destroyed, went to his cabin. I had never before seen him so much
out of spirits. He seemed to think that some fatality was attending the
voyage. In less than half an hour he returned on deck, looking flushed
and excited.

"We must have that whale if we lose a couple more of our boats in taking
him," he exclaimed, addressing the first mate. "Keep a bright look-out
for him." This was not so easily done, for darkness was coming on, and
the monster might possibly have swum away from the ship.

The mate answered, "Ay, ay, sir," and hailed the look-out aloft.

Some time passed and no whale appeared; a large one, such as that
attacked, can remain down eighty minutes, and swim some distance in that
time. At last night came down upon us, and the chances of discovering
the creature decreased. The weather too, hitherto fine, changed, and
before morning the ship was under close-reefed topsails, dashing through
the fast-rising foaming seas. Had we got the whale alongside we should
probably have had to cut from it. The captain, however, had no
intention of giving up the search. We beat backwards and forwards in
the neighbourhood for three days, till the gale abated, and then made
several circuits round the spot, increasing the radius without seeing
the old whale or any other.

The men who had before grumbled at being kept so long on the station now
declared that the captain had gone out of his mind, and I feared that if
he persisted much longer they would break into open mutiny. Still day
after day he continued sailing round and round, till one morning when we
had been running to the eastward, and he ordered the watch to brace up
the yards, they stood with their hands in their pockets or folded on
their breasts, while they stamped loudly with their feet. At that
instant the watch below came rushing up on deck armed with weapons of
all descriptions, some having muskets and pistols, others cutlasses,
pikes, harpoons, and blubber spades. The captain on this, calling on
the two mates, Medley, and me to stand by him, rushed into his cabin,
from which he quickly returned with a rifle in his hand, and several
pistols stuck in his belt. A shout of derisive laughter from the crew
greeted him. He took no notice of it, but cried out to us, "Go and arm
yourselves, and we'll soon put down these mutinous rascals." As he
spoke he raised his rifle, and half a dozen muskets were pointed at him.
At that juncture the look-out at the