8s 



We docked at 7 a.m., and no sooner was the gangway down than 

 we were beset by friends and the press, some of the latter new to us. 



In mid-morning we were in the lounge with Stanley Dagger, 

 our good 'Elastoplast' friend, who keeps us supplied with the 

 most essential field dressings. One of the junior officers came up 

 and said, 'Telegram for you, sir', and I took it absentmindedly — 

 it had rained telegrams that morning. This bore the red * Urgent' 

 tab, one of a number. I had noted a young man who came with the 

 officer and he now introduced himself as a reporter new to me. It 

 had rained reporters, too, but I asked him to sit down for a moment 

 while we continued our conversation. In a lull I slit open this 

 telegram and read it casually. At first the words had no meaning, 

 then I found myself on my feet staring at it, for two words stood 

 out: 'Coelacanth' and 'Hunt'. 'What's the matter?' asked my wife 

 in alarm. 'Hunt's got a Coelacanth,' I said. She jumped up, took 

 the telegram and read it. It had been redirected from Grahamstown 

 to Durban. It read: 



'REPEAT CABLE JUST RECEIVED HAVE FIVE FOOT 

 SPECIMEN COELACANTH INJECTED FORMALIN HERE 

 KILLED 20TH ADVISE REPLY HUNT DZAOUDZL' 



Dzaoudzi, where on earth was Dzaoudzi? It sounded like Somali- 

 land or some such place, we had never heard of any place of that 

 name before, not in the Comores, anyway. One of the younger 

 officers came up at that moment with some message from the 

 Chief Officer, and I asked him if he knew where Dzaoudzi was. 

 No, never heard of it, but he could soon find out for me, and he 

 went off, while my mind groped in chaos asking if this could be 

 true. Tive-foot Coelacanth, Hunt.' Yes, Hunt would know a 

 Coelacanth. A five-foot Coelacanth. Could it be true ? The young 

 reporter had his ears cocked, and he asked some questions that 

 remained unanswered. The young officer came shooting back. 

 'Dzaoudzi is on a small island called Pamanzi in the Comores, 

 sir.' So by Heaven, Hunt had got one in the Comores. It was those 

 Comores, after all. Good for Hunt. 



Comores, hot as hell, was how he had described them, and had 

 said there was no refrigeration plant there. Formalin ! How much ? 

 If it was the amount that had been planned for Hunt, it wasn't 

 nearly enough for a five-foot Coelacanth. What a predicament. 



