ACTUAL WARFARE. OUR FIRST WHALE. 39 



had befallen him. Agreeably to the accounts which I, 

 like most boys, had read of the whale fishery, I looked 

 for the rushing of the line round the loggerhead (a stout 

 wooden post built into the boat aft), to raise a cloud of 

 smoke with occasional bursts of flame ; so as it began to 

 slowly surge round the post, I timidly asked the har- 

 pooner whether I should throw any water on it. " Wot 

 for?" growled he, as he took a couple more turns with 

 it. Not knowing " what for," and hardly liking to quote 

 my authorities here, I said no more, but waited events. 

 " Hold him up, Louey, hold him up, cain't ye ? " shouted 

 the mate, and to my horror, down went the nose of the 

 boat almost under water, while at the mate's order every- 

 body scrambled aft into the elevated stern sheets. 



The line sang quite a tune as it was grudgingly 

 allowed to surge round the loggerhead, filling one with 

 admiration at the strength shown by such a small rope. 

 This sort of thing went on for about twenty minutes, in 

 which time we quite emptied the large tub and began on 

 the small one. As there was nothing whatever for us to 

 do while this was going on, I had ample leisure for 

 observing the little game that was being played about a 

 quarter of a mile away. Mr. Cruce, the second mate, had 

 got a whale and was doing his best to kill it ; but he was 

 severely handicapped by his crew, or rather had been, 

 for two of them were now temporarily incapable of either 

 good or harm. They had gone quite " batchy " with 

 fright, requiring a not too gentle application of the tiller 

 to their heads in order to keep them quiet. The remedy, 

 if rough, was effectual, for " the subsequent proceedings 

 interested them no more." Consequently his manoeuvres 

 were not so well or rapidly executed as he, doubtless, 

 could have wished, although his energy in lancing that 



