Dane pressed the firing stud again and again. The claws waved as the
monstrosity slavered from a gaping frog's mouth, a mouth which was fanged
with a shark's vicious teeth. It was almost wholly out of the water,
creeping on a crab's many legs, with a clawed upper limb reaching for
him, when suddenly it stopped, its huge head turning from side to side in
the sheltering carapace of scaled natural armor. It settled back as if
crouching for a final spring--a spring which would push Dane into the
ocean.
But that attack never came. Instead the gorp drew in upon itself until it
resembled an unwieldy ball of indestructible armor and there it remained.
The Salariki on either side of Dane let out cries of triumph and edged
closer. One of them twirled his net suggestively, seeing that the Terran
lacked what was to him an essential piece of hunting equipment. Dane
nodded vigorously in agreement and the tough strands swung out in a
skillful cast which engulfed the motionless creature on the reef. But it
was so protected by its scales that there was no opening for the claw
knife. They had made a capture but they could not make a kill.
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