46 TEE CRUISE OF THE "CACHALOT." 



fluent profanity flickered around him, including vehe- 

 mently all he miglit be supposed to have any respect for, 

 he did not even looh as if he would like to talk back ; 

 he only looked sick and tired of being himself. 



The third mate, again, was of a different category 

 altogether. He had distinguished himself by missing 

 every opportunity of getting near a whale while there 

 was a " loose " one about, and then " saving " the crew 

 of Goliath's boat, who were really in no danger what- 

 ever. His iniquity was too great to be dealt with by 

 mere bad language. He crept about like a homeless dog 

 — much, I am afraid, to my secret glee, for I couldn't 

 help remembering his untiring cruelty to the green 

 hands on first leaving port. 



In consequence of these little drawbacks we were not 

 a very jovial crowd forrard or alt. Not that hilarity was 

 ever particularly noticeable among us, but just now 

 there was a very decided sense of wrong-doing over us 

 all, and a general fear that each of us was about to pay 

 the penalty due to some other delinquent. But fortu- 

 nately there was work to be done. Oh, blessed work! 

 how many awkward situations you have extricated 

 people from ! How many distracted brains have you 

 soothed and restored, by your steady irresistible pressure 

 of duty to be done and brooking of no delay ! 



The first thing to be done was to cut the whale's head 

 off. This operation, involving the greatest amount of 

 labour in the whole of the cutting in, was taken in hand 

 by the first and second mates, who, armed with twelve- 

 feet spades, took their station upon the stage, leaned 

 over the handrail to steady themselves, and plunged 

 their weapons vigorously down through the massive 

 neck of the animal — if neck it could be said to have — 



