104 WHALING AND FISHING. 



"Stand up, you sir," the mate whispers to the 

 ooateteerer, a needless command, as that worthy 

 has not yet sat down, and now stands with iron 

 poised in hand, and knee resting firmly on the 

 lubber chock, ready for action. 



"Pull a little, starboard." 



The boat is laid round, to get a fairer chance. 



Now she rises on a wave and the fish seems 

 almost under us, and now 



"Grive it to him, you sir!" 



"And the other one!!" 



A heavy stroke of his flukes, which drenched 

 us with spray, and the instantaneous whiz of the 

 line through the chock, told that we were " fast." 



" Hurrah ! " shouted the glad boatsteerer, "wet 

 line! wet line! don't you see it smoking in the 

 chock?" 



Flake after flake of the line rushed overboard, 

 with a rapidity almost beyond conception; one 

 tub was already empty, and half the other was 

 gone before a little slacking in the speed of its exit 

 gave us to understand that the whale had "gone 

 his length," and was now probably returning to 

 the surface : an operation which would take out 

 line nearly as fast as the first sounding, were it 

 not that it is held back by several turns about the 

 loggerhead in the stern. The mate had meantime 

 taken his place in the bow, and the lances were 

 out, and lying in their rests when the whale 

 reappeared on the surface some ship -lengths ahead, 

 leaping nearly his entire length out of the water, 



