close watch upon us, saw our boat jump up when released
from the weight. Off he flew like an arrow to the labouring leviathan,
now a "free fish," except for such claims as the two first-comers had
upon it, which claims are legally assessed, where no dispute arises. In
its disabled condition, dragging so enormous a weight of line, it was
but a few minutes before the fresh boat was fast, while we looked on
helplessly, boiling with impotent rage. All that we could now hope
for was the salvage of some of our line, a mile and a half of which,
inextricably mixed up with about the same length of our rival's, was
towing astern of the fast-expiring cachalot.

So great had been the strain upon that hardly-used animal that he did
not go into his usual "flurry," but calmly expired without the faintest
struggle. In the mean time two of our boats had been sent on board again
to work the ship, while the skipper proceeded to try his luck in the
recovery of his gear. On arriving at the dead whale, however, we found
that he had rolled over and over beneath the water so many times that
the line was fairly frapped round him, and the present possessors were
in no mood to allow us the privilege of unrolling it.

During the conversation we had drawn very near the carcass, so near, in
fact, that one hand was holding the boat alongside the whale's "small"
by a bight of the line. I suppose the skipper's eagle eye must have
caught sight of the trailing part of the line streaming beneath, for
suddenly he plunged overboard, reappearing almost immediately with the
line in his hand. He scrambled into the boat with it, cutting it from
the whale at once, and starting his boat's crew hauling in.

Then there was a hubbub again. The captain of the NARRAGANSETT, our
first rival, protested vigorously against our monopoly of the line; but
in grim silence our skipper kept on, taking no notice of him, while we
steadily hauled. Unless he of the NARRAGANSETT choose to fight for
what he considered his rights, there was no help for him. And there was
something in our old man's appearance eminently calculated to discourage
aggression of any kind.

At last, disgusted apparently with the hopeless turn affairs had taken,
the NARRAGANSETT's boats drew off, and returned on board their ship.
Two of our boats had by this time accumulated a mountainous coil of line
each, with which we returned to our own vessel, leaving the skipper to
visit the present holder of the wha