the sailors were soon very busy trying to hook one of them; but they
refused the bait, which was a piece of salt pork, and after an hour they
quitted the vessel and disappeared, much to the disappointment of both
passengers and ship's company, the former wishing very much to see the
sharks caught, and the latter very anxious to cut them up and fry them
for their suppers.

"I thought that sharks always took the bait," observed Alexander.

"Not always, as you have now seen," replied Mr. Swinton; "all depends
upon whether they are hungry or not. In some harbors where there are
plenty of fish, I have seen sharks in hundreds, which not only refused
any bait, but would not attempt to seize a man if he was in the water;
but I am surprised at these Atlantic sharks refusing the bait, I must
confess, for they are generally very ravenous, as are, indeed, all the
sharks which are found in the ocean."

"I can tell you, sir, why they refused the bait," said the boatswain of
the vessel, who was standing by; "it's because we are now on the track
of the Brazilian slavers, and they have been well fed lately, depend
upon it."

"I should not be surprised if you were correct in your idea," replied
Mr. Swinton.

"There are many varieties of sharks, are there not?" inquired Wilmot.

"Yes, a great many; the fiercest, however, and the largest kind is the
one which has just left us, and is termed the white shark; it ranges the
whole Atlantic Ocean, but is seldom found far to the northward, as it