42 THAT GREAT LEVIATHAN. 



sudden plunge into pessimism with, a blast of 

 emphatic and unmistakable English. 



Luckily for my continued existence, the fortunes 

 of the whale-chase suddenly grew brighter. The 

 cooper loosed his unconscious grip on my throat 

 and leaned out over the rail, his eyes bulging with 

 intense interest. 



The chief mate's boat approached the column of 

 steam that rose from the whale's spout-hole. 



The harpooner hurled his merciless iron. 



The iron took hold in the quivering flesh of the 

 whale, and instantly the captain's boat dashed up 

 and a second harpoon went hurtling through the 

 air to plant itself close to the first. The whale 

 writhed with sudden pain and fright, but did not 

 go down. He preferred to fight. 



The old man, however, had plans of his own ; 

 he would kill the whale, and that immediately. 



He bellowed a hasty order to the mate, thinking 

 to drive the mate's boat out of his way, but he had 

 not calculated upon the stubborn ambition of that 

 hot-headed officer. The mate never budged. 



Enraged at his opposition, the captain crowded 

 in between the mate and the monster, and ran his 

 lance into the whale's vitals. Then there was 

 such a commotion as I had never before witnessed. 

 The whale went into a frantic flurry, barrels-full of 



