LIBERTY DAY — AND AFTER. 169 



finbacks, the look-out men forward were both staring 

 to leeward, thus for a minute or so I had a small arc 

 of the horizon to myself. The time was short, but 

 it sufficed, and for the first time that voyage I had 

 the privilege of *' raising " a sperm whale. My voice 

 quivered with excitement as I uttered the war-whoop, 

 **Ah blo-o-o-o-w ! " Bound spun the mate on his heel, 

 while the hands clustered like bees roused from their 

 hive. " Where away — where?" gasped the mate. And I 

 pointed to a spot about half a point on the lee bow, at 

 the same time calling his attention to the fact that the 

 stranger to windward was keeping away. In answer to 

 the skipper's hurried queries from below, Mr. Count gave 

 him the general outline of affairs, to which he repHed 

 by crowding every stitch of canvas on the vessel that 

 was available. 



The spout I had seen was a good ten miles off, and, 

 for the present, seemed to belong to a "lone" whale, 

 as it was the only one visible. There was a good breeze 

 blowing, as much, in fact, as we could carry all sail to, 

 the old barky making a tremendous commotion as she 

 blundered along under the unusual press of canvas. In 

 the excitement of the race all our woes were forgotten ; 

 we only thought of the possibility of the ship getting 

 there first. We drew gradually nearer to the stranger, 

 who, like us, was carrying all the sail he had got, but, 

 being able to go a point or two free, was outsailing us. 



It was anybody's race as yet, though, when we heard 

 the skipper's hail, " 'Way down from aloft ! " as he came 

 up to take our place. The whale had sounded, appar- 

 ently heading to leeward, so that the weather-gage 

 held by our rival was not much advantage to him now. 

 We ran on for another two miles, then shortened sail, 



