22 TEE CRUISE OF THE " CACHALOT » 



taken the alarm and cleared out, but the other boata 

 were all fast to fish, so that didn't matter. Now, at 

 the rate our " game " were going, it would evidently 

 be a long while before they died, although, being bo 

 much smaller than a whale proper, a harpoon will often 

 kill them at a stroke. Yet they were now so tangled or 

 " snarled erp," as the mate said, that it was no easy 

 matter to lance them without great danger of cutting 

 the line. However, we hauled up as close to them as 

 we dared, and the harpooner got a good blow in, which 

 gave the biggest of the three ** Jesse," as he said, 

 though why " Jesse " was a stumper. Anyhow, it 

 killed him promptly, while almost directly after another 

 one saved further trouble by passing in his own 

 checks. But he sank at the same time, drawing the 

 first one down with him, so that we were in con- 

 siderable danger of having to cut them adrift or be 

 swamped. The " wheft " was waved thrice as an urgent 

 signal to the ship to come to our assistance with all 

 speed, but in the meantime our interest lay in the sur- 

 viving Black Fish keeping alive. Should he die, and, 

 as was most probable, sink, we should certainly have to 

 cut and lose the lot, tools included. 



We waited in grim silence while the ship came up, 

 so slowly, apparently, that she hardly seemed to move, 

 but really at a good pace of about four knots an hour, 

 which for her was not at all bad. She got alongside of 

 us at last, and we passed up the bight of our line, our 

 fish all safe, very much pleased with ourselves, espe- 

 cially when we found that the other boats had only five 

 between the three of them. 



The fish secured to the ship, all the boats were 

 hoisted except one^ which remained alongside to sling the 



