It was the hideous hammer-headed shark, the dreaded _zygaena_ of the Celebes Sea.
With a pair of enormous eyes glaring sullenly out from two immense cheek-like protuberances, giving to its head that singular sledge-hammer appearance whence it has its name, it advanced directly toward the slow-descending corpse, itself, however, moving so rapidly that the spectators above had scarce taken in the outlines of its horrid form, when this was no longer visible.

It was hidden in what appeared a shower of bluish pearls suddenly projected underneath the water, and enveloping both the dead body of the sailor and the living form of the shark.

Through the dimness could be distinguished gleams of a pale phosphoric sheen like lightning flashes through a sky cloud; and soon after froth and bubbles rose effervescing upon the surface of the sea.
It was a terrible spectacle, though only of an instants duration.

When the subaqueous cloud cleared away, and they again looked with peering eyes down into the pellucid depths, there was nothing there, neither dead body of man, nor living form of monster.

The _zygaena_ had secured its prey, and carried the skeleton corpse to some dark cavern of the deep! [Note 1.] -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Note 1.