154 TEE CRUISE OF TEE " CACEALOT." 



policeman will be at his side, note -book in hand, in- 

 quiring his name and ship, and taking a note of the 

 sampan's number with the time of his leaving the wharf. 

 Nothing perfunctory about the job either. Let but 

 these precautions be omitted, and the chances that the 

 passenger (if he have aught of value about him) will 

 ever arrive at his destination are almost nil. 



So good was the progress made that by five p.m. we 

 were busy at the head, while the last few turns of the 

 windlass were being taken to complete the skinning of 

 the body. With a long pent-up shout that last piece 

 was severed and swung inboard, as the huge mass of 

 reeking flesh floated slowly astern. As it drifted away 

 we saw the patient watchers who had been waiting con- 

 verging upon it from all quarters, and our hopes rose 

 high. But there was no slackening of our efforts to get 

 in the head. By the time it was dark we managed to 

 get the junk on board, and by the most extraordinary 

 efforts lifted the whole remainder of the head high 

 enough to make sail and stand off to sea. The wind 

 was off the land, the water smooth, and no swell on, so 

 we took no damage from that tremendous weight surging 

 by our side, though, had the worst come to the worst, we 

 could have cut it adrift. 



When morning dawned we hove-to, the land being 

 only dimly visible astern, and finished taking on board 

 our " head matter " without further incident. The 

 danger past, we were all well pleased that the captain 

 was below, for the work proceeded quite pleasantly under 

 the genial rule of the mate. Since leaving port we had 

 not felt so comfortable, the work, with all its disagree- 

 ables, seeming as nothing now that we could do it 

 without fear and trembling. Alas for poor Jemmy ! — as 



