Then came an unexpected difficulty. The rope had been brought on board through a fairlead on the gunwale, and it was evident that no amount of strength could hoist the shark over the side, while with our fore and aft rig it was impossible to utilize the yards as derricks. "Belay there!" shouted the bos'n, and, taking a few turns round the capstan, the crew stood easy and awaited orders. At a word from the bos'n one of the men swarmed up the fore-stay, taking with him a stropped block. This he bent to the stay at a distance of twenty-five feet from the deck, and, on going aloft the second time, the line was roved through the block and brought down on deck. "Up with him, my hearties!" was the cry; and by the united efforts of ten of the crew the ponderous body of the shark came slowly over the side and dangled from the fore-stay, its tail slashing furiously in baffled rage. At that moment, Johnston, the steward, hearing the outcry, appeared up the fore-hatch, holding a large tray of boiled potatoes in both hands. Suddenly, without warning, the strop of the block parted, and the shark fell with a thud on the narrow fo'c'sle. Instantly the men scattered right and left to escape the devastating sweeps of its tail and the huge snapping jaws; but before Johnston could disappear down the hatch a smashing blow of the creature's tail swept the dish of potatoes from his hand and smothered the ship's officers with a shower of sticky potato-meal! But there was no time to enjoy the ludicrousness of the situation, and with excited shouts the men flew at their natural enemy, raining blows at its writhing carcass with hatchets and cudgels, till the decks were red with blood. At last, by a well-directed stroke, the creature's tail was severed, and the rest of the task became a comparatively easy matter. Within a quarter of an hour the decks were swabbed down, the shark neatly skinned, and its jaw taken possession of by Dr. Conolly, as a remarkably fine specimen of the Carcharias vulgaris. During the run down the Red Sea I had frequent opportunities of practising with my rifle on the numerous sharks that followed in the wake of the "Fortuna," and I rapidly became an expert marksman. Aden was reached in due course; then, without any untoward incident, the "Fortuna" arrived at Point de Galle, in the Island of Ceylon, having been twenty-four days out from Suez. Chapter XII AT THE TREASURE ISLAND AFTER a three days' stay at Point de Galle, during which time we shipped more stores and water, and replenished our oil-tanks with paraffin, the "Fortuna" headed east once more.