38 TEE CRUISE OF TEE "CACEALOT." 



only just stopped myself in time from turning my head 

 to see why the order was given. Suddenly there was a 

 bump, at the same moment the mate yelled, " Give't to 

 him, Louey, give't to him ! " and to me, " Haul that main 

 sheet, naow haul, why don't ye ? " I hauled it flat aft, 

 and the boat shot up into the wind, rubbing sides as she 

 did so with what to my troubled sight seemed an 

 enormous mass of black india-rubber floating. As we 

 crawled up into the wind, the whale went into convul- 

 sions befitting his size and energy. He raised a 

 gigantic tail on high, threshing the water with deafening 

 blows, rolling at the same time from side to side until 

 the surrounding sea was white with froth. I felt in an 

 agony lest we should be crushed under one of those 

 fearful strokes, for Mr. Count appeared to be oblivious 

 of possible danger, although we seemed to be now drift- 

 ing back on to the writhing leviathan. In the agitated 

 condition of the sea, it was a task of no ordinary diffi- 

 culty to unship the tall mast, which was of course the 

 first thing to be done. After a desperate struggle, and 

 a narrow escape from falling overboard of one of the 

 men, we got the long "stick," with the sail bundled 

 around it, down and " fleeted " aft, where it was secured 

 by the simple means of sticking the " heel " under the 

 after thwart, two-thirds of the mast extending out over 

 the stern. Meanwhile, we had certainly been in a posi- 

 tion of the greatest danger, our immunity from damage 

 being unquestionably due to anything but precaution 

 taken to avoid it. 



By the time the oars were handled, and the mate had 

 exchanged places with the harpooner, our friend the 

 enemy had " sounded," that is, he had gone below for a 

 change of scene, marvelling no doubt what strange thing 



