constrained to look indignant, and inquire
whether "them 'ere imperent remarks wos meant for him." To which Briant
replied that "they wos meant for him, as well as for ivery man then
present." Whereupon Gurney started up and shook his fist across the
table at Briant, and Briant made a face at Gurney, at which the
assembled company of mariners laughed, and immediately thereafter the
meeting was broken up.

Next day the trial came on, and as the case was expected to be more than
usually interesting, the house was filled to overflowing long before the
hour.

The trial lasted all that day, and all the next, and a great part of the
third, but we do not purpose going into it in detail. The way in which
Mr Rasp (Captain Dunning's counsel) and Mr Tooth (Captain Dixon's
counsel) badgered, browbeat, and utterly bamboozled the witnesses on
both sides, and totally puzzled the jury, can only be understood by
those who have frequented courts of law, but could not be fully or
adequately described in less than six hundred pages.

In the course of the trial the resolutions come to by the crew of the
_Red Eric_, that they would tell _nothing_ but the truth, and carefully
refrain from touching on what they were not quite sure of, proved to be
of the greatest advantage to the pursuer's case. We feel constrained
here to turn aside for one moment to advise the general adoption of that
course of conduct in all the serious affairs of life.

The evidence of Tim Rokens was clear and to the point. The whale had
been first struck by Glynn with a harpoon, to which a drogue was
attached; it had been followed up by the crew of the _Red Eric_ and also
by the crew of the _Termagant_. The boats of the latter over-took the
fish first, fixed a harpoon in it, and lanced it mortally. The drogue
and harpoon of the _Red Eric_ were still attached to the whale when this
was done, so that, according to the laws of the fishery, the crew of the
_Termagant_ had no right to touch the whale--it was a "fast" fish. If
the drogue had become detached the fish would have been free, and both
crews would have been entitled to chase and capture it if they were
able. Angry words and threats had passed between the crews of the
opposing boats, but the whale put a stop to that by smashing the boat of
the _Red Eric_ with its tail, whereupon the boat of the _Termagant_ made
off with the fish (which died almost immediately after), and left the
crew of the boat belongin