The Man-Eater

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21344, 19 November 1932, Page 4 (Supplement)

The Man-Eater

:Jp> hl\ By M. G. DOREHILL M

The sea gleamed in the sunshine, greyblue, mysterious, rising and falling. Above, gulls circled screaming. Below, fish, with bodies gleaming white and silver, shot through the green water, gliding like ghosts through the silence of their world. One moment the water seemed empty, 'the next it was filled with tiny fishes shooting, darting everywhere in search of invisible prey. Then they were gone, swallowed up in the distance as a mightier/ fish came dashing into view, flashing/past in eager pursuit. But what was this large bulk, this Bl.range and hideous thing, which having lain inert upon the ocean floor, now rose to glide noislcsslv from the tangle of seaweed ?-/Clumsy of build, dingy coloured; glassy of eye—eyes so coldly expressionless and yet so cruel; jaws with rows of terrible! teeth. 'Twas a shark, ravenous with hunger, the most dreaded creature cf the sea. A villainous monster this, never satislied, and always hunting for something lo appease the hunger which tormented her. Anything alive or dead was welcomed by the desperate brute. Agile little fish sped away at her approach, shooting past with flash of fins and wisk of tail, half contemptuous, half afraid. She roamed the sea mile upon mile, perhaps coming ijpon a school of dolphins or, oh ioy indeed, the dead carcase of a whale. 'Oien her luck would change and she •A'ould hunt in vain, with scarce a morsel lo appease her giant appetite. One day she had chanced in closer to the coast than was her-wont. It was a sparkling summer's morn, and the sea •was filled with bathers, laughing, splashiing pleasure-seekers, who dived and swam, .•sky-larking in the water. From a good distance, for at heart the shark was a cowardly brute, she watched the sporting

peopled Swimming gently round, causing scarce a ripple. lor a moment a fin showed dark against the sunshine, and it should have warned the bathers, but they were not looking, nor thinking of dangers. Sharks* had not been seen in the neighbourhood for a long while, and they had grown careless. . , , , , Minutes flew, and still the shark lurked on the outskirts of the happy throng, not daring to make an attack although hunger was gnawing at her heart. Then a boy, anxious to prove his skill and daring, swam out further and yet fuither from the other bathers. The shark saw her chance and softly she glided nearer the bold swimmer. There was a glimpse of murky grey, a flash of vivid white, cruel jfiwa gaped revealing terrible teeth. Next moment the summer air was rent with a despairing shriek abruptly ending. . j The sun shone and the water sparkled. 'Above the gulls wheeled, filling the air with their weird cries, but P an i° bad seized those careless bathers. There were wild shouts of " Shark! shark! People dashed madly to the shore, tripping and stumbling in their haste. Others, biaver, struggled seawards to where the unfortunate youth fought hopelessly with the great monster. . Upon their noisy approach the cowardly brute slunk off. But she had done her work, and it was a dying victim that was finally carried ashore to where crowds Tiow surged in excited clusters, talking eagerly, and ever looking seawards to see if they could not catch a glimpse of the murdering monster. No one entered the sea again that day. But the great shark had learned a lesson and with other sharks she now cruised the coasts, ever on the look out for the unwary, and becoming bolder

than many, urged on by repeated success, but her size marked her. Sho became known as the " Big Shark," and under staring headings her fearful deeds were recorded in the papers, full many a time, i Revenge was spoken of, and bait was dangled before the glassy eyes of the ropulsive monster. Perhaps it was a trick of fate, or perhaps it was some previous exp»"ience she had had with meat hanging U,. itingly upon a line, that caused her to figi.t shy of carcases thrown before her savage jaws. Be the reason what it may, though the eager fishermen caught sharks big and small, they never caught the oneshe always escaped to claim another victim.

But at last she met her match. The ocean abounded in swordfish, and sportsmen came from all' over the world to the southern hemisphere to battle with the silvery monarch of these waters. One of these kingly fish lay balanced in the blue, exhausted. Every fin was extended, but there was not a suspicion of movement to show that he was alive, save perhaps in the glitter of his brilliant eyes and the glowing hues of his' sleek body. His magnificent dorsal fin which stood erect, shimmering with the brightest blue from head to tail, proclaimed his royalty, as much as the terrible sword by which he ruled the deep. For hours he had fought for his. life and he had won. Little had he thought of the trouble before him when ho had swallowed that hunk of meat, and ho still remembered the rage which had filled him when he found that he was being held in some mysterious way upon a line. Rage which gave place to madder and ever madder frenzy as he began the wild struggle for his life. Ho twisted,' writhed, leapt, tore through tho water, towing the boat in tho fury of his strength. What

was this unseen power which held him ? Then, when his strength was fast ebbing and he felt that he could fight no more, the line had become caught. He pulled it taut. It snapped and he was free. Free, but too tired to rejoice in his victory. He was resting thus when the great shark found him. As a rule she gave these mighty monarchs a wide berth, for she knew their strength and power, but she was half famished and mad. Bathers taught by bitter experience, had grown ever more wary, and here was a dreaded enemy either dead or asleep, for the sworclfish, utterly exhausted, was strangely still. It was a chance not to be lost. In a flash she had reached him, and before he could save himself had torn a great chunk of flesh from his side. She turned to escape, but it was too late. As quick as lightening the wounded monarch turned *uid struck, burying his dreadful weapon up to his very eves in her bulky side. He steered clear, described a circle and again buried his sword in her body. He left her dead. This ferocious brute which had struck terror to all hearts and had defied capture so long. The water was dyed red with the blood of two giants. Above the sun shone and the ocean flashed sapphire and green in the brilliant sunshine. The gulls circled, wheeling, uttering their wild cries. All was peace and a great enemy to mankind was gone. Upon his launch the deep-sea fisher stood fixing his lines. He looked glum as he thought of the noble swordfish he had lost when it had been so nearly his. But perhaps he would not have (pit so chagrined had lie known of the grim tragedy enacted beneath the murmuring waves.