wallow us up also. To my great
satisfaction, however, the monster remained stationary--probably it
found the harpoons in the whale's back rather indigestible.

"I also considered that, without any vicious intention, should it take
it into its head to be frisky, it might do us considerable damage.

"After consulting with my mates, it was agreed that at all events we
should, if possible, avoid the jaws of the monster. We accordingly
steered for the point where we believed its tail was to be found, but
after standing on for an hour or more we appeared to be no nearer it
than we were when we were within a mile of its head. Not only was this
the case, but there could be little doubt that it was curling its tail
round so as completely to encircle us.

"You, I dare say, have all heard of the dreadful passage between Sicily
and the coast of Italy. On one side there are some frightful rocks,
over which the sea roars like thunder. They are called the rocks of
Scylla, and if a ship gets on them she is dashed to pieces in a quarter
less than no time. On the other side is the awful whirlpool of
Charybdis, which draws ships from miles towards it, and sucks them under
the water like straws; so I've heard say, but, as I've not seen it done,
I can't vouch for the truth of the story. If you keep on one side
you've a chance of being cast away on the rocks; if on the other, of
being sucked down by the whirlpool. We were now much in the same
condition. If we stood on too long on one tack, we ran a risk of
sailing down the serpent's mouth; if on the other, of getting an ugly
slap with his tail--supposing that he had got a tail anywhere in the
distance to slap us with.

"As I swept the horizon with my glass, his monstrous body appeared on
every side of us, except dead to windward, where there was a clear
opening, towards which point we were doing our best to beat up. Even
that small space appeared to be narrowing. I watched it with no little
anxiety--so did the mate, and so did Jerry Wilkins. Jerry was the first
to discover that the serpent had a tail.

"`I see it--I see it,' sang out Jerry. `For all the world like the
Falls of Niagara dancing a hornpipe.'

"It was a fact. There was no doubt of that; and what did the monster do
but finish by clapping his tail into his mouth, and then he lay just
like a big codfish on a fishmonger's stall. It was a fashion we
concluded he had when he wished to bask in the sun, but a very