d knocked
the teeth of Mr Tooth down his throat! But he repressed the
inclination, and that gentleman went on to say--

"When the boat of the _Red Eric_ came up to the whale was the drogue
still attached to it?"

"In coorse it was. Didn't ye hear me say that three or--"

"Be so good as to answer my questions simply, and do not make
unnecessary remarks, sir. Was the drogue attached when the boat came
up? Yes or no?"

"Yes."

"How do you know?"

"'Cause I seed it."

"You are quite sure that you saw it?"

"In coorse!--leastwise, Tim Rokens seed it, and all the men in the boat
seed it, and said so to me afterwards--w'ich is the same thing, though I
can't 'xactly say I seed it myself, 'cause I was looking hard at the men
in the enemy's boat, and considerin' which on 'em I should give a dab in
the nose to first w'en we come along side of 'em."

"Oh, then you did _not_ see the drogue attached to the whale?" said Mr
Tooth, with a glance at the jury; "and you were so taken up with the
anticipated fight, I suppose, that you scarcely gave your attention to
the whale at all! Were the other men in your boat in a similarly
unobservant condition?"

"Eh?" exclaimed Scroggles.

"Were the other men as eager for the fight as you were?"

"I s'pose they wos; you'd better ax 'em. _I_ dun know."

"No, I don't suppose you do, considering the state of mind you appear to
have been in at the time. Do you know which part of the whale struck
your boat? Was it the head?"

"No; it was the tail."

"Are you quite sure of that?"

"Ho, yes, quite sartin, for I've got a knot on my head this day where
the tip of its flukes came down on me."

"You're quite sure of that? Might it not have been the part of the fish
near the tail, now, that struck you, or the fin just under the tail?"

"No; I'm quite sartin sure it warn't _that_."

"How are you so sure it wasn't that?"

"Because whales hain't got no fins just under their tails!" replied
Scroggles, with a broad grin.

There was another loud laugh at this, and Mr Tooth looked a little put
out, and the judge cried "Silence" again, and threatened to clear the
court.

After a few more questions Jim Scroggles was permitted to retire, which
he did oppressed with a feeling that his evidence had done the case
little good, if not some harm, yet rather elated than otherwise at the
success of his last hit.

That evening Captain Dunning supped with Ailie and his sisters in low
spir