168 WHALING AND BEAR-HUNTING 



rocks, where the rising surge makes a fountain of fine spray 

 through a hole in the rocks, very like a whale's blast. It is 

 blowing intermittently, dimly seen in the moonlight. As 

 we pass the outstanding rocky island opposite it we catch 

 a faint land breeze and step our mast and set the mainsail 

 and slip along in absolute silence. 



It is a long sail, we have nearly twenty miles before we 

 get to the place the tunny frequent. 



We pass the fishing village of Camara da Lobos (place of 

 the seals), several miles to starboard. It nestles round the 

 head of a bay the deep glen behind it in shadow, the white 

 houses in moonlight a few yellow lights move about, our 

 crew live there. 



Under the cliff of Cabo Girao we closed our eyes for, it 

 seemed, a minute, and opened them to find a change. The 

 sadness of night was gone and it was all hilarious blue day. 



How quickly the night goes, even in the sub-tropics ; as 

 fast as it falls, almost in a minute, the moon's sheen on the 

 swell is gone, and the glorious sun shines again, from behind 

 us over the east end of Madeira. Due west there is a lapis 

 lazuli blue sky over a bank of pink cumuli, the full, golden 

 moon seems to stay one moment in the blue before it sets 

 behind the bank of cloud ; then all the sea and sky is the 

 blue of the tropics again, as it was yesterday and the day 

 before great swells of a rippling blue sea, and a blue sky, 

 and that is all, excepting our little selves and our green, red 

 and yellow boat in the immensity. 



The features of our crew are now clear to us, and they 

 unwind the cloths they wore round their heads for pro- 

 tection against the moonlight and night air. Alas, "41 " 

 still tries to sleep, and so does the interpreter ; I fear the 

 motion is the cause the rise and send of a small boat in the 

 Atlantic is very trying. Ahead of us there is one sail like 

 our own ; we see it now and then as it rises on a blue swell ; 

 now the top of the white sail catches the golden light of the 

 sunrise, then far away beyond it something, a mere speck, 

 appears for an instant, then another, there are boats out there 

 fishing ; it comes quite as a surprise to find fellow-creatures 

 out so far from shore in small craft. We cannot count them, 



