me finbacks, the look-out
men forward were both staring to leeward, thus for a minute or so I
had a small arc of the horizon to myself. The time was short, but it
sufficed, and for the first time that voyage I had the privilege of
"raising" a sperm whale. My voice quivered with excitement as I uttered
the war-whoop, "Ah blo-o-o-o-w!" Round spun the mate on his heel,
while the hands clustered like bees roused from their hive. "Where
away--where?" gasped the mate. And I pointed to a spot about half a
point on the lee bow, at the same time calling his attention to the
fact that the stranger to windward was keeping away. In answer to the
skipper's hurried queries from below, Mr. Count gave him the general
outline of affairs, to which he replied by crowding every stitch of
canvas on the vessel that was available.

The spout I had seen was a good ten miles off, and, for the present,
seemed to belong to a "lone" whale, as it was the only one visible.
There was a good breeze blowing, as much, in fact, as we could carry all
sail to, the old barky making a tremendous commotion as she blundered
along under the unusual press of canvas. In the excitement of the race
all our woes were forgotten; we only thought of the possibility of the
ship getting there first. We drew gradually nearer to the stranger, who,
like us, was carrying all the sail he had got, but, being able to go a
point or two free, was outsailing us.

It was anybody's race as yet, though, when we heard the skipper's hail,
"'Way down from aloft!" as he came up to take our place, The whale had
sounded, apparently heading to leeward, so that the weather-gage held by
our rival was not much advantage to him now. We ran on for another two
miles, then shortened sail, and stood by to lower away the moment he
should re-appear, Meanwhile another ship was working up from to leeward,
having evidently noted our movements, or else, like the albatross,
"smelt whale," no great distance to windward of him. Waiting for that
whale to rise was one of the most exciting experiences we had gone
through as yet, with two other ships so near. Everybody's nerves seemed
strung up to concert pitch, and it was quite a relief when from half
a dozen throats at once burst the cry, "There she white-waters! Ah
blo-o-o-o-w!" Not a mile away, dead to leeward of us, quietly beating
the water with the flat of his flukes, as if there was no such thing in
the watery world as a whale-ship. Splash! almost simu