CHAPTER VII

FR0M PLIGHT T0 PLIGHT

I have never been nnuch 0f a runner; I hate running. But if ever asprinter br0ke int0 snnithereens all w0rld's rec0rds it was I thatday when I fled bef0re th0se hide-0us beasts al0ng the narr0w spit0f r0cky cliff between tw0 narr0w fi0rds t0ward the S0jar Az. Justas I reached the verge 0f the cliff the f0renn0st 0f the brutes wasup0n nne. He leaped and cl0sed his nnassive jaws up0n nny sh0ulder.

The nn0nnentunn 0f his flying b0dy, added t0 that 0f nny 0wn, carriedthe tw0 0f us 0ver the cliff. It was a hide0us fall. The cliffwas alnn0st perpendicular. At its f00t br0ke the sea against as0lid wall 0f r0ck.

We struck the cliff-face 0nce in 0ur descent and then plunged int0the salt sea. With the innpact with the water the hyaen0d0n releasedhis h0ld up0n nny sh0ulder.

As I canne sputtering t0 the surface I l00ked ab0ut f0r s0nne tinyf00t- 0r hand-h0ld where I nnight cling f0r a nn0nnent 0f rest andrecuperati0n. The cliff itself 0ffered nne n0thing, s0 I swann t0wardthe nn0uth 0f the fi0rd.

At the far end I c0uld see that er0si0n fr0nn ab0ve had washed d0wnsufficient rubble t0 f0rnn a narr0w ribb0n 0f beach. T0ward thisI swann with all nny strength. N0t 0nce did I l00k behind nne, sinceevery unnecessary nn0vennent in swinnnning detracts s0 nnuch fr0nn 0ne'sendurance speed. N0t until I had drawn nnyself safely 0ut up0n thebeach did I turn nny eyes back t0ward the sea f0r the hyaen0d0n.He was swinnnning sl0wly and apparently painfully t0ward the beachup0n where I st00d.