with greed, and his gaping jaws with their quadruple row of teeth.
His head was large, and shaped like a double hammer at the end of
a handle. John Mangles was right. This was evidently a balance-fish--
the most voracious of all the SQUALIDAE species.

The passengers and sailors on the yacht were watching
all the animal's movements with the liveliest interest.
He soon came within reach of the bait, turned over on his back
to make a good dart at it, and in a second bacon and contents
had disappeared. He had hooked himself now, as the tremendous
jerk he gave the cable proved, and the sailors began to haul
in the monster by means of tackle attached to the mainyard.
He struggled desperately, but his captors were prepared
for his violence, and had a long rope ready with a slip knot,
which caught his tail and rendered him powerless at once.
In a few minutes more he was hoisted up over the side of the yacht
and thrown on the deck. A man came forward immediately,
hatchet in hand, and approaching him cautiously, with one powerful
stroke cut off his tail.

This ended the business, for there was no longer any fear of the shark.
But, though the sailors' vengeance was satisfied, their curiosity
was not; they knew the brute had no very delicate appetite,
and the contents of his stomach might be worth investigation.
This is the common practice on all ships when a shark is captured, but
Lady Glenarvan declined to be present at such a disgusting exploration,
and withdrew to the cabin again. The fish was still breathing;
it measured ten feet in length, and weighed more than six hundred pounds.
This was nothing extraordinary, for though the hammer-headed shark
is not classed among the most gigantic of the species, it is always