Again he resolved to preserve all that he had accumulated there, although he did not know that he would have any need of them.
When he rowed back in the dinghy he saw a formidable fin cutting the water again, and, laying down the oars, he took up the rifle which he always carried with him.

He watched until the shark was almost on the surface of the water, and then he sent a bullet into it.

There was a great splashing, followed by a disappearance, and he did not know just then the effect of his shot, but a little later, when the huge body of the slain fish floated to the surface he felt intense satisfaction, as he believed that it would have been a man-eater had it the chance..