CHIRPING GIANTS 167 



Dur Ghella. 'I don't understand,' said Cecco. 'There are 

 pearls in this sea. There are the oysters in front of us. We 

 go under and we see the oysters. And why in the name of hell 

 don't we drag up a heap ?' 



The theme of the evening was : 'Does the person who finds 

 the pearl keep it for himself or share it with the others?' 



'I won't sell it. I'll give it to my wife.' 



'Well I'll sell mine. I'll offer you a drink and buy myself 

 a sports car.' 



'Selfish pigs. You'll sell the pearl and share the earnings.' 



'And what if we get two ?' 



'You'll share them the same.' 



'Well, if I get two I want to keep one of them.* 



'We'll paste your face for you if you do.' 



'Then I'll eat it.' 



'And we'll put a stopper on you with a seal.' 



'Joking apart, all the biUbil and the sadef (pearl oysters) 

 we get to-morrow will go into a communal heap so nobody 

 knows which is his. Agreed ?' 



'All right, but I'll make a mark . . .' 



A day later, dreaming of millions, the scientific nucleus 

 was to be seen scraping the depths and not caring a hoot for 

 the rare fish. 



'We are practical men, damn it,' was the disreputable 

 order of the day. 



In the afternoon the pearl oysters were opened with 

 trembling hands in a filthy stink. Not even half a pearl. 

 Only a few pearly humps, beautiful to look at but not worth 

 a fig. On the following day the four returned to their rare 

 fish. 



The pearl-fishing grounds in the Red Sea generally lie 

 well away from the islands, some of them to the east of the 

 archipelago of Dahlak. Being in the middle of the sea, they 



