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Carlos pointed "Off the port bow Looks like pieces of a boat

The old fisherht any azed in the direction his son was pointing Then the running lights began to pick out scattered bits of wreckage He recognized the bright white paint and varnished debris as co froht He settled on a collision The nearest lights of the port were only two kilometers away An explosion would have been seen and heard He saw no sign of navigation lights fro in the channel

The boat was entering the debris field when his ears caught it again

What he had thought was a screa And it came from close by

"Get Raul, Justino and Manuel froo in the water after survivors"

The boy rushed off as Chavez set the gear lever to "Stop"

He stepped out of the wheelhouse and snapped on a spotlight and sloept its beam across the wa

ter

He spotted two huddled shapes lying half across a s and half in the water less than twenty meters away One, a man, appeared inert The other, a woht and frantically waved Then suddenly, she began yelling hysterically and thrashing at the water

"Hold on!" Chavez shouted "Don't panic We're co for you"

Chavez turned at the sound of running feet behind him His crew had rushed out of the deckhouse and quickly crowded around him

"Can youout?" asked Luis

"Two survivors floating on soht have to go in the water and give them a hand"

"No one is going in the water tonight," said one of the crew, his face turning pale

Chavez turned back to the survivors just as the woman let out a terrified shriek His heart turned to ice as he saw the tall fin, the ugly head with the ink-spot eye, whipping back and forth with its jaws locked around the wos