[Bunyip Land by George Manville Fenn]@TWC D-Link book
Bunyip Land

CHAPTER FOUR
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CHAPTER FOUR.
HOW I WAS NOT DROWNED, AND HOW WE CHASED THAT SCHOONER.
I don't remember much about that dive, except that the water made a great deal of noise in my ears, for the next thing that occurred seemed to be that I was lying on my back, with the back of my neck aching, while the doctor was pumping my arms up and down in a remarkably curious manner.
"What's the matter ?" I said quickly; and then again in a sharp angry voice, "Be quiet, will you?
Don't!" "Are you better, young 'un ?" said the captain, who seemed to be swollen and clumsy looking.
"Better?
Here!" I cried as a flash of recollection came back, "where's the shark ?" "Floating alongside," said the doctor, wiping the great drops of perspiration from his forehead.
I pulled myself up and looked over the side, where the great fish was floating quite dead, with one of the sailors making fast a line round the thin part of the tail.
"Why, I know," I cried; "he dragged me down." It was all plain enough now.

The captain had fitted a lanyard to the shaft of the lance, so that it should not be lost, and I had got this twisted round one of my wrists in such a way that I was literally snatched out of the boat when it tightened; and I felt a strange kind of shudder run through me as the doctor went on to say softly: "I had begun to give you up, Joe, my boy." "Only the shark give it up as a bad job, my lad.

That stroke of yours finished him, and he come up just in time for us to get you into the boat and pump the wind into you again--leastwise the doctor did." "The best way to restore respiration, captain." "When you've tried my plan first, my lad," replied the captain.

"What is it drowns folks, eh?
Why, water.

Too much water, eh?
Well, my plan is to hold up head down'ards and feet in the air till all the salt-water has runned out." "The surest way to kill a half-drowned person, captain," said the doctor authoritatively.
"Mebbe it is, mebbe it isn't," said the captain surlily.


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