172 TEE CRUISE OF TEE " CACEALOT." 



Bhip, leaving our three boats busy waiting the whale's 

 pleasure to rise again. When the skipper heard what 

 had happened, he had his own boat manned, proceeding 

 himself to the battle-field in expectation of complications 

 presently. By the time he arrived upon the scene there 

 were two more boats lying by, which had come up from 

 the third ship, mentioned as working up from to leeward. 

 " Pretty fine ground this's got ter be ! " growled the old 

 man. " Caint strike whale 'thout bein' crowded eout uv 

 yer own propputty by a gang ov bunco steerers like 

 this. Shall hev ter quit it, en keep a pawnshop." 



And still the whale kept going steadily down, down, 

 down. Already he was on the second boat's lines, and 

 taking them out faster than ever. Had we been alone, 

 this persistence on his part, though annoying, would 

 not have mattered much ; but, with so many others in 

 company, the possibilities of complication, should we 

 need to slip our end, were numerous. The ship kept 

 near, and Mr. Count, seeing how matters were going, 

 had hastily patched his boat, returning at once with 

 another tub of line. He was but just in time to bend 

 on, when to our great delight we saw the end slip from 

 our rival's boat. This in no wise terminated his lien 

 on the whale, supposing he could prove that he struck 

 first, but it got him out of the way for the time. 



Meanwhile we were running line faster than ever. 

 There was an enormous length attached to the animal 

 now — some twelve thousand feet — the weight of which 

 was very great, to say nothing of the many " drogues " 

 or " stopwaters " attached to it at intervals. Judge, then, 

 of my surprise when a shout of " Blo-o-o-w ! " called my 

 attention to the whale himself just breaking water about 

 half a mile away. It was an awkward predicament; 



