Late Noon in the West 2^^ 



"So they did come," she said quietly. "But where from, and how 

 did they get by the boats?" 



"That's what I'd like to know," roared Captain Nathan, coming 

 suddenly to Kfe. Then he jumped for the companionway, shouting 

 as he went for all hands aboard to put in an even more than imme- 

 diate appearance. 



Matters from then on moved with lightning speed, but not a little 

 confusion. All officers, except the second mate and a teen-age cadet, 

 and two thirds of the crew were absent in the five whaleboats, with 

 most of the harpoons and other equipment, seven miles up the coast. 

 They had been there for three days, spending the nights ashore 

 where their fires could be seen from the John W. Nathan and by a 

 lookout left on the headland. They were waiting for the coming of 

 the Devil Fish as they plowed slowly through the kelp beds to their 

 winter breeding grounds far to the south. Thus, the ship's company 

 consisted for the most part of the members of the commissariat, with 

 some young apprentices, the cooper, the carpenter, and a very an- 

 cient Chinese who performed miracles with a sail needle in return 

 for an astonishingly small quota of rice and plain water. What is 

 more, there were only the little dinghy and one somewhat damaged 

 whaleboat aboard. 



The safe and probably most intelligent thing to have done in the 

 circumstances would have been to signal the boats and then wait 

 patiently for their return, but young Yankee whaling captains were 

 not much interested in safety, and though intelligent enough, they 

 regarded the exercise of this quaHty a deterrent to action in an emer- 

 gency. So it was that after a great deal of shouting and mad scram- 

 bling 'tween decks, the battered whaleboat was lowered away and 

 an assortment of cooks, apprentices, and the carpenter flung them- 

 selves into it, while Captain Nathan, two seamen, and the ancient 

 Chinese filled the little dinghy, lowering it almost to the water line. 

 That the Oriental went along was due solely to the fact that he hap- 

 pened to be pursuing his trade in the dinghy on account of the heat 

 when the crisis occurred. The two boats then set off at a rapid 

 stroke towards the glistening, heaving kelp beds. 



The dinghy arrived first because of the more experienced oars- 

 manship of the two sailors, and the captain stood rather uncertainly 



