136 The Story of the New England Whalers 



he supposed, he suddenly picked up the lance 

 that lay at his knee and hurled it at one of the 

 islanders standing on the ship's rail. 



As the lance warp was not long enough, the 

 weapon, after stretching the warp, fell into the 

 sea. The native, seeing this, laughed jeeringly, 

 and invited Clough to throw again. To this 

 invitation Clough responded with all his might 

 as soon as he could recover the lance; and again, 

 to the glee of the native, the lance twanged the 

 warp taut and then fell into the sea. 



Turning to the mate, Clough said: "Set me a 

 stroke or two nearer, sir;" but the mate, instead 

 of doing so, ordered the men to pull farther away 

 lest the natives begin throwing their ready missiles 

 at the boat again. 



Upon this order Clough made no comment, 

 seamen are notably polite to their superior officers, 

 but after a little he offered to go alone on board 

 the ship by climbing over the bows, if the boy 

 would cut loose the foreroyalstay and let it drop 

 into the water from the end of the jibboom. It 

 was dough's intention to climb, with the warp 

 of the lance in his mouth, up the slender stay to 



