off immediately round the base of the rock to the beach, the rest of us
following him as we made safe our footing in the valley. I was the third
man down; but, being light and fleet of foot, I passed the second man and
caught up with the bo'sun just as he came upon the sand. Here, I found
that the boat was within some five fathoms of the beach, and I could see
Job still lying insensible; but of the monster there was no sign.

And so matters were, the boat nearly a dozen yards from the shore, and
Job lying insensible in her; with, somewhere near under her keel (for all
that we knew) a great monster, and we helpless upon the beach.

Now I could not imagine how to save the lad, and indeed I fear he had
been left to destruction--for I had deemed it madness to try to reach the
boat by swimming--but for the extraordinary bravery of the bo'sun, who,
without hesitating, dashed into the water and swam boldly out to the
boat, which, by the grace of God, he reached without mishap, and climbed
in over the bows. Immediately, he took the painter and hove it to us,
bidding us tail on to it and bring the boat to shore without delay, and
by this method of gaining the beach he showed wisdom; for in this wise he
escaped attracting the attention of the monster by unneedful stirring of
the water, as he would surely have done had he made use of an oar.

Yet, despite his care, we had not finished with the creature; for, just
as the boat grounded, I saw the lost steering oar shoot up half its
length out of the sea, and immediately there was a mighty splather in the
water astern, and the next instant the air seemed full of huge, whirling
arms. At that, the bo'sun gave one look behind, and, seeing the thing
upon him, snatched the boy into his arms, and sprang over the bows on to
the sand. Now, at sight of the devil-fish, we had all made for the back
of the beach at a run, none troubling even to retain the painter, and
because of this, we were like to have lost the boat; for the great
cuttlefish had its arms all splayed about it, seeming to have a mind to
drag it down into the deep water from whence it had risen, and it had
possibly succeeded, but that the bo'sun brought us all to our senses;
for, having laid Job out of harm's way, he was the first to seize the
painter, which lay trailed upon the sand, and, at that, we got back our
courage and ran to assist him.

Now there happened to be convenient a great spike of rock, the same,
indeed, to wh