ble intentions to Captain Hubbell, who had thereupon delivered to
Mr. Block a very severe lecture for not telling him before.

"If I've got a scoundrel on board I want to know it, and I hope this
sort of thing won't happen again, Mr. Block."

"I don't see how it can," answered Sammy; "and I must admit I ought to
have told you as soon as you took command; but people don't always do
all they ought to do; and, as for tellin' Mr. Gibbs, I would not
do that, for his mind is rigged on a hair-spring balance anyway; it
wouldn't do to upset him."

"And what are we goin' to do with the feller?" said the captain. "Now
that I know what this Pole is, I wish I had let him go down to the other
pole and stay there."

"I thought so at first," said Sammy; "but I'm glad he didn't; I'd hate
to think of our glorious pole with that thing floppin' on it."

At last all was ready to anchor the great buoy, and preparations were
in progress for this important event, when everybody was startled by a
shout from Mr. Marcy.

"Hello!" he cried. "What's that? A sail?"

"Where away?" shouted the captain.

"To the south," replied Mr. Marcy. And instantly everybody was looking
in opposite directions. But Mr. Marcy's outstretched arm soon indicated
to all the position of the cause of his outcry. It was a black spot
clearly visible upon the surface of the sea, and apparently about two
miles away. Quickly Captain Hubbell had his glass directed upon it, and
the next moment he gave a loud cry.

"It's a whale!" he shouted. "There's whales in this polar sea!"

"I thought you said whales were extinct," cried Sammy.

"So I did," replied the captain. "And so they are in all Christian
waters. Who ever could have imagined that we would have found 'em here?"

Sarah Block was so frightened when she found there was a whale in the
same water in which the Dipsey floated that she immediately hurried
below, with an indistinct idea of putting on her things. In such a case
as this, it was time for her to leave. But soon recognizing the state
of affairs, she sat down in a chair, threw a shawl over her head, and
waited for the awful bump.

"Fortunately whales are soft," she said to her, self over and over
again.

No one now thought of buoys. Every eye on deck was fixed upon the
exposed back of the whale, and everybody speedily agreed that it was
coming nearer to them. It did come nearer and nearer, and at one time it
raised its head as if it were endeavoring to