High Noon on the High Seas 201 



a towering pillar of blackness rose rather slowly out of the waves 

 only a few feet to larboard and remained poised there for what 

 seemed to be minutes on end. The most amazing part of all was that 

 this thing was quite square on top. 



Despite the surprise of all aboard, those at the oars immediately 

 maneuvered the boat around as soon as this apparition appeared, so 

 that when it reached its greatest height, it towered directly ahead of 

 Captain Hussey's poised harpoon. Without further ado the captain 

 cast the iron with all his very considerable strength, but altogether 

 without skill, for he didn't really know which part of the animal 

 faced towards him. And luck was with him, for the iron sank almost 

 to the haft into tough blubber and flesh and came to a grinding stop 

 between bones. Contrary to all precedent, however, nothing seemed 

 to happen. Captain Hussey transferred the second harpoon to his 

 right hand, raised and cast it also. This too took, almost on top of 

 the other. But again nothing happened, so that the boat actually 

 rammed the beast and the men had time to ship their oars and break 

 out the lances. Then suddenly, the whole vessel keeled over to 

 within a degree of turning turtle, and the whale came out, almost 

 clear of the water, before turning sideways and then diving head 

 first straight downward. 



The lines sang out so fast that smoke was soon pouring from 

 them. Men leaped to pour water on them, and to splice other lines 

 to them. Then, just as suddenly as it had all begun, it stopped. Both 

 lines went slack abruptly. 



"He's coming up!" cried Captain Hussey. "Take over, Mr. 

 Pritchard. Back her off, Mr. Garvey. We're fast to a devil; no whale 

 ever sounded thus in these waters. Be ready with the lances, Mr. 

 Pritchard," he yelled as he passed the mate scrambling forward while 

 he made his way aft to take the tiller. Everything was happening 

 the wrong way round and nobody knew what to expect. 



And the whale did come up — straight up — not twenty feet from 

 the boat and continued right on out into the air above, where it 

 seemed to pause for a long moment before falling backwards into the 

 sea to send up a veritable volcano of creamy spume. Once again the 

 little vessel almost turned turtle, but all men were already pulling 

 mightily on the oars, and almost before the leviathan had disap- 



