The rope was nearly gone now. Only Pedro’s weight on the few pieces of sapling held the cans together. The top of one had come loose and half the can had filled with seawater before he could tighten it. The sea mist was cold and he shivered, rattling the cans he lay on. One of the sharks moved in closer and he felt its rough skin brush his foot.
Fear was like fire in his throat. The shark moved in again, another following it and he lifted his dangling legs out of the water and yelled, “Get away from me!” His voice was hoarse and weak, muffled by the fog.
Wardie raised his head. He had heard something! But what, and where? Again, he heard a faint sound and thought it came from dead ahead. His oars were still in place and he squirmed up on the seat, remembering his father had taught him in his rubber boat on the bay. Grasping the oars firmly, he began to row.
The thing looming up in front of him almost scared Pedro to death. Sharks were bad enough, but a sea monster... and it was coming right at him! He let out a yell of pure fright when huge arms seemed to lift ready to grab him, then the yell turned to one of pure joy when he saw Wardie looking at him. He made a grab for the boat as it nudged his raft, pulled himself inside the skiff as the shark made a last, futile grab for his legs and crumpled to the bottom, exhausted.
But no two people were ever more happy to see each other than Wardie or Pedro.
An hour’s rest was all Pedro needed, and luckily, he knew where to row from the sun’s position. Hours seemed to pass before they broke from the fog... and there was the beach directly ahead, the small water tower marking the very key where the skiff had drifted up to start with!
When the boat ground to a stop on the sand, Pedro leaped out with a laugh, said something in Spanish, then turned back and hugged his little friend. Neither could understand what then other said, but Pedro seemed to think Wardie came out to rescue him all by himself. He grinned again, took his father’s pocketknife from around his neck, draped it on Wardie, hugged him again and ran off.
So much had happened in one turn of the tide. Wardie couldn’t believe it. He had to tell somebody and he took off toward his own house. When he reached the dune line he looked back... and there was the little skiff drifting off again.
Who would ever believe him now? He looked down at his knife on the leather thong around his neck. He could show them that... but no, he could have found that anyplace.
So he walked home with the sun about to go down behind him. The first person he saw was his mother who said, “Where have you been all day? Do you know what time it is? I’ve been worried sick.”
Wardie looked at her and shrugged. “Why, mom? What could have happened to me on the beach?”
Comic Book Fillers
“Trouble — Come and Get It,” 4Most Comics #2, Spring 1942
“A Case of Poison Ivy,” in Blue Bolt, Vol 3 #1, June 1942
“Clams Make the Man,” from Joker #2, June 1942
“Creature of the Deep,” Target Comics, #27, May 1942
“Fresh Meat for a Raider” from Sub-Mariner Comics #4, Winter 1941
“The Curse of Tut Ken Amen,” Marvel Mystery Comics #34, August 1942
“Flight Over Tokyo,” Human Torch #8, Summer 1942
“Devil Cat,” Human Torch #7, Spring 1942
“Jinx Heap,” Blue Bolt, Vol 2, #10, March 1942
“Jap Trap,” Marvel Mystery Comics #33, July 1942
“Killer’s Return,” Marvel Mystery Comics #31, May 1942
“Man in the Moon,” from All Winners #6, Fall 1942
“Scram, Bugs!” Marvel Mystery Comics #37, Nov. 1942
“The Sea Serpent,” Sub-Mariner Comics #6, Summer 1942
“The Ship In the Desert,” Marvel Mystery Comics #29, March 1942
“Undersea Champion,” Target Comics #30, Aug. 1942
“Woe Is Me!” Marvel Mystery Comics #36, Oct. 1942
“Spook Ship,” Target Comics #33, Nov. 1942
“Terror in the Grass,” Blue Bolt Vol 2, #12, May 1942
“Tight Spot,” Sub-Mariner Comics #5, Spring 1942
“Lumps of Death,” Marvel Mystery Comics #30, April 1942
“Satan Himself!” Marvel Mystery Comics #35, Sep. 1942
“Sky Busters,” Target Comics #34, Dec. 1942
“Last Ride,” Marvel Mystery Comics #32, June 1942
“The Sea of Grassy Death,” Marvel Mystery Comics #28, Feb. 1942
“The Secret of the Wreck”
“The Woim Toins,” All Winners Comics #5, Summer 1942
“Woodsman’s Test,” 4Most Comics #3, Summer 1942
“Fast Thinking,” Blue Bolt Vol 3, #2, July 1942
“Death in the Sea,” Target Comics Vol. 3, #7, Sep. 1942
“Phony Fish,” Joker #4, Nov. 1942
“Goon With the Wind,” Joker #1, April 1942
“Fighting Mad,” Blue Bolt Vol. 3, #7, Dec. 1942
“No Prisoners,” Target Comics Vol. 3, #4, June 1942
“Ill Wind,” Target Comics Vol 3, #8, Oct. 1942
“Spy Paper,” Joker #3, September 1942
“Target Terrors,” Target Comics Vol. 3, #5, July 1942
“The Mouse Fights Back,” Blue Bolt Vol. 3, #6, Nov. 1942
“A Shot in the Dark,” from Blue Bolt Vol. #3, #3, Aug. 1942
“A Turn of the Tide,” first publication in Primal Spillane