The Shark Tooth Patrol

The Shark Tooth Patrol By J. B. Musser It was an exceedingly warm day, too warm indeed for people to be abroad, away from their protecting verandas. And so it happened that Kui and about a dozen companions were the only ones to be seen about the long wharf sheds of Honolulu harbor. They managed to keep comfortably cool by splashing around in the water and playing tag between the giant piles which supported the piers. Even they would not have been out, perhaps, had it not been for the fact that the pas- senger liner Makura was to arrive shortly, and to be on hand when the boats arrive is a very essential part of the "wharf rat's" business. And Kui and his friends were "wharf rats," on boat days, besides being boy scouts. Clad only in the scantiest of trunks their little bodies glistened in the sun as they played. There were a half dozen different nations represented in the group, and while the sun had done its best to hide their identity beneath a heavy coating of rich brown, yet the fine features and the generous physical proportions of the Hawaiian boys contrasted very favorably for them with the smaller and more wizened boys of oriental and Portuguese extraction. The great boat had rounded the point of land called Koko Head, and had slowed up to take on the pilot before she was noticed by the boys, but it was not until she had entered the channel and was threading her way between the marking buoys up to the harbor proper that the boys set out leisurely to meet her. Admiration would have filled the mind of an onlooker at the apparent ease with which they seemed to skim through the water. Hardly a splash did they make as they glided along, they were indeed perfectly at home there. Half a mile out they be- gan to near the steamer and pick up speed, each wishing to be among the first, to have a better chance at the coins tossed by the passengers into the water, and the passengers by this time were already lining the rail, watching with interest the antics of the crowd of little brown fellows so rapidly approaching them. They would leap almost clear of the water at times and call out to the passengers to "trow in a quota." And as the first coin flashed through the air and struck the water a scurry in the direction of the splash took them through the water with

THE SHARK TOOTH PATROL 249 the speed of a shark, they looked not unlike a flock of hungry ducks raising half out of the water in their eagerness to be first to reach a crust of bread thrown in to them. Few white men can swim like the islanders and fewer still can dive like these boys do. Reaching the spot where the coin had struck they fairly fell down through the clear blue water without any apparent effort, sinking down and darting about in pursuit of the elusive piece of money with remarkable speed. Then bobbing back up again toward the surface the black heads came, blowing bub- bles and spouting as soon as they reached the air until the water is again covered with the yelling, blowing, splashing boys. Soon the coins were falling thick and fast and the ensuing scene was a merry one, long to be remembered by the visitor to the islands. The passengers' generosity was attested by the bulging cheeks of the boys swollen out by the coins they contained like the acorn filled cheeks of a thrifty squirrel. A gang plank was lowered to the water's edge, the small platform at the bottom furnishing a resting place for the boys, and the ladder furnishing to the bolder spirits a means of climb- ing up to the deck, where, from the rail, feats of diving were performed by Kui and a few others, much to the admiration and huge delight of the onlookers. And then the thing happened. Kui had climbed upon the rail and was standing there poised on tip toe for his flight through space, but he did not leap, instead he climbed quickly back down to the deck and there he stood gazing into the water with a frightened look upon his face. Following his gaze the passengers saw the tip of a fin moving slowly past the bow of the boat cutting the water like a knife. They noticed, too, that the other boys; instinctively sensing the danger, had scrambled up on the platform and were huddled together there in safety closely watching that ominous shadow as it disappeared on the other side of the boat. "Mano, shark, shark," they shouted to those above, and a few of them grinned knowingly. This was a man-eater and no hammer-head. Ai coughing sound near the boat's stern attracted the at- tention of the onlookers and there to their horror they observed a little fellow struggling helplessly in the water. Apparently overcome by fear or attacked by a cramp, he had become help- less and was beating the water frantically. His lips were black and his face of a sickly pallor as still struggling he sank from view beneath the surface. Gesticulating wildly the now thor- oughly frightened boys set up a wail, and the excited passengers following with their eyes the directions indicated saw again that thin knife point cleaving the water, this time near the boat's stern, and they watched until it disappeared. Again the deathly

250 IMPROVEMENT ERA face of the boy appeared above the surface, but all were too hor- rifed to offer any assistance. "I'm coming, Timo," Kui's voice rang out, and before they could prevent him he had sprung far out in a graceful swallow dive, clearing the rail without touching it; and striking the water at a perfect angle. He rose near the now unconscious Timo and in a twinkling had grasped the boy by the hair and was struggling toward the platform. Again the shouts were heard and again the passengers, now in an ecstasy of fear, turned their heads in time to see that murderous fin near the stern of the boat again and moving faster raise above the surface for an instant and again disappear. Kui saw it, too, and felt that his time was near at hand. The uncertainty of fear lent strength to his struggles, but he refused to release his grasp, though by so doing he knew he might gain the platform before that terror should come back. By this time the perspiration was rolling down the faces of the helpless witnesses to this little drama which gave promise of terminating so tragically. Some of the men cursed and others prayed, according to their dispositions, while the little fellows below urged their companion to renewed energy or wailed pi- teously. Were the boy's brave efforts to be in vain and serve only to add his own death to that of his friend for whose safety he had so willingly offered his own life? Even the stoutest turned away their eyes as the fin again appeared, this time head- ing straight for the boy now only a few scant yards from safety. Several women cried softly and a devout man was heard to say "Greater love hath no man — " but before the sentence was fin- ished a shot rang out. All turned again toward the water in time to see the white of the creature's belly not more than three yards from the platform where the boys were being frantically dragged up to safety, by their terrified companions. A smoking gun barrel protruded from the open porthole of one of the cabins and a voice was heard to say in answer to someone's words of praise: "Yes, I waited for him to turn belly up as they always do when they bite on account of their mouth being underneath their head, and then I gave it to him good." The water was red where the creature's struggles had churned it into foam. Kind hands soon had the boys up on the! deck. Kui watched the efforts of the ship doctor to resuscitate his companion. And a happy smile lit his face when he finally saw little Timo's eye- lids rruiver and then heard him begin to moan. Kui now wears the insignia of an eagle scout, and certain other badges for merit and heroism. But a large sharks tooth is his most prized possession, and similar teeth also adorn the other members of the troop of which Kui is the leader. "We got 'em out of a big man-eater's mouth," he told me one day.

THE SHARK TOOTH PATROL 251 "He came drifting into one of the boat houses along the harbor about a week after we had that scare, with a bullet hole in his belly." "(And," he added, "that's how we got the name of the shark tooth patrol." Our Boy Sometimes the office fellows talk Of musicals and plays, Explaining how they spend their time In new and diverse ways; And as they speak of stars of old, Or favorites here and now, They look at me as if they seem To pity me, somehow. They little know the thrill I feel On coming home at night, And smothering my face against That head of towseled white, Of seeing two large eyes alight With childish ecstasy And knowing that this babe belongs Alone to her and me. They do not know the warming glow That floods around my heart, As I hold him close against me When we've been awhile apart; Or, as I rock him off to dreams And watch his face the while, I laugh to see his upturned lips Relax into a smile. The play that's always new to me, The one I most enjoy, Is staged in our small nursery, And the star's our baby boy. No note of harp or violin Has gripped my heart as tight As his rippling, "Kiss me, daddy." When I tuck him in at night. The fellows at the office May enjoy their shows nowadays; But the time may come to each when he Won't care so much for plays, And 'twill be when some small stranger, His own first-born little lad Opens his blue eyes in wonder, And looks up to meet his dad. Provo, Utah Gilbert H. Andrew*