THE MAKING OF AN ISLAND 141 



ment later a dark dorsal fin cut the water. It was a large shark. 

 A cold wave of apprehension swept over me. The beast ap- 

 parently had not yet seen me and was playing in the shallows 

 where it possibly was feeding on small fish or mollusks. Quickly 

 I looked about and gauged my distances. The cay was closest, 

 the channel terminated about fifty yards beyond the bar on 

 which I was standing, from its edge the water shoaled within 

 a few yards to about a foot in depth. If I could make this I 

 would be safe. 



As quietly as possible I slipped into the channel again and 

 shoved hard for the shallows. I did not dare use the crawl for 

 fear the noise would attract the creature's attention. Out of 

 one eye I watched the fin rising and disappearing above the 

 ripples. Then my blood ran cold; it turned and came straight 

 for me. The hair at the base of my scalp began to creep, and 

 for a moment I almost gave way to panic. About fifty feet 

 away it veered again, swept back of me around the shoal in 

 the center of the channel. Then it began to approach from the 

 right. I trod water waiting for the attack. But it did not come. 

 Instead the shark began circling, slowly and leisurely, describ- 

 ing a circle about thirty feet in diameter. Once it swept toward 

 me and I tore the gun from my hat and thrust it under the 

 water in its path. I knew it would be of no use but I thought 

 the explosion might scare the fish away. As nearly as I could 

 estimate, the shark was about nine feet long. When the beast 

 circled back of me I turned to keep it in view. Fortunately it 

 stayed near the surface and I could make out its every move- 

 ment. The current was momentarily becoming stronger and 

 the edge of the channel was slowly shpping backwards as I 

 was swept toward the reef. In another two hundred yards the 

 shallows would be out of reach. Throwing caution to the winds, 

 but still not daring to make too much of a commotion lest the 

 beast think I was frightened, I slipped into a side stroke and 



