The shark came in a rush and the old man hit him as he shut his jaws.He hit him solidly and from as high up as he could raise the club.This time he felt the bone at the base of the brain and he hit him again in the same place while the shark tore the meat loose sluggishly and slid down from the fish.
But by midnight he fought and this time he knew the fight was useless.They came in a pack and he could only see the lines in the water that their fins made and their phosphorescence as they threw themselves on the fish.He clubbed at heads and heard the jaws chop and the shaking of the skiff as they took hold below.He clubbed desperately at what he could only feel and hear and he felt something seize the club and it was gone.
He was stiff and sore now and his wounds and all of the strained parts of his body hurt with the cold of the night.I hope I do not have to fight again,he thought.I hope so much I do not have to fight again.
“Half fish,”he said.“ Fish that you were.I am sorry that I went too far out.I ruined us both.But we have killed many sharks,you and I,and ruined many others.How many did you ever kill,old fish?You do not have that spear on your head for nothing.”