WHALING VOYAGE. 
3-27 
only consumed a few minutes. As she came nearer to 
us, stretching out her hand impatient of the prize, I 
took an opportunity of securing them around her neck, 
when the moment she found them so, and that she was 
free, she darted through the water with the velocity of 
one of its most lively inhabitants, and was soon seen 
again among her former companions, who uttered sharp, 
shrill, and piercing sounds of joy, while some of them 
slapped her upon the back in a playful manner, and 
seemed to say, 66 You slut, how came you to venture 
among those strangers in that imprudent manner !” at 
the same time they could not help admiring her successful 
boldness, and the beauty of the necklace she had thus 
obtained. We now immediately pushed off from the 
beach, followed by some longing eyes from the female 
group. They were the only row of beads I possessed, 
or I should have found means of sending some to the 
* 
other women, who were left to envy the success of their 
bold companion. 
The moment after we had pushed off from shore, an 
elderly man, who had been standing in the water by the 
side of our boat for some time, suddenly jumped into it, 
when our sailors endeavoured to push him overboard 
again, not knowing what his intentions were ; but he 
clung to the boat with such pertinacity that we could not 
readily get rid of him without employing more force, 
which we were unwilling to do, at the same time he 
made us understand by his actions that he wished to go 
on board the ship; we at length consented, and the 
moment he took his seat on the gunwale of the boat 
