In a short time a large black body with a white belly swam with lightning swiftness past the line several times, darting back and forth, but on a sudden it turned, seized the bait and tried to make off with it. The end of the line on deck was tied to a stanchion which gave the shark a strong opponent, and a terrific struggle followed both on deck and in the water, for as soon as Mr. Shark struck, about 40 men grabbed the line and began to run across the deck, pulling the fighting monster out of the water onto the deck. As soon as the shark landed on deck every one scattered, for the big fish began frantically to lash his powerful tail and snap his jaws. No one dared approach him. Finally when the shark was exhausted, one of the _Leviathan’s_ butchers drove a cleaver into the strong skull and ended the death struggle. The same piece of bait obtained three other sharks before it was lost, owing to a slack in the line, when a ten-footer tried to join the company. The line broke and the prize, and hook and bait, with about thirty feet of brand new line, was lost. Part II Running The War Zone FIRST VOYAGE TO LIVERPOOL S. H. At 7.34 A. M., December 15, 1917, the _Leviathan_ left her pier in Hoboken for her first trip across the Atlantic. Twelve tugs were employed to assist in swinging the bow of the giant ship toward the sea. The following organizations and numbers of troops were on board, in addition to some notable passengers: No. 7,254. Organizations—Base Hospital, No. 31, Female; Base Hospital, No. 34, 82nd Brigade Hdqts., 163rd Inf., 164th Inf.; Commanding Officer, Brig. General Edward Vellruth, 82nd Brigade. The morning was rather raw, with the snow falling heavily, but nothing could dampen the ardor of the 7,254 troops and 2,000 sailors on board. We were about to cross the ocean, most of us for the first time, and the hazard of the perils of the submarine, whose operations were more active at this period of the war than at any other time, and the excitement of the adventure, if nothing else, was sufficient reason for everyone to keep his spirit up. Passing through Ambrose Channel, the ship headed for the open sea with the compass pointing due east and the propellers revolving at the rate of 158 revolutions per minute, which is equivalent to 21 knots. Until sundown this same night, a zig-zag course was maintained, not because of the danger of submarines, for none were reported off the Atlantic coast at this time, but in order to give the officers and men on the bridge an opportunity to become thoroughly acquainted with this method so as to be familiar with it when in the danger zone. [Illustration: AT SEA] Abandon ship drills were held this day, all members on board falling in at their respective boats and rafts in a quite orderly fashion and lowering the boats in a remarkably short time.