Seeing this, I could contain myself no longer.

Sternly commanding my dog not to follow me, I waded into the waves and then swam boldly out to the catamaran, taking good care, however, to make a great noise as I swam, by shouting and splashing in order to frighten away the sharks.

When eventually I did come up to the floating platform of logs, I found that there were four blacks upon it--a man, a woman, and two boys.

All were lying quite prostrate through exhaustion, apparently more dead than alive.

The sharks still hung on persistently, but at length I drove them away by beating the water with my oar, with which I then proceeded to paddle the catamaran ashore.