140 THE WHALE AND 



The Captain's Story. How Released. 



known force and swiftness ; and it appeared to 

 him that his arm would be torn from his body, 

 so great was the resistance of the water. He 

 was well aware of his perilous condition, and 

 that his only chance for life was to cut the line. 

 Bat he could not remove his right arm from his 

 side, to which it was pressed by the force of the 

 element through which he was drawn. 



When he first opened his eyes, it appeared 

 as if a stream of fire was passing before them ; 

 but as he descended it grew dark, and he felt a 

 terrible pressure on his brain, and a roaring as 

 of thunder in his ears. Yet he was conscious 

 of his situation, and made several efforts to 

 reach the knife that was in his belt. At last, 

 as he felt his strength failing and his brain reel- 

 ing, the line for an instant slackened ; he reach- 

 ed his knife, and instantly that the line again 

 became taut, its edge was upon it, and by a 

 desperate effort of his exhausted energies he 

 freed himself. After this he only remembered 

 a feeling of suffocation, a gurgling spasm, and 

 all was over, until he awoke to an agonizing 

 sense of pain in the boat. 



But to come back from this digression, the 

 whale to which our hero's boat was now fast 



