eel uppermost, not much the worse
either. Fortunately we all got clear of the furious blows the monster
continued dealing with its tail.

"Never saw a whale in such a flurry," said old David, into whose boat I
was taken. For upwards of two minutes the flurry continued, we all the
while looking on, and no one daring to approach it; at the same time a
spout of blood and mucus and oil ascended into the air from its
blow-holes, and sprinkled us all over.

"Hurra, my lads, she spouts blood!" we shouted out to each other, though
we all saw and felt it plain enough. There was a last lash of that
tail, now faint and scarce rising above the water, but which, a few
minutes ago, would have sent every boat round it flying into splinters.
Then all was quiet. The mighty mass, now almost inanimate, turned
slowly round upon its side, and then it floated belly up and dead.

Our triumph was complete. Loud shouts rent the air. "Hurra, my lads,
hurra! we've killed our first fish well," shouted the excited chief
mate, who had likewise had the honour of being the first to strike the
first fish. "She's above eleven feet if she's an inch," (speaking of
the length of the longest lamina of whalebone); "she'll prove a good
prize, that she will." He was right. I believe that one fish filled
forty-seven butts with blubber--enough, in days of yore, I have heard,
to have repaid the whole expense of the voyage.

Our ship was some way to leeward; and as the wind was light, she could
not work up to us, so we had to tow the prize down to her. Our first
operation was to free it from the lines. This was done by first lashing
the tail, by means of holes cut through it, to the bows of a boat, and
then two boats swept round it, each with the end of a line, the centre
of which was allowed to sink under the fish. As the lines hung down
perpendicularly, they were thus brought up and cut as close as possible
down to the harpoons, which were left sticking in the back of the fish.
Meantime the men of the other boats were engaged in lashing the fins
together across the belly of the whale. This being done, we all formed
in line, towing the fish by the tail; and never have I heard or given a
more joyous shout than ours, as we pulled cheerily away, at the rate of
a mile an hour, towards the ship with our first fish.

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE.

A cookery-book, in the possession of my good mother, advises one to
catch one's hare before cooking it. On t