*SHE BLOWS !' 6l 



You left it to the child to show you the way. Come 

 down, I say, or I'll have you all flogged.' 



Jonathan followed them down the ratlines, but the 

 captain called out to Macy, *Keep the lad in the rigging 

 and tell him to keep the whale in sight. Hoist the main- 

 sail if thou art able.' 



The boy remained on the ratlines until the sail was 

 hoisted and then he climbed once more to the damaged 

 crosstrees. As he did so the last of the fog cleared away so 

 that everyone on the deck was now able to see the whale. 



'It is a lone Greenland whale, Mr. Macy,' called the 

 captain as he inspected it through a telescope. *Steer 

 Nor'-nor'-east,' he ordered and the helmsman leaned on 

 the tiller and Todd, the second mate, trimmed the main- 

 sheet. 



*Mr. Todd, prepare to lower the starboard boat!' 

 boomed the captain and at once the deck became the scene 

 of rapid activity as the whaling gear was fetched and 

 loaded into one of the boats; harpoons, lances, linetubs 

 and drogues, all were stowed into their allotted places in 

 the long frail-looking craft. 



'The rest of the company under Mr. Macy will start 

 repairing ship,' and the captain looked up at Jonathan. 

 'And thou, boy,' he shouted, 'keep thine eyes open for the 

 sight of other whales.' 



The Pilgrim limped slowly towards the whale which 

 continued to spout until the ship was about a mile distant. 

 Then it sounded and when after fifteen minutes it broke 

 surface it was about a quarter of a mile on the larboard 

 beam and to leeward of the vessel. 



At once the captain ordered the mainsail to be lowered 

 and the boat to be swung out. The davits or cranes that 

 were such a prominent feature along the sides of whalers 

 later in the eighteenth century had not yet been devised 

 and the lowering of the whaleboat took many precious 

 minutes to complete by the much slower method of using 



