Read Online 03 Underwater Adventure by Willard Price - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Willard Price
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one, they took a white shark. Its stomach contained a bag of money and the remains of a woman and child.
‘And this mako …’ Captain Ike looked over the rail at the sinister blue-grey form, ‘he’s a mean one! He has teeth as big as shovels and sharp as razors. He’s one of the fastest fish in the sea - and what a jumper! One of
his favourite tricks is to jump fifteen or twenty feet into the air, and come down wham, on a small boat and smash it to kindling.
‘No,’ he concluded, 1 don’t trust sharks. Half of the time they’ll run away from you. It’s the other half of the time you have to worry about.’
The mako still waited. Luncheon was called and everybody went below. When they came back on deck, the shark was still there.
Blake scowled. ‘Perhaps he thinks this is his own special bailiwick. Well, if he won’t move, we will. Captain, let’s try it over behind Tol Island.’
The captain up-anchored and, using the engine only, lazied the schooner eight miles down to the western part of the lagoon. There he dropped anchor in ten fathoms.
There was no sign of the shark. ‘Believe we’ve shaken him off,’ Blake said hopefully. ‘The coral formations look interesting here. Let’s see if we can get some pictures.’
The photographic equipment was brought up and Blake and Hal checked it with care. Hal was an ardent and experienced photographer, but this would be his first try at taking pictures under water.
The cameras were a 35-mm loaded with colour film, a 2£X2£ reflex with black-and-white film, and a 16-mm motion picture camera. Each camera was housed in a watertight aluminium box with bronze fittings and a glass front.
Blake, finishing his work, went to the rail and looked about. He groaned. There, only twenty feet away, floated the mako monster. Its head was turned towards the ship and its beady eyes seemed to be fixed upon Blake. It was like a challenge.
Blake accepted the challenge. ‘All right, old boy, people call you the man-eater. We’ll come in and see if you live up to your name.’
He summoned his. assistants for a conference. ‘Since this big fellow won’t go away, we’ll use him. The Institute has been studying the habits of sharks and we can make a contribution by studying this one. We were discussing the question, Are sharks dangerous? Here’s a good chance to find out. We can test the various methods of protection against a shark. Some divers put their faith in a knife. Others say a knife is no good - that a shark billy is better.’ ‘What’s a shark billy?’ Roger asked. ‘A club - like a policeman’s.’ ‘Would that have any effect on a shark?’ ‘It might - if you bang him on the nose with it. His nose is very sensitive. Some say you can scare a shark by shouting at it. Some believe air bubbles frighten a shark. Some think it’s just a matter of keeping your nerve - that the shark can tell when you’re afraid. Then there’s cupric acetate.’ ‘What’s that?’
‘It’s a shark-repellent. Scientists learned that a shark won’t touch a dead shark that has decayed. So they have taken some of the chemical that forms in decaying shark meat and combined it with a dark nigrosine dye to make small cakes sealed in waterproof envelopes. You attach one to your ankle. When you meet a shark you tear open the envelope and the cake dissolves. If it works as it’s supposed to, the shark will turn up its nose at you and swim away.’
‘I suppose,’ Skink sneered, ‘you plan to stay snug on deck while we go down and risk our lives making these fool experiments.’
MM
‘Don’t worry,’ Blake answered, ‘I’ll make the experiments myself. We must keep a record of the tests, and the best possible record will be a motion picture. I don’t order anybody to risk his life, but if there is someone who feels like volunteering to do the camera work …’
‘That’s for me,’ interjected Hal, fearing that someone might get in a bid before him.
‘Then what do I
‘And this mako …’ Captain Ike looked over the rail at the sinister blue-grey form, ‘he’s a mean one! He has teeth as big as shovels and sharp as razors. He’s one of the fastest fish in the sea - and what a jumper! One of
his favourite tricks is to jump fifteen or twenty feet into the air, and come down wham, on a small boat and smash it to kindling.
‘No,’ he concluded, 1 don’t trust sharks. Half of the time they’ll run away from you. It’s the other half of the time you have to worry about.’
The mako still waited. Luncheon was called and everybody went below. When they came back on deck, the shark was still there.
Blake scowled. ‘Perhaps he thinks this is his own special bailiwick. Well, if he won’t move, we will. Captain, let’s try it over behind Tol Island.’
The captain up-anchored and, using the engine only, lazied the schooner eight miles down to the western part of the lagoon. There he dropped anchor in ten fathoms.
There was no sign of the shark. ‘Believe we’ve shaken him off,’ Blake said hopefully. ‘The coral formations look interesting here. Let’s see if we can get some pictures.’
The photographic equipment was brought up and Blake and Hal checked it with care. Hal was an ardent and experienced photographer, but this would be his first try at taking pictures under water.
The cameras were a 35-mm loaded with colour film, a 2£X2£ reflex with black-and-white film, and a 16-mm motion picture camera. Each camera was housed in a watertight aluminium box with bronze fittings and a glass front.
Blake, finishing his work, went to the rail and looked about. He groaned. There, only twenty feet away, floated the mako monster. Its head was turned towards the ship and its beady eyes seemed to be fixed upon Blake. It was like a challenge.
Blake accepted the challenge. ‘All right, old boy, people call you the man-eater. We’ll come in and see if you live up to your name.’
He summoned his. assistants for a conference. ‘Since this big fellow won’t go away, we’ll use him. The Institute has been studying the habits of sharks and we can make a contribution by studying this one. We were discussing the question, Are sharks dangerous? Here’s a good chance to find out. We can test the various methods of protection against a shark. Some divers put their faith in a knife. Others say a knife is no good - that a shark billy is better.’ ‘What’s a shark billy?’ Roger asked. ‘A club - like a policeman’s.’ ‘Would that have any effect on a shark?’ ‘It might - if you bang him on the nose with it. His nose is very sensitive. Some say you can scare a shark by shouting at it. Some believe air bubbles frighten a shark. Some think it’s just a matter of keeping your nerve - that the shark can tell when you’re afraid. Then there’s cupric acetate.’ ‘What’s that?’
‘It’s a shark-repellent. Scientists learned that a shark won’t touch a dead shark that has decayed. So they have taken some of the chemical that forms in decaying shark meat and combined it with a dark nigrosine dye to make small cakes sealed in waterproof envelopes. You attach one to your ankle. When you meet a shark you tear open the envelope and the cake dissolves. If it works as it’s supposed to, the shark will turn up its nose at you and swim away.’
‘I suppose,’ Skink sneered, ‘you plan to stay snug on deck while we go down and risk our lives making these fool experiments.’
MM
‘Don’t worry,’ Blake answered, ‘I’ll make the experiments myself. We must keep a record of the tests, and the best possible record will be a motion picture. I don’t order anybody to risk his life, but if there is someone who feels like volunteering to do the camera work …’
‘That’s for me,’ interjected Hal, fearing that someone might get in a bid before him.
‘Then what do I
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