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"You'd shoot a defenseless bird?"

Pitt looked at her "Only because I have this strange aversion to starving to death"

While Giordino pu on a canopy, Pitt exa for any leaks or abrasions in the neoprene floats and structural dalass hull He dove overboard and ran his hands over the bottoe The craft appeared to be about four years old and had apparently been used as a shore boat when Dorsett's yacht moored off a beach without a dock Pitt was relieved to find it slightly worn but in otherwise excellent shape The only flaas theon the transom of the boat

Cli back on board, he kept them busy all day with odd little jobs to take theirthirst Pitt was determined to keep their spirits up He had no illusions as to how long they could last He and Giordino had once trekked through the Sahara Desert without water for nearly seven days That was a dry heat; here the heavy humidity sucked the life out of them

Giordino rigged the nylon cover as shield fro it over the paddle he had h sides of the flotation tubes with short lengths cut froe so that any rainwater it caught would flow and drop into an ice chest Maeve had found under one seat She cleaned the grihten up the interior of the boat to make it liveable Pitt used his time to separate the strands fro line

The only food source within two thousand kilometers or more was fish If they didn't catch any, they would starve He fashioned a hook fro of his belt buckle and tied it to the line The opposite end was attached to the center of one of the wrenches so he could grip it in both hands The quandary was how to catch thes or cheese around here Pitt leaned over the flotation tubes, cupped his hands around his eyes to shut out the sunlight and stared into the water

Already, inquisitive guests were congregating under the shadow of the raft Those who plow through the sea on ships and boats powered by big engines with roaring exhausts and thrashing propellers often complain that there is no life to be seen in the open ocean But for those who float close to the surface of the water, drifting soundlessly, it soon beco on the other side on citizens of the deep, who are far more numerous and varied than the animals who roam the solid earth

Schools of herringlike fish, no larger than Pitt's little finger, darted and wiggled under the boat He recognized pompano, dolphins, not to be confused with the porpoise and their larger cousins, the dorado, with their high foreheads and long fin running down the top of their lided in

circles, occasionally striking at one of the smaller fish There was also a sest inhabitants of the sea, each of his eyes perched on the end of a wing that looked like it was jammed into his head

"What are you going to use as bait?" asked Maeve

"Me," said Pitt "I'ht for the little fisheys"

"Whatever do you mean?"

"Watch and learn"

Maeve stared in undisguised awe as Pitt took his knife, rolled up a pant leg, and calmly carved off a sh Then he imbedded it on the improvised hook It was done so matter-of-factly that Giordino did not notice the act until he saw a few drops of blood on the floor of the boat

"Where's the pleasure in that?" he asked