' it; though they say it do so,
and that's what's given it its name. Why I don't believe it is, because
I've seed the creature stickin' just the same way to the coppered bottom
o' a ship, and likewise to the sides o' rocks under the water. Now, it
couldn't get anything out o' the copper to live upon, nor yet out o' a
rock,--could it?"

"Certainly not."

"Then it couldn't be a suckin' them. Besides, I've seed the stomachs o'
several cut open, a