144 
IN FORBIDDEN SEAS 
half a dozen squalls rolled up into one—a real 
avalanche of wind. Had our boat not been heading 
to the tempest, she would undoubtedly have been 
swamped. As it was, for about five minutes our 
lives hung in the balance—under us seething, boiling 
water, and around us a dense expanse of flying foam ; 
no sign of the other boat—no sign of anything 
except the confused and raging sea. In the midst 
of all this tumult were heard those fearful cries 
from the wounded otter, now on one side, and now 
on the other, reproaching us, as it seemed, for our 
cruelty in depriving her of her young; for, not 
knowing which moment would be our last, we were 
each mentally cursing our folly in keeping up the 
chase for the sake of getting one otter. 
“ Our only hope now was that the captain and 
the cook, the only two persons on board, had got 
under way before the squall struck the schooner, and 
would be soon coming to our assistance. It was as 
much as we could do to keep the boat’s head to the 
wind and bail her out at the same time, as she was 
constantly shipping water, and all our exertions 
were required to keep her free. We were fast 
drifting towards the rocks astern of us, and in an 
hour’s time, at the utmost, our fate would be sealed, 
as we could make no headway against the wind and 
waves. Still those dreadful cries continued to dis¬ 
turb us, penetrating even the uproar of the elements, 
and sounding shrilly and mournfully on our ears. 
‘ Is it really an otter we hear ? Or is it the Evil 
One in the shape of an otter chasing us to our 
doom ?’ Our feelings were highly excited, and in a 
kind of frenzy I seized the otter pup and flung it 
out in the direction of the cries. Then followed a 
