116 THE SEA-SEKPENT. 



anything unusual, she turns to rejoin her consort, 

 who had now made an interval of several miles 

 between the boats ; when the look-out boy stationed 

 in the bow of the Eagle calls out, " I see. something 

 ahead !" " Where ? where ?" and all hands rush to 

 the head of the boat to see, and beheld close aboard 

 of them an object like a boat turned bottom up. 

 " Gentlemen," said Captain George, "look out, the 

 object is right ahead but a hundred yards off we 

 shall be in the jaws of the serpent before we can 

 stop! Helm down." The boat would not answer 

 the helm, there was too much live weight at the 

 bows. a To your places, gentlemen ! Let go sheet 

 ropes!" She fell off from the wind, and the boat 

 passes, just without touching, the object which had 

 called forth this sudden commotion. " Very like a 

 whale," cried Captain George, as he gazed at the 

 unknown. " Look there ! another ; we're in a shoal 

 of whales ! There's five of them, as I live ; three 

 full grown and two young ones ! Wo sea-serpent, 

 after all ; but game, nevertheless, and royal- game 

 too ; a perfect god send to us let us signal our 

 consort, and bring them to action." 



" Ah, Saint Patrick ! that habit of yours, of taking 

 it aisy, and going with wind and tide, has brought 

 you into trouble ! These four miles of head wind 

 and tide, and hard tugging at the oars, before you 



