202 A YEAR WITH A WHALER 



tance below the surface and not rapidly, send- 

 ing up thousands of bubbles to mark its course. 

 This broad highway of bubbles curved and 

 turned, but Mr. Winchester, who had been smart 

 enough not to lower his sail, followed it as a 

 hound follows the trail of a deer. The boat 

 sailed almost as swiftly as the whale swam and 

 was able to keep almost directly above it. When 

 the whale came to the surface the mate was upon 

 it and Long John's second harpoon stopped it 

 dead in its track. The whale went through no 

 flurry, but died instantly and rolled over on its 

 back. 



With excitement all about, there was nothing 

 for Mr. Landers or Gabriel to do. So we sat 

 still in the boats and watched the swift incidents 

 of the far-flung battle. 



One of the whales struck by a boat from the 

 Reindeer breached almost completely out of 

 water as soon as it felt the sting of the harpoon. 

 It floundered down like a falling tower, rolled 

 about for a moment before sinking to a swim- 

 ming depth, and made off at mad speed. It 

 rose within twenty feet of where our boat lay 



