A Close Shave; Or, How Major Flagg Won His Bet - Softcover

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1900. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER XXV. PERFORMANCES OF THE CUTTLE-FISH--ARRIVAL AT SINGAPORETOO LATE FOR THE MAIL STEAMER--A DISCOVERY. Our friends were at first inclined to laugh at the curious adventure that had befallen them, but they soon ascertained that it was no laughing matter. The great arms of the cuttle-fish rose out of the water and around the bows of the steamer; they clasped portions of the rigging and narrowly missed some of the men who were running about thedeckin obedience to the orders of the captain. One of them swung within a few inches of where Harry was standing, and seemed more like the head of a serpent than anything else; to say that the youth was pretty well frightened would not be overstating the case. It was a strange combat, the fight between a steamship and a gigantic monster of the sea! As the morning dawned there were the terrible arms of the cuttle-fish, arms estimated to be twenty-five or thirty feet long and with suckers at the ends as large as dinner plates, twining about the fore-rigging and bows of the vessel, and seeking to drag the steamer and its occupants beneath the waves. The engineer reported the engines temporarily disabled by the breaking of a connecting-rod, and he said it would take some hours to repair the damage. The screw appeared to be fouled by something, and when the full daylight permitted an examination it was found that an arm of the cuttle-fish, or possibly an arm of a companion of the creature that was twined about the bows, had become entangled with the screw and broken one of its blades. When, if ever, would the party be able to reach Singapore? One by one those horrid looking arms of the octopus were hewn off with axes and large knives, and the hold of the creature on the vessel was broken. Finally it dropped away and ...