her "slantindicular" position
with a jerk, and the mate immediately shouted, "Haul line, there! look
lively, now, you--so on, etcetera, etcetera" (he seemed to invent new
epithets on every occasion). The line came in hand over hand, and was
coiled in a wide heap in the stern sheets, for silky as it was, it could
not be expected in its wet state to lie very close. As it came flying
in the mate kept a close gaze upon the water immediately beneath us,
apparently for the first glimpse of our antagonist. When the whale broke
water, however, he was some distance off, and apparently as quiet as a
lamb. Now, had Mr. Count been a prudent or less ambitious man, our task
would doubtless have been an easy one, or comparatively so; but, being
a little over-grasping, he got us all into serious trouble. We were
hauling up to our whale in order to lance it, and the mate was standing,
lance in hand, only waiting to get near enough, when up comes a large
whale right alongside of our boat, so close, indeed, that I might have
poked my finger in his little eye, if I had chosen. The sight of that
whale at liberty, and calmly taking stock of us like that, was too much
for the mate. He lifted his lance and hurled it at the visitor, in
whose broad flank it sank, like a knife into butter, right up to the
pole-hitches. The recipient disappeared like a flash, but before one had
time to think, there was an awful crash beneath us, and the mate shot
up into the air like a bomb from a mortar. He came down in a sitting
posture on the mast-thwart; but as he fell, the whole framework of the
boat collapsed like a derelict umbrella. Louis quietly chopped the line
and severed our connection with the other whale, while in accordance
with our instructions we drew each man his oar across the boat and
lashed it firmly down with a piece of line spliced to each thwart for
the purpose. This simple operation took but a minute, but before it was
completed we were all up to our necks in the sea. Still in the boat,
it is true, and therefore not in such danger of drowning as if we were
quite adrift; but, considering that the boat was reduced to a mere
bundle of loose planks, I, at any rate, was none too comfortable.
Now, had he known it, was the whale's golden opportunity; but he, poor
wretch, had had quite enough of our company, and cleared off without any
delay, wondering, no doubt, what fortunate accident had rid him of our
very unpleasant attentions.

I was assure