“Me?” the Canadian replied. “I’m a professional harpooner! It’s my job to make a mockery of them!”
“It isn’t an issue,” I said, “of fishing for them with a swivel hook, hoisting them onto the deck of a ship, chopping off the tail with a sweep of the ax, opening the belly, ripping out the heart, and tossing it into the sea.”
“So it’s an issue of . . . ?”
“Yes, precisely.”
“In the water?”
“In the water.”
“Ye gods, just give me a good harpoon! You see, sir, these sharks are badly designed. They have to roll their bellies over to snap you up, and in the meantime . . .”
Ned Land had a way of pronouncing the word “snap” that sent chills down the spine.
“Well, how about you, Conseil? What are your feelings about these man-eaters?”
“Me?” Conseil said. “I’m afraid I must be frank with master.”