Their Lordships Request: A Harry Heron Adventure (101 page)

             
The
Master
'
s
Mate
looked
overside
and
drew
a
sharp
breath,
"
Strewth,
but
that
is
a
big
bugger,
begging
yer
pardon,
Mister
Her
'
n.
Any
poor
bugger
falls
overside
now
will
be
taken
by
that
fer
sure!
"

             
Harry
was,
of
course,
familiar
with
the
belief
that
all
sharks
were
man
eating,
a
belief
reinforced
by
the
loss
of
their
messmate
in
Port
Jackson
to
one.
He
shuddered
as
he
contemplated
the
animal
now
lazily
investigating
a
trailing
weed
from
the
hull.
"
What
a
size
it
is
–
it
looks
to
be
as
long
as
the
launch.
"
He
watched
as
the
cooks
threw
some
offal
overside
from
a
forward
gun
port
and
the
shark
accelerated
into
action
with
a
powerful
flick
of
its
tail.
The
offal
had
barely
struck
the
water
when
the
shark
rolled
beneath
it,
mouth
agape
to
seize
the
offering
and
vanishing
almost
as
quickly
beneath
the
surface.
In
that
instant
Harry
had
seen
the
serried
rows
of
teeth,
the
gaping
jaw
and
the
awesome
power
of
the
creature.
He
stepped
back
from
the
gunport
in
thoughtful
mood.

             
"
Mister
Bell
is
signalling,
sir.
He
is
indicating
a
safe
approach
and
anchorage.
"

             
"
Very
well.
Get
us
underway,
Mister
Rae.
Two
leadsmen
in
the
chains
if
you
please,
I
trust
not
this
coral.
Mister
Wentworth,
we
will
anchor
and
investigate
the
channel
through
the
strait,
"
the
Captain
told
them.

             
Under
a
flurry
of
orders
the
ship
gathered
way,
following
the
route
indicated
by
the
barge.
At
the
Master
'
s
suggestion
sail
was
reduced
until
she
was
inching
her
way
forward
into
the
anchorage
marked
out
for
them
by
the
barge
'
s
crew.
It
was
a
relief
to
all
when
the
great
anchor
splashed
down
and
the
cable
roared
out
through
the
hawse
pipe.
The
ship
settled
to
her
anchor
in
the
lee
of
a
low
lying
island,
the
low
scrub
and
snowy
beach
ringed
by
the
beautiful
but
deadly
coral.
Beneath
the
ship
the
clear
waters
made
it
possible
to
see
the
teeming
fish,
the
coral
decorated
with
strangely
shaped
vegetation
below
the
water
–
and
the
ever-present
shark
now
lazily
cruising
close
to
the
hull.

***

             
The
officers
gathered
round
the
chart
laid
out
by
the
Master.
"
This
is
a
copy
of
Captain
Cook
'
s
own
chart,
or
so
I
am
told,
"
Mister
Wentworth
informed
the
group.
"
The
passage
attempted
by
the
Endeavour
lies
here,
along
the
southern
shore.
But
they
encountered
many
reefs
and
islets
and
were
forced
to
stand
north
to
find
deeper
water.
Even
so
they
grounded
several
times
according
to
the
Captain
'
s
journal.
"

             
Captain
Blackwood
studied
the
chart
thoughtfully.
The
Master
and
others
had
added
it
to
over
the
years
since
Cook
'
s
voyage.
There
were
still
large
areas
with
no
soundings
and
no
details
other
than
notations
saying
things
such
as,
'
possible
shoal
'
or
'
breaking
seas
observed
this
area.
'
One
thing
all
the
journals
of
those
who
had
attempted
this
passage
said
clearly
was
that
the
sea
was
relatively
shallow
and
the
passage
very
narrow
indeed.
He
scratched
his
chin
as
he
considered
and
said,
"
Very
well
gentlemen,
the
boats
will
explore
these
reefs
marked
to
our
west
and
explore
their
extent
to
the
north
and
south.
According
to
our
information
from
Port
Jackson
there
is
a
channel
which
lies
to
the
north
of
a
large
reef
extending
north
and
south-west
across
our
intended
track
and
a
smaller
reef
lying
to
the
north
of
that.
Mister
Rae,
you
will
take
the
barge
and
find
the
entrance
to
that
channel,
which,
if
this
chart
is
accurate,
lies
no
more
than
twenty
miles
from
our
present
anchorage.
"

             
"
If
the
wind
remains
in
this
direction
an
easy
run
to
leeward
for
the
ship,
sir,
"
remarked
the
Fourth
Lieutenant.