nd veterans
gave me a determination that I would not disgrace either myself or my
ship; besides, I felt that this would probably be our last whale this
voyage, if I did not fail, and that was no small thing to look forward
to.

All these things, so tedious in the telling, flashed through my mind,
while, with my eyes glued to the huge bulk of my antagonist or the
hissing vortices above him when he settled, I manoeuvred my pretty craft
with all the skill I could summon. For what seemed a period of about
twenty minutes we dodged him as he made the ugliest rushes at us. I
had not yet changed ends with Samuela, as customary, for I felt it
imperative to keep the helm while this game was being played. My trusty
Kanaka, however, had a lance ready, and I knew, if he only got the ghost
of a chance, no man living would or could make better use of it.

The whole affair was growing monotonous as well as extremely wearying.
Perhaps I was a little off my guard; at any rate, my heart almost leaped
into my mouth when just after an ugly rush past us, which I thought had
carried him to a safe distance, he stopped dead, lifted his flukes, and
brought them down edgeways with a vicious sweep that only just missed
the boat's gunwale and shore off the two oars on that side as if they
had been carrots. This serious disablement would certainly have led to
disaster but for Samuela. Prompt and vigorous, he seized the opportune
moment when the whale's side was presented just after the blow, sending
his lance quivering home all its length into the most vital part of
the leviathan's anatomy. Turning his happy face to me, he shouted
exultingly, "How's dat fer high?"--a bit of slang he had picked up, and
his use of which never failed to make me smile. "High" it was indeed--a
master-stroke. It must have pierced the creature's heart, for he
immediately began to spout blood in masses, and without another wound
went into his flurry and died.

Then came the reaction. I must have exerted myself beyond what I had
any idea of, for to Samuela I was obliged to delegate the task of
fluke-boring, while I rested a little. The ship was soon alongside,
though, and the whale secured. There was more yet to be done before
we could rest, in spite of our fatigue. The other boats had been so
successful that they had got two big fish, and what we were to do with
them was a problem not easily solvable. By dint of great exertion, we
managed to get another whale alongside,