30 “COME DUCK SHOOTING WITH ME” 
““That sounds interesting,’ said Blue Eyes, ‘let’s 
hear it.’ 
‘*“Father’s vessel,’ I told him, ‘was sailing up and down 
off the Alaska shore. Of course they always kept a 
careful watch out for whales and this time the lookout 
was sitting on top of the mast, watching for them 
through his spyglass. Suddenly the lookout yelled, 
‘‘She blows, blows, blows.’”’ 
‘““““ Where away?’ sung out father who was on deck. 
‘““““Nor’ nor’west by west,’’ answered the lookout. 
‘Father ran a little way up the ladder, that was lean- 
ing against the mast.’ ‘Ladders don’t lean against the 
mast on board ship,’ interrupted Blue Eyes, ‘they are 
fastened to the side of the vessel and also halfway up 
the mast, so they cannot possibly fall or blow down. 
‘““Well, we won’t bother about that now,’ said I, 
‘Father went halfway up the ladder before he saw the 
whale. 
“““Fe’s a hundred feet long,” called father. ‘‘All 
boats away.” 
‘“““They lowered the boats and father was in the bow 
of the first boat with six men behind him rowing and a 
chap standing up in the stern steering with a long oar. 
Father often told me just where the whale was, it was 
either “‘down to looward”’ or ‘‘up to port.’” I never could 
remember which. Father had a whole lot of rope coiled 
up in a barrel, with one end of it fastened to a harpoon. 
‘“““Pretty soon father ordered the men to row slow and 
careful and when close to the whale, father threw the 
harpoon and yelled ‘‘Back all.’’ The men at the oars 
backed water as hard as they could to get out of the way 
of the whale. The harpoon hit the whale plump in the 
middle. The whale thrashed round a bit and then dove 
straight down. The rope that was fastened to the har- 
