1v.] THE WITCHES’ ISLAND, 205

 

fill her, and she rode gallantly on the crest of the
waves, although, now on one side, now on the other,
she bowed before their force and seemed as if nothing
could prevent her from filling and sinking. Nothing
daunted, Molly rowed steadily forward, and looked
neither to the right ngr the left. She was now within
little more than a Wicca yards from the island,
when, suddenly an enormous Skate reared itself out of
the water quite close to her with its mouth wide open,
presenting an appearance more repulsive than she had
supposed possible even in one of those remarkably
ugly creatures. ‘Come below, Molly!’ it said, as it
yawned with a palpable wish that she should jump
down its throat, which was the very last thing she
would ever have thought of doing. Stretching out
her right hand, while still rowing with the left, though
of course very softly, and only so as just to keep the
boat in motion, she took from her husband’s jacket
the packet marked number one, and threw it quietly
. into the creature’s mouth.

The effect was instantaneous. The packet burst
as it entered the place into which it was thrown, and
evidently contained a powder of an explosive cha-
racter. With a sound like the popping of a thousand
soda-water bottles all at once, the unhappy Skate
blew up instantaneously, and sank below the waters
in many pieces. Molly had not taken more than.a
second or -two in the performance of her part of this
drama, and went on rowing as unconcernedly as if
nothing had happened. It was startling, certainly,

, but after all a skate was nota fish of much account, and