ON TEE SOLANDER GROUNDS. 339 



"gamming" commenced, for all of us were anxious to 

 know how each other had fared. 



As we anticipated, every whale was lost that had 

 been caught that day. The disappointment was in 

 nowise lessened by the knowledge that, with his usual 

 good fortune. Captain Gilroy had not only escaped all 

 the bad weather, but while we were being threshed 

 within an inch of our lives down in the bitter south, he 

 was calmly trying-out his whale (which we had seen 

 him with on our outward journey) in the sheltered 

 haven of Port William. Many and deep were the 

 curses bestowed upon him by the infuriated crews of 

 those two ships, although he had certainly done them 

 no harm. But the sight of other people's good fortune 

 is gall and wormwood to a vast number of people, 

 who seem to take it as a personal injury done to 

 themselves. 



Only two days elapsed, however, before we again 

 saw an immense school of sperm whales, and each ship 

 succeeded in securing one. We made no attempt to 

 get more this time, nor do I think either of the others 

 did ; at any rate, one each was the result of the day's 

 work. They were, as usual, of huge size and apparently 

 very fat. At the time we secured our fish alongside, 

 a fresh north-westerly wind was blowing, the weather 

 being clear and beautiful as heart could wish. But 

 instead of commencing at once to cut-in, Captain Count 

 gave orders to pile on all sail and keep her away up the 

 Straits. He was evidently determined to take no more 

 chances, but, whenever opportunity offered, to follow the 

 example set by the wily old skipper of the Chance. 

 The other ships both started to cut-in at once, tempted, 

 doubtless, by the settled appearance of the weather, and 

 also perhaps from their hardly concealed dislike of 



