110209 “And what about when they blink; was it with their lower eyelid or what?”
110210 “I don’t know, Captain,” the Sinhalese croaked.
110211 “There are ten thousand of them there!”
110212 The captain looked round to find the other Sinhalese; he stood about fifty meters away, waiting without interest with his hands crossed over on his shoulders; perhaps because when a person is naked he has nowhere else to put his hands than on his own shoulders.
110213 The captain gave him a silent signal and the gaunt Sinhalese jumped into the water.
110214 After three minutes and fifty seconds he re-emerged, clawing at the slippery rocks.
110215 “Come on, hurry up,” the captain shouted, but then he began to look more carefully and soon he himself was jumping and clambering over the rocks to the Sinhalese; no-one would have thought that a body like that could jump so nimbly.
110216 At the last moment he caught hold of the Sinhalese hand and pulled him breathless from the water.
110217 Then he lay him on the rock and wiped the sweat off his brow.
110218 The Sinhalese lay without moving; his shin had been scraped and the bone underneath was exposed, clearly he had injured it on some rock, but he was otherwise unhurt.
110219 The captain raised the man’s eyelid; all he could see was the white.
110220 There was no sign of any oysters or the knife.