1 64 THE AMERICAN WHALEMAN 



the chase with renewed ardor. In about half an hour we lay on our 

 oars to look round for the whales. 



"There she blows! right ahead!" shouted Tabor, fairly dancing 

 with delight. 



"There she blows! There she blows!" 



"Oh, Lord, boys, spring!" cried P . 



"Spring it is! What d'ye say, now, chummies? Shall we take 

 those whales?" 



To this general appeal every man replied by putting his weight on 

 his oar and exerting his utmost strength. The boat flew through the 

 water with incredible swiftness, scarcely rising to the waves. A large 

 bull whale lay about a quarter of a mile ahead of us, lazily rolling 

 in the trough of the sea. The larboard and starboard boats were far 

 to leeward of us, tugging hard to get a chance at the other whales, 

 which were now blowing in every direction. 



"Give way! give way, my hearties!" cried P , putting his 



weight against the aft oar. "Do you love gin? A bottle of gin to 

 the best man! Oh, pile it on while you have breath! pile it on!" 



"On with the beef, chummies! Smash every oar! double 'em up, 

 or break 'em!" 



"Every devil's imp of you, pull! No talking; lay back to it; 

 now or never!" 



On dashed the boat, cleaving its way through the rough sea as if 

 the briny element were blue smoke. The whale, however, turned 

 flukes before we could reach him. When he appeared again above 

 the surface of the water, it was evident that he had milled while down, 

 by which maneuver he gained on us nearly a mile. The chase was 

 now almost hopeless, as he was making to windward rapidly. A heavy, 

 black cloud was on the horizon, portending an approaching squall, and 

 the barque was fast fading from sight. Still we were not to be 

 baffled by discouraging circumstances of this kind, and we braced 

 our sinews for a grand and final effort. 



"Never give up, my lads!" said the headsman, in a cheering voice. 

 "Mark my words, we'll have that whale yet. Only think he's ours, 

 and there's no mistake about it, he will be ours. Now for a hard, 

 steady pull! Give way!'* 



"Give way, sir! Give way, all!" 



"There she blows! Oh, pull, my lively lads! Only a mile off! 

 There she blows!" 



The wind had by this time increased almost to a gale, and the 

 heavy black clouds were scattering over us far and wide. Part of 

 the squall had passed off to leeward, and entirely concealed the barque. 

 Our situation was rather unpleasant: in a rough sea, the other boats 

 out of sight, and each moment the wind increasing. 



We continued to strain every muscle till we were hard upon the 



