Theodore Goodridge Roberts

“ Man alive, Bill Price, she's a-goin' to marry me!"
Bill Price laughed slyly and wagged his head.
"I knows what she said, and I knows what she was meanin'," he chuckled, "and when these here sharks gets so fond o' pork, and so trustin', that they'll swally whatever I drops over to 'em, then I'll drop ye overboard, Johnny Chalker."
"She wouldn't be civil to ye if ye was the only man alive in the whole entire world, ye crack-brained, squid-hearted, knock-kneed son o' a slush bucket!" cried Johnny, his wrath getting the better of his fear and his wits. ”

“ He is a smart sailor, has been a boatswain for years, and would doubtless study for his ticket if he possessed a trifle more book-learning. He talks of sharks, and he dreams of sharks, and he counts that a happy and prosperous voyage during which no black fin breaks the blue astern.
I suppose you think that he is married to Kate Malloy? Well, you are wrong! He married a girl in Harbour Grace. After recovering from that voyage in the open boat, he could never hear the name of Kate Malloy without thinking of Bill Price and sharks. ”

“ Johnny felt it to be his duty to take command of the little boat. He stooped and reluctantly picked up an oar, and at the same moment Bill Price made the sheet fast and pulled something from his pocket. Johnny straightened himself, with the oar swung high, and looked into the muzzle of a revolver. It was a small revolver, but to Johnny's astonished eyes the muzzle of it looked as big as the mouth of a harness cask.
"Cut that out!" he said, in a voice of scorn and disgust. "I'd think shame o' meself, Bill Price, to make a liar of an honest man wid the help of a pistol. ”

“ Some naturalists, and a few sailors who have never fallen overboard, would have us believe that the average shark is a dull, good-natured creature that would long ago have been accepted by humanity as a trusty companion and household pet but for its unalterable predilection for salt water, its somewhat daunting cast of countenance, and its reputation for swallowing things—a reputation, so its champions and admirers say, for which Jonah's whale is largely responsible. ”

“ Johnny found the sardines, the soft bread, and the rum, and placed them at Price's feet. He hoped that Bill would indulge freely in the bottle, knowing that he had a weak head for liquor. Then he retired forward of the sail, and fed himself with biscuits, butter, and jam, and drank his fill of water from one of the breakers. ”

“ Johnny had seen it before, on the high seas and in Heart's Content, especially in Heart's Content. He sighted trouble ahead, and was more than willing to avoid it.
"Every craft as floats has a skipper o' some kind," he replied, "unless she's empty, or got only one aboard. Sure, that's nature. So this here gig must have a skipper, b'y. and there bain't no choice but 'twixt me and you."
"Bain't that choice enough?" queried Price, his mouth slanting at a sharper angle than ever.
Johnny was a good seaman, and Bill Price was a poor one, and they both knew it. ”

“ Two black fins cruised astern, quartering the blue, choppy seas.
"But that hain't no consarn o' yers and mine," said Johnny. "We bain't called on to feed the fishes."
"We'll feed 'em like skippers," answered Price. "And when the grub runs out, 'twill be yer turn to feed 'em, Johnny Chalker—and I'll go home to Heart's Content and marry Kate Malloy." ”