Presently a single savage appeared nearer the land and George could see his lithe, sinewy form and the grace and rapidity with which he urged his gossamer bark along.  It was like a hawk—­half a dozen rapid strokes of his wings and then a smooth glide for ever so far.

“Our savages would sit on the blade of a knife, I do think,” was George’s observation.

Now as George looked and admired blackee, it unfortunately happened that a mosquito flew into blackee’s nostrils, which were much larger and more inviting—­to a gnat—­than ours.  The aboriginal sneezed, and over went the ancestral boat.

The next moment he was seen swimming and pushing his boat before him.  He was scarce a hundred yards from the shore when all of a sudden down he went.  George was frightened and took off his coat, and was unlacing his boots—­when the black came up again.  “Oh, he was only larking,” thought George.  “But he has left his boat—­and why, there he goes down again!” The savage made a dive and came up ten yards nearer the shore, but he kept his face parallel to it, and he was scarce a moment in sight before he dived again.  Then a horrible suspicion flashed across George—­“There is something after him!”

This soon became a fearful certainty.  Just before he dived next time, a dark object was plainly visible on the water close behind him.  George was wild with fear for poor blackee.  He shouted at the monster, he shouted and beckoned to the swimmer; and last, snatching up a stone, he darted up a little bed of rock elevated about a yard above the shore.  The next dive the black came up within thirty yards of this very place, but the shark came at him the next moment.  He dived again, but before the fish followed him George threw a stone with great precision and force at him.  It struck the water close by him as he turned to follow his prey; George jumped down and got several more stones, and held one foot advanced and his arm high in air.  Up came the savage panting for breath.  The fish made a dart, George threw a stone; it struck him with such fury on the shoulders that it span off into the air and fell into the sea forty yards off.  Down went the man, and the fish after him.  The next time they came up, to George’s dismay, the sea-tiger showed no signs of being hurt and the man was greatly distressed.  The moment he was above water George heard him sob, and saw the whites of his eyes, as he rolled them despairingly; and he could not dive again for want of breath.  Seeing this, the shark turned on his back, and came at him with his white belly visible and his treble row of teeth glistening in a mouth like a red grave.