54 DAHLAK 



much of a hurry and pierced only the caudal peduncle. 

 While it twisted angrily on itself two or three times, I tried 

 to catch it by the tail. But with a sharp blow one of the flights 

 of the harpoon tore off, the other slipped out and the black- 

 fin was gone. 



It was late when we returned. The tide had risen above 

 the great sand bar so we could cruise over it, all aboard. 

 The sea, chopped by a sudden south wind, was travelling 

 with swollen curling waves. We met the others, who had 

 been fishing on the east coast. Raimondo Bucher stood up 

 and waved a shark at us. Killed by him with a decent shot 

 straight through its spine, this shark was the first to be 

 spear-gunned. A three-foot-long black-fin. It had given little 

 trouble. Good for Raimondo. Our initiation was now 

 complete. 



On the morrow Dissei was again our objective. At dusk we 

 had re-entered Massawa. At dawn nine guests had come on 

 board, the Italian Consul, Marchese Benedetto Capomazza, 

 the British Consul-General and other Italians and British all 

 wanting to spend a day at sea. Still early in the morning we 

 dropped anchor on the north-west of the island. Our guests 

 took an enthusiastic interest in our work and were at pains 

 to tell us what pleasure the trip had given them notwith- 

 standing the lack of comfort aboard and the fact that on the 

 return trip a roughish sea got up which they had to cope 

 with as best they could. Many were the stomachs that 

 suffered that day. 



Raimondo again made the biggest and best catch — a ray 

 of at least eighty pounds. Silverio spied it lying on the 

 bottom and called Alberto and Raimondo to help. Raimondo 



