NIMROD OF THE SEA; OR, 



" The rest of the school worked off to leeward, and the 

 three loose boats followed them. My boat was pretty busy 

 with the job in hand, and didn't take much notice of the rest, 

 for our whale began to show the ugly. He milled round, 

 and brought his nose right on to the broadside, and blew 

 thick blood right across the boat. I laid the boat around 

 and pulled ahead to clear his jaw; he was snapping his 

 spout-hole close alongside with a force which would have 

 mashed a hand. The crew kept cool, however, and worked 

 like clock-work. They were the same good fellows that 

 came on board with me. 



" Directly he settled away out of sight in the bloody wa- 

 ter, and came up on a half-breach right amidships of the 

 boat and sent us kiting. The boat came down keel up, with 

 a tangle of the line about the stern and loggerhead. I got 

 on the bottom and found she wasn't badly stove, so I called 

 to the men to come alongside and help right her; but our 

 ugly neighbor was ranged alongside, and the boys preferred 

 to hug their oars. The next moment the whale started slow- 

 ly to leeward after the school, and the boat followed stern 

 first about ten yards beyond his flukes, with me still cling- 

 ing to the keel. Then I felt real bad ; there were my poor 

 fellows holding on to the oars ; the sea was pretty rough, 

 and considerable white-caps were running. I could count 

 only four heads, and I knew one had gone down. Away to 

 leeward was the ship, and the other boats were out of sight 

 from where I lay. I shouted to them to keep good heart, 

 and Brown, the boat-steerer, cheerily answered, ' Ay, ay, sir,' 

 as I slowly passed away from them, the whale sobbing thick 

 blood just ahead of me, and staining the wake deep red. 



" Then I felt that the line must be cut, sure. I crept to 

 the stern, and could see the tangle hanging in bights about 

 the stretched line ; but it was three feet under water, and I 

 couldn't reach it. I had only a short-bladed pocket-knife 



