d as I was, to fight the
father and two brothers, not to speak of having to contend against the
rage of the disappointed lady and her female relatives.

"Three not over agreeable days had thus passed, and I was beginning to
fear lest my shipmates, giving me up for lost, might have sailed away
without me, though I knew that they valued me too much to desert me till
all hopes were gone. That day the family dinner was composed of a large
mess of whales' flesh and blubber, boiled in a cauldron, and washed down
as usual with huge beakers of schiedam; but I watched my opportunity,
and each time the cup was passed to me I emptied it by my side
unperceived by the rest. I all the time made them suppose that I was
drinking more than usual, and appearing to be perfectly drunk, pretended
to fall off into a sound sleep. When it grew dark the young lady, as
was her custom, carried me into the cavern, and bound my hands and feet
to prevent my running away, but as she was fastening the thongs I
contrived to slip my hands out of them. While I thus lay I looked out
carefully through my half-opened eyelids, and observed all the family
retiring to their different roosting-places. It was an anxious time;
one after the other they dropped asleep, and then, to my great
satisfaction, commenced a chorus of snoring which sounded more like the
roaring of a hundred bulls than anything I had ever before heard. The
moon was fortunately high in the heavens, and there was light enough for
me to see my way, which I had been careful to note well. Crawling
therefore out of my skins, I put a block of wood where my head had been
and rolled them up again to make it appear that I was still there, and
then cautiously crept away in the direction of the cove where I had left
my ship. As soon as I was out of hearing I set off and ran as fast as
my legs would carry me, up hill and down dale, through woods and across
moors, without stopping to look behind me, for I knew that when a man is
running away from an angry lady he must put his best foot foremost.

"I had just reached the top of the hill, whence, to my great joy, I
beheld my ship floating calmly in the bay below me, when I heard a loud
cry in the rear. I looked round--it was the loving Oilyblubbina. She
came on at a furious pace, tearing up the young trees as she passed, in
her eagerness to catch me. I dashed down the hill--I flew rather than
ran--I rushed through rivulets, I jumped down precipic