344 I N A G U A 



After a few seconds I found it again and tucking the shell in 

 my belt started to go up the line. I had scarcely ascended ten 

 feet when I saw an indistinct gray shadow surging through the 

 water. Not knowing what it was I felt that prudence was the 

 sensible course and went rapidly up to the surface. Under the 

 keel of the boat I hung long enough to dispose of my shell and 

 then dropped down again about six feet to be clear of the bub- 

 bles breaking against the bow. 



I looked down. The bottom seemed a long distance away, 

 an illusion created by the refraction of the water. In the very 

 center of the limits of vision was the cloud of silt I had stirred 

 up. It was slowly clearing and about its periphery was a cloud 

 of fish. They were obviously excited about something and, as 

 I watched, others arrived out of the blue and joined the mill- 

 ing circle. This in itself was extremely interesting because 

 when I first went down there was hardly a fish in sight; the 

 ocean bottom seemed peopled with only the half buried razor 

 shells and a few isolated conch. 



Suddenly one entire sector of the circle burst asunder and 

 out of the silt emerged the form of a small hammerhead shark. 

 The smaller fishes dashed in all directions, waited until the 

 hammerhead was several yards away and then reformed ranks. 

 But they were not to have much peace for the shark suddenly 

 doubled on its tracks and with mighty thrusts of its tail went 

 into the haze again. Then it dawned on me what it was after. 

 Like the other fish it had smelled the juices of the mollusks, 

 and attracted by the promise of an easy meal had come on the 

 scene. That it had arrived first testified to the keenness of its 

 senses. Before I stirred up the bottom the water had been so 

 clear that I could see a hundred feet in either direction. The 

 shark had scented the mollusks and reached the place of their 

 demise in less than four minutes. This seemed incredible for 

 the current was flowing slowly. Even presuming that the shark 



