A BOAT CAPSIZED. 415 



After a vigorous pull, he came up with it, and the 

 harpooneer soon got in his fatal weapon. The wounded 

 animal at first took a headlong course, which carried her 

 assailants a distance of fifteen miles from their vessel. 

 Then she dived perpendicularly into the ocean-depths. 

 Rising after a few minutes, she bore down upon the boat 

 with open cavernous jaws ; but the captain steering skil- 

 fully, she missed her aim, and again she dived. 



She rose a second time, and repeated her manoeuvre of 

 attack; but the captain was on his guard, and steered his 

 boat out of danger. The third time he was less fortunate. 

 The infuriated whale came up under the boat with tre- 

 mendous violence, and striking it in the centre of the 

 keel, hurled it fully fifteen feet into the air ! Fragments 

 of planks, and oars, and sailing gear were quickly strewn 

 over the surface of the waters, and among them the 

 captain and crew struggled bravely for their lives. The 

 whale had finally disappeared ; and each man clung with 

 the energy of desperation to the pieces of the shattered 

 boat. Their situation was most terrible. They were 

 fifteen miles from the ship, and out of sight to any one 

 on her deck ; but were it otherwise, the vessel could not 

 be put about by the few hands so imprudently left 011 

 board of her. As for the other boats, it was impossible 

 to say what had become of them. Even to the most 

 sanguine all hope of safety seemed gone ; and when their 

 strength gave way, nothing was left for them but a 

 watery grave. 



It was noon. How slowly passed the hours may be 

 conceived by those who have known the long, lingering 

 agony of suspense, have watched, perhaps, by the bed- 

 side of some beloved one, and waited with sickening 



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