"Long enough to bother the sharks," he replied. "They haven't pluck enough to wait when they see they've got no chance; for, they're born cowards at heart, as all sneaking things are!" Jake also sidled up to me at the same time and somewhat restored my equanimity, saying in his light-hearted way, "Golly, Mass' Tom, we kill um all first wid um knife 'fore dey touch you!" The afternoon waned on; so, as the sharks exhibited no signs of yet leaving us, and the evening was closing in, Captain Miles ordered the men to lash themselves again to the rigging for fear of their tumbling off in the night and so falling a prey to the brutes--otherwise, there was no great need of the precaution, for the sea was almost now calm, the waves having quite ceased to break. Only a heavy swell lifted the ship up at intervals, letting her roll down again, and swaying gently to and fro with a gentle rocking motion which would have sent us all to sleep but for the hunger which now kept us awake with a nasty, gnawing pain at the pit of our stomachs. Our thirst was appeased, Jackson having swung himself down to the water- cask and served out another drink all round shortly after the sharks had made their appearance, as they could not approach near enough to the waist of the ship to interfere with his movements, the deck there being clear of water. But, oh, we did feel hungry! "I believe I could a'most eat anything now," said Moggridge plaintively, chewing away at a piece of leather which he had torn off one of his boots. "Only hold out and we'll get something soon," replied the captain, who tried nobly to keep up the spirits of the men. "We've got water, and that is more than many a poor fellow has had when in as bad a plight as ours. Let us be thankful for what we have got and for having our lives spared so far! To-morrow, if the sea be calm, as there is every reason to hope it will be, we'll probably be able to fetch something out of the cabin; while, if the worst comes to the worst, I've no doubt we'll be able to pick up some crabs and shell-fish from the Gulf-weed floating around." "Right you are, sir," said Moggridge, ashamed of having spoken. "I see lots of the stuff about us now." "Is that the Gulf-weed you told me about, captain?" I asked, pointing to some long strings of what looked like the broken-off branches of trees, with berries on them, that were washing past the hull of the _Josephine_ on the top of the rolling swell. "Yes, Tom, we're now in the Sargasso Sea, its own especial home. Indeed, this region is especially so called on account of the `Sargassum,' or weed, in the Portuguese tongue. You ask Mr Marline and he'll tell you all about it, being learned in such matters." The first mate, however, did not wait for me to question him.