Part 34 (1/2)

The monster rose till he was almost three feet clear of the surface, then turned so as to strike the water absolutely flat, and just before the crash and splash of the fall, Murren hurled the harpoon into the fish, and sprang back to clear the line. Although drenched and gasping from the torrent of water thrown over the boat by the devil ray, Colin took a bight of the line from the second coil and pa.s.sed it around the foremost thwart. He was just in time, for a few seconds later the rope tautened. There was just one jerk and the boat started flying through the water, sending up a green wall on either side that threatened to swamp it every instant.

With the fight really begun, Colin became at once quite calm. Paul, who was an absolutely fearless youngster, was laughing in glee.

”Which way are we going, Pete?” asked the capitalist.

”Lordy, Lordy, don' as' me; gwine to de bottom, boss. Ah knows we'he gwine to de bottom.”

The negro crouched down in the bottom of the boat, and the sponge buyer roared at him:

”Sit up and watch where we're going, you coward! You know these reefs.”

”It don' matteh, boss, de vampa tuhn roun' in a minute an' jump on de boat an' smoddeh we all.”

It was not a pleasant suggestion. The ray was undoubtedly big enough to do that very thing, and everybody in the boat had seen its power to leap. But even the little study that Colin had given to fishes came to his aid.

”All rays live on sh.e.l.lfish,” he said, ”and they have small mouths with plates instead of teeth to crush the sh.e.l.ls with. So that it really couldn't do us any harm, any way.”

”It's de smoddehin', boss, de smoddehin'. Oh, why did Ah try an' make trouble ober dem durn sponge beds? Ef Ah eber gets on sho' again Ah'll be a betteh man. Lordy, Lordy, what am Ah gwine to do?”

His voice rose in a shriek.

”He's a-comin' now!”

The pointed fin jerked suddenly and a third of the gigantic shape heaved itself into the air as the devil ray whirled. There was an instant of suspense, but the giant went past, one huge fin beating the air like the waving of some uncanny monstrous moth born in the terrors of a nightmare, and the boat was wrenched around sharply, half filling it and almost throwing Colin out.

Over almost exactly the same course that he had taken, the ray raced back, the weight of the boat seeming to make no difference to its speed; and then a second time the creature turned. It seemed impossible that with a speed of not less than twenty miles an hour so huge a creature--the size of one side of a tennis court--could twist about in its own length. How the rope and the frame of the boat stood the strain no one ever knew.

Once more the vampire turned; the boat nearly went over, but she was a staunch little craft, and the fish started down the lagoon between the reefs at its top speed. Often the creature put its two horn-like tentacles down for a dive, but the water was everywhere shallow and there was no chance to drag the boat under.

”It doesn't seem to be tiring much,” the capitalist remarked, ”but I don't see what more we can do.”

”No,” Colin answered, ”I don't think the ray feels our weight at all. I believe it's going faster.”

”We's all gwine to de bottom,” wailed the negro. ”Lordy, Ah been a bad man, but ef Ah ebeh gets mah two feet asho' Ah'll nebeh do nuffin again!”

There was no doubt of it, the vampire was going faster and faster every minute. The line hissed as it cut through the water, and Pete, despite his moaning, was baling for dear life. Darkness was closing in and the ray sped on. On either side were reefs, and many times the boat grazed sharp coral which would have ripped the bottom out of her if she had struck. Mr. Murren stood by the bow with knife in hand ready to cut, waiting to the last minute.

Presently a line of breakers, between two islets, appeared directly ahead. It was only a matter of seconds till they would be reached, but remembering how the ray had turned before, Colin clutched the gunwale of the boat to prevent being flung out of it like a stone from a catapult when the creature swerved.

”It's a-comin', now!” shrieked Pete. ”We's a-gwine to be smoddehed. Oh, Lordy, Lordy, Ah's a dead niggeh.”

”Hold on tight, all, look out for yourself, Paul,” Mr. Murren cried; ”he's turning!”

But he was wrong.

Instead of the black fin edging its way up, the whole great bulk of the uncanny creature heaved itself above the water like a great cloud and fell into the surf on the rocks, flapped upon them, although half stranded, and with a heave that seemed to make the reef tremble, plunged into the sea beyond.

”Better cut!” cried Colin.

But before the word was fairly out of his lips, the bright steel gleamed in the dark, and with a grinding crash that seemed like the end of the world to Colin, the boat crumpled into splinters on the reef and the three men were thrown in a heap among the breakers.