As we went about to pick up the dog the dorsal fin of the
shark indicated the wily, leisurely way in which it was keeping pace,
reconnoitring and waiting until its prey was exhausted, while the dog did
not appear to realise that a "frightful fiend" did close behind him swim.
As the boat approached, the shark swerved off flippantly, but hovered in
the vicinity, unsatisfied as to the identity of the new and strange animal
that had so unaccountably appeared in its natural element and as
suddenly disappeared. A rifle bullet, a little to the rear of the base
of the dorsal fin, however, made it wobble and bustle away on a most
eccentric route.
The term "skipper," purely local, is intended to distinguish that
singular fish, of the "long tom" (ZYLOSURUS, sp.) or alligator-pike,
which shoots from the water and skips along by striking and flipping the
surface with its tail, while keeping the rest of its pike-like body
rigid and almost perpendicular. Each stroke is accomplished by a
ludicrous wriggling movement. It would seem that by the impact of the
tail upon the water the fish maintains its abnormal position and also
sustains for a time its initial velocity.
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