ling upon our nerves. So Mr. Count got out his
bomb-gun, shouting at the same time to Mr. Cruce to do the same. They
both hated these weapons, nor ever used them if they could help it; but
what was to be done?

Our chief had hardly got his gun ready, before we came to almost a
dead stop. All was silent for just a moment; then, with a roar like a
cataract, up sprang the huge creature, head out, jaw wide open, coming
direct for us. As coolly as if on the quarter-deck, the mate raised his
gun, firing the bomb directly down the great livid cavern of a throat
fronting him. Down went that mountainous head not six inches from us,
but with a perfectly indescribable motion, a tremendous writhe, in fact;
up flew the broad tail in air, and a blow which might have sufficed
to stave in the side of the ship struck the second mate's boat fairly
amidships. It was right before my eyes, not sixty feet away, and the
sight will haunt me to my death. The tub oarsman was the poor German
baker, about whom I have hitherto said nothing, except to note that he
was one of the crew. That awful blow put an end summarily to all his
earthly anxieties. As it shore obliquely through the centre of the boat,
it drove his poor body right through her timbers--an undistinguishable
bundle of what was an instant before a human being. The other members of
the crew escaped the blow, and the harpooner managed to cut the line, so
that for the present they were safe enough, clinging to the remains of
their boat, unless the whale should choose to rush across them.

Happily, his rushing was almost over. The bomb fired by Mr. Count, with
such fatal result to poor Bamberger, must have exploded right in the
whale's throat. Whether his previous titanic efforts had completely
exhausted him, or whether the bomb had broken his massive backbone, I do
not know, of course, but he went into no flurry, dying as peacefully as
his course had been furious. For the first time in my life, I had been
face to face with a violent death, and I was quite stunned with the
awfulness of the experience. Mechanically, as it seemed to me, we
obeyed such orders as were given, but every man's thoughts were with the
shipmate so suddenly dashed from amongst us. We never saw sign of him
again.

While the ship was running down to us, another boat had gone to rescue
the clinging crew of the shattered boat, for the whole drama had been
witnessed from the ship, although they were not aware of the dea