CUNDABILU 139 



into it, dammit' Just as if it had understood that last 

 tremendous thought, it exploded like a catapult. I realized in 

 a fraction of a second that it was charging me and I fired 

 blindly, hurling myself instinctively to the left. A Vind' 

 overturned me and threw me aside and I felt a gigantic, 

 brutally violent body pass over me. 



I recovered from that fraction of a second groping around 

 at the bottom of the sea feeling rather lost. The grouper had 

 disappeared. I had failed and had only just escaped leaving 

 my own debris around. I looked up. High above, the shadow 

 of Cecco was gesticulating against the leaden surface. I rose, 

 and only then did I realize how little I had left in my lungs. 

 Cecco and Priscilla had seen everything as from a grandstand 

 and said they understood why I had not fired. 



*What a fool I was,' I moaned. 



*Why? You did the only thing.' Cecco assured me as we 

 swam together to the boat. 



'It was almost in the bag,' I went on. 



*Hm . . . but it was longer than you and twice as broad,' 

 said Cecco. 'What a pleasant little fellow it was.' 



At Cundabilu everyone could find amusement to his own 

 taste. There were fish and adventures for all. We came across 

 giant turtles, impressive barracudas, and great shoals of long 

 blue fish with black tails which crossed through equally 

 heavy shoals of yellow fish. The sea was throbbing with life 

 fifteen feet below us. Gigi had a private argument with an 

 eighteen pound moray, which went back to its hole after 

 being wounded and then returned to the attack on the sur- 

 face, fortunately only getting hold of the empty gun. Priscilla 

 gathered an enormous quantity of uncommon molluscs and 



