THE INCREDIBLE SHARKS 345 



was just beyond the range of vision it must have come at ter- 

 rific speed. Perhaps it was just as well that I was surrounded 

 by haze when it approached for to have looked up suddenly 

 and seen a hammerhead rushing on me like a bolt out of the 

 blue would have been too much. 



In a few seconds the silt began to settle and I could see the 

 creature swooping just above the sand, nosing the spot where 

 the shells had been. Its energy was astonishing, not for a second 

 was it still. Taking a deep breath and crossing my fingers for 

 luck, I slid in a long drop down the life line and checked myself 

 just above the bottom, blowing hard through my nostrils to 

 relieve the pressure that had suddenly built up in my ears. It 

 corrected itself with an audible squeak and I dropped the re- 

 maining six feet to the sand. Trying to feel just a little brave, I 

 turned and consciously composed myself. Inasmuch as the 

 hammerhead was less than six feet long I felt reasonably safe, 

 though if the shark had been much larger I think I would have 

 cast bravery to the winds and scrambled hurriedly into the 

 boat. But this was the only live hammerhead I had seen on 

 Inagua, or anywhere else for that matter, and I did not want to 

 forego the opportunity of making its acquaintance. 



It was the most grotesque animal I have ever seen. From its 

 gill clefts backwards it was a normal shark, graceful and sleek. 

 From this point forwards it was all out of reason— a travesty 

 of a fish. Its eyes were set on the distal extremities of its out- 

 landish head, and its nostrils, unlike those of all other sharks, 

 were visible as long narrow slits along the entire front edge of 

 the hammer. With such elongated sensory organs it was little 

 wonder that it had smelled the mollusks as quickly as it did. 

 When it rolled over I could see that the mouth was situated 

 well back of the head projections. Underneath it was yellowish 

 white, above dark brown with the sHghtest suggestion of mot- 

 tling. I was inordinately interested in the use of the amazing 



