I06 THE WHALE HUNTERS 



their berths in the forecastle they watched the five whaHng 

 shallops saihng down the wind as they returned from an 

 unsuccessful hunt. 



'Look there, my chummies,' exclaimed Joseph as one of 

 the shallops dropped her sail and closed under the Rose's 

 lee. 'Have you ever seen the like of that in a whaleboat?' 



In the bows of the boat was mounted a weapon that 

 looked like a small cannon. 



'It must be for firing harpoons,' suggested Jonathan. 

 'But what a heavy burden for a boat to carry.' 



'It seems to be built for the task, though,' said Joseph. 



'Him plenty much heavy boat to catchem whale,' 

 grunted Chimoo. 



'Heavier than the Dutchman's even,' said Jonathan, 

 'but the same in other ways.' 



An EngHsh sailor with a big black beard joined the 

 conversation. 



'It's the new toy o' the South Sea Company, maties,' he 

 explained. 'They 'opes to brighten the future of the 

 English whale fishery with it. The 'Olstein 'arpingers 

 don't hke it. They won't 'ave nothin 'to do with such 

 trappin's and they say that you can only kill a whale 

 with a 'and 'arpin' iron — and I agree with 'em. Why 

 you couldn't catch a jellyfish in that shallop, let alone a 

 whale.' 



The crew of one of the other shallops were chmbing up 

 the ship's side. One of them was haranguing the rest 

 in a loud voice that had a pronounced German accent. 



'You English have no respect for the cunning of the 

 whale; you charge him like a bull at a gate and then 

 complain when he becomes afraid,' he was saying. 



He was the harpooner of the boat, a blond-haired man 

 from the port of Hamburg and one of the many Holsteiners 

 signed by the South Sea Company at a high share of the 

 profits in an effort to re-kindle the charred embers of the 

 once flourishing English whale fishery whose fame had 



