72 DAHLAK 



rock. So down he went. Leaning against its third stone block, 

 the two harpoons protruding from its skull like horns, was 

 the grouper. Silverio jumped, returned to the surface and 

 called Raimondo. They went down together. Raimondo shot 

 high on the flank. Silverio did the same and speared it for 

 the fourth time. The grouper made off with the two of them 

 in tow. They travelled like this for some time, how long, they 

 alone know, but they finally got it to stop and brought it to 

 the surface, even though they were dragged about here and 

 there, like bits of straw. With a final joint effort it was hoisted 

 aboard. 



It was a magnificent triumph for our friends. Nevertheless 

 they got the rough side of our tongues aboard the Formica, for, 

 without letting us know, they split open the skull just to 

 extract the harpoons. Poor Cecco, who had been visualizing 

 'his' beautiful skull, cleaned and showy, sitting in an Italian 

 museum, laid into them with all the powerful abuse of his 

 well-stocked Roman vocabulary. 



The black-fin shark had a different and more dramatic 

 story. This time it was Bruno and Giorgio Ravelli who were 

 on the spot. 



Bruno wanted to throw a small explosive charge into the 

 water as an experiment. We had often thought of this as a 

 means of scientific collection; now it was time to try it. A 

 dozen or more sharks immediately rushed to the scene of the 

 massacre. At this spot Bruno and Giorgio were also immersed. 



First they saw two arrive. Then three more. Then another 

 two. Then more and more. They came like lightning, their 

 long narrow muzzles stretched ahead, eyes wide open, tails 

 wagging in agitation, pectoral fins rigid in their watery flight. 

 Bruno and Giorgio, it must be admitted, were pink with fear. 

 It was indeed the first time they had found themselves face to 

 face with a herd of hungry sharks. Rather than beat a hasty 



