THE EDGE OF THE EDGE 



379 



On it came straight for the helmet. There was nothing I 

 could do. I was helpless, was not even carrying a sheath knife. 

 In a moment it was but fifteen feet away, then ten, and then, 

 just as I was prepared to be crushed under its great spreading 

 black and white wings, it banked sharply, swung eerily over 

 my head, narrowly missing the air hose again, and disappeared 

 to the left. As it banked I could see its little pig-like eyes gUnt- 

 ing at me, jet black pupils set in a white iris. 



I rolled over and caught a glimpse of the creature flying 

 slowly towards the place where the boat was anchored. Behind 

 it for three feet trailed a slim, rigid, black tail held stiffly like 

 a rod. On its body were two remora, larger than the ones I 

 had seen on the nurse sharks. They slithered all over the crea- 

 ture's belly as though restlessly waiting the manta's dinner- 

 time when they would glean their meals of crumbs from the 

 monster's feasting. 



The devilfish swung again and then came back but not so 

 close this time. It passed within fifteen feet, steered wide of 

 the air line, much to my relief, and turned down the edge of the 

 bank. Rapidly it faded into the haze, became more and more 

 faint, and finally disappeared altogether. I waited to make 

 certain that it was gone and then went hand over hand up the 

 life line as hard as I could go. In a moment I was safe and sound, 

 panting in the sunshine on the deck of the sailboat. 



For the second time my boatman beamed with triumph. 



"Some day yo get yosef in trubble— dem tings aint nothin 

 to mess wif," he warned. 



For once, I was inclined to agree. If the manta had sheared 

 off my air hose or had become entangled in the life line its 

 visit might have been extremely- awkward, if not tragic. 



Half an hour later, after catching my breath and reviving 

 my courage, I went down again. I found the edge rather easily 

 this time, but in a different spot. Here a patch of sea grass ex- 



