I08 THE WHALE HUNTERS 



arrival of steam powered vessels that the practice of cast- 

 ing the harpoon by hand was superseded by that of firing 

 it from a small cannon. 



The next day Jonathan and his two companions 

 watched with great interest as the harpoon gun was tried 

 once more but though it could cast the irons a much 

 greater distance its aim was inaccurate and it was left to 

 the hand harpoons to account for the only whale that was 

 killed in several days' hunting. 



Then from the north came the rest of the English ships, 

 some heavily armed like the Rose of Kent. One of their 

 number had had to be abandoned in the ice and their 

 catch brought the total of the whole fleet to only fourteen 

 whales. Since it needed at least three whales per ship to 

 make an expedition profitable it could hardly be expected 

 that the South Sea Company would be pleased with the 

 results of its venture. 



But if the officers were apprehensive about their 

 reception at Deptford there was no depression amongst 

 the men for the Arctic winter was closing its grip on those 

 inhospitable shores and the ships were heading for home. 



Their spars white with a coating of ice, the twenty-one 

 vessels fought their way through a blizzard to the south- 

 ward and after five weeks arrived at Deptford. 



One evening early in September Jonathan stepped 

 once more on to English soil after many months of 

 wandering. With his canvas bag over his shoulder he 

 walked between Joseph and Chimoo over the wet cobbles 

 of the quayside. 



A sailor at the Rosens gangplank, watching them dis- 

 appear into the mist of the London river, turned to one of 

 his shipmates and said, 'You know, you couldn't blame 

 those Yankees if they 'ad a bit of a spell ashore, could you ?' 



