68 WHALING AND FISHING. 



grasp at wealth, we tumbled into the boats, laugh 

 ing and shouting in high glee. 



Four hours of hard pulling, now backing, now 

 faying quickly round, and again bending to our 

 oars with all our strength, always within a boat's 

 length or two, but never within dart of the mis- 

 chievous fish, convinced us that although doubt- 

 less it is high sport to the black-fish, it is 

 anything but fun to those whose bone and sinew is 

 brought in requisition in a fruitless chase of them. 



Now the whole school were right ahead of the 

 boats, and it was "pull boys, and we'll strike one 

 this rising." But just before we got within dart- 

 ing distance, when even the iron was already 

 poised in the boatsteerer's hands, ready to "give 

 it to him," the provoking fellows would toss their 

 heads and disappear from view beneath the water. 



Lying still a moment, we would hear a puff im- 

 mediately behind us, and lo ! there they lay, at 

 heads and points, like a lot of overgrown pickled 

 herring, and apparently with no idea of quitting 

 that place for some time. 



" Pull starboard back your port oars!" shouts 

 the mate, in the greatest excitement, as with a 

 few vast sweeps of his steering oar he lays the 

 boat round. With half a dozen vigorous strokes 

 ve send the boat right to the spot whence they 

 lavo but that moment disappeared. The next we 

 lee of thorn may be at the distance of half a mile, 

 ind off we scour, af er them, each boat's crevr 



