Part III, Chapters 15-17 Summary and Analysis

Chapter 15 is called "Sharks and Bullets." The men had survived on the rafts for 27 days when they saw another plane. Louis tried to signal it with a hand mirror and also dumped a container of signal dye in the water. The plane continued on its course, but after a short time returned. The men started waving their shirts, overjoyed at the prospect of rescue.

It was a Japanese plane, however, and in an instant the air was full of machine gun fire. Louis jumped over the side of the raft to escape the bullets, but Phil and Mac were too weak to join him. They balled up in the floor of the rafts. The plane made several passes, each time hitting the rafts with bullets. In the water, Louis soon had sharks lunging at him...