Part 12 (1/2)
The midshi+pmen went for a short time on deck, where they found Jerry and Pat, who seemed well pleased at the way they had been treated by the creho, though rough enough in appearance, were far less so than the seamen of many merchant vessels
”They have, howsumever, already tried to persuade Pat and me to join them, as they have lost two or three ers, that an old , and least of all to join a greasy, stinking whaler,” said Jerry in a whisper, not wishi+ng to be overheard
Toain
”If it had not been for you, Mr Desmond, I should have lost the nuh I cannot make a fine speech about it, you know that an Irishrateful If you ever coot; and a couple of sisters, ill be showing you what they think of thethere would have been if you had not held on toto the deck, Tom and Desmond found Billy Blueblazes fast asleep on the companion hatch; and as they could scarcely keep their own eyes open, they followed the captain's advice and turned in, where they quickly forgot what had happened and where they were They awoke up for a short tiain
Indeed, even Tohts, to set hih
The voyage of the _Columbia_ had hitherto been fortunate; she had, however, lost two of her boats stove in, and three hands drowned She was already half full, and Captain Sibley hoped in the course of a few more months to be able to return home The reed that they ought to be thankful at finding the the shi+p, to see a whale captured, and to witness the operation of cutting out and trying in, which the doctor described to them
Hitherto it had been alhtly changed her position; still a look-out was kept for whales, as at any ht appear The , just at daybreak, they were aroused by the sound of feet hurrying overhead, and springing on deck, they saw the crew busily engaged in lowering two of the boats
”There! and there again!” shouted the look-out,that a whale, which he had so To out, he sahale spouting about a mile to ard In less than a minute after the people had come on deck half dressed, the boats started aith sixthe headsman and boat's steerer The captain went as headsman in one, and the first mate in the other The water bubbled and hissed under the bows of the boats, as the eager crews urged theone in one,” cried Tom
”So do I,” said Desmond; ”but I doubt whether we should have found ourselves of much use, and as the captain would have considered us in the e should have had very little chance However, we can see the fun, and if we get a breeze we ood way, but before they got near enough to fire their harpoons into the monster, it sank beneath the surface
”The whale has disappeared! How provoking!” cried Desmond
”Don't suppose that Depend upon it, the captain has not given up the chase yet The whale ain to breathe,”
said Toreat distance froone down, and somewhat nearer the shi+p The boats were quickly up to it, and before it had done spouting, two harpoons, with a deadly force, were shot into its side The boats backed off speedily to return to strike into it a nu a sudden pain, lifted up its flukes and disappeared The line was quickly run out, and before long the creature again came to the surface and atteone far, before it began furiously to lash the water with its flukes, beating it into a mass of foa that one blow of that hty tail would dash their boats to splinters It was the last effort of the monster, which soon rolled over on its side perfectly dead A cheer from the boats' crehich was heard over the water, announced their success, when, securing tow-ropes to the whale, they dragged it alongside without loss of ti out was commenced
Two of the crew descended with sharp spades, when they cut off the head of the whale, which was at once secured under the counter A large hook being then fastened in a hole cut in the blubber at the head end of the ani off a strip about three feet broad, in a spiral direction, and a tackle having been fixed to the hook, this was drawn up on board, the body of the whale turning round and round As the blubber was thus hoisted up, it was cut into pieces, known, as blanket pieces, and thrown into huge cauldrons arranged along the deck As soon as the carcase was stripped of this, its outer coating, it was allowed to float away, and the spermaceti oil in the head astern was dipped out with small buckets at the end of poles, until the whole was extracted This oil, the most valuable part of the whale, was then boiled separately, and stowed in casks Now cohted under the huge try-pots, the crisp membranous parts of the blanket, after the oil had been extracted, serving as fuel The blubber was boiled until the oil rose to the surface, when it was skiht the ht, as they worked away, stripped to their waists, the fire casting a glare over their sroup of des The nise those ho fae one, gave, the captain told thehty barrels of oil It took the creards of two days to try out and stoay that quantity
”I should have to be precious hard up before I turned whaler,” observed Billy Blueblazes ”It is hot work at night, but itdown on the poor fellows' heads”
Several days passed away after this before another whale was seen A breeze, however, having sprung up, the shi+p stood to the northward
There was soeable, when one afternoon, as To a read at some of the captain's books in the cabin, Billy rushed in, exclai--
”Here's a school of whales close to us Come up and have a look at theh, when the midshi+pmen caether, which, as the captain told the ready to lower the boats as soon as they should get the captain's order The weather appeared to clear a little, and eager to obtain one or more of the frolicso aspect of the weather, to go off in chase He, as before, went in one boat, and the first mate in the other The boats were, however, apparently seen by the whales, which immediately separated and went off in different directions One, however, afterseveral turns, came directly towards the captain's boat
”'Faith! I ere with him,” exclaimed Des a sign to hisbull, which cath it did so, it swerved on one side, at thatthe deadly weapon just behind its hump No sooner did the whale feel the pain than, apparently terror-stricken, it seeain about to fire, suddenly recovering itself, it darted off like an arrow, spinning the boat so quickly round that she was nearly upset
Aent the whale dead to ard, towing the boat at a rate of nearly fifteen hed through it, was forh bank of surf on either side, while she was al over her
The second , pulled up in ti fast, were towed almost as rapidly as had been the captain's In vain the boats attempted to haul up closer, so as to strike their lancesspy-glasses, ran aloft to watch the proceedings, but at so great a speed had the whale gone that, in a short time, neither it nor the beats could be seen by the naked eye From the mast-head the midshi+pmen could just observe three objects like specks upon the ocean, and at length they entirely disappeared beyond the horizon The wind had now freshened
”We o and lend a hand,” said Tom, ”as I suppose the second mate will beat the shi+p up to the boats”