170 THE WHALEMAN'S ADVENTURES. 



arid looked something like a boat, but he could 

 not tell what it was. 



This excited the curiosity of every man on 

 board ; and, as is usual in such cases, all made 

 a spring into the rigging, with a view to run 

 aloft, and get a squint at the mysterious object 

 reported by Webquish. But I ordered them to 

 remain on deck, and sent up my first mate a 

 man of good judgment and sharp eyes with a 

 spy- glass, to the fore- top-mast-head. He soon 

 got sight of the object, and immediately reported 

 that it was a large dead spermaceti whale. , 



This was an event, the announcement of 

 which created quite a sensation on board the 

 Cremona; and the question asked of each other 

 was, whether we could secure it for ourselves ? 

 In order to do this, it was necessary, not only to 

 see it first, but to get fast to it first ! From 

 the favourable position of the Orion, being to 

 windward, it was clear that the whale would 

 inevitably fall a prize to her, if it should be seen 

 by the look-out before it could be reached by 

 our boats. It was a matter which required a 

 little management. 



