y flew at twelve or thirteen knots. The second
boat was making for the bull, which seemed very uneasy, and was swimming
at a great speed round and round the remaining cows and calves, with
his head high out of the water as if to guard them from danger, when the
monstrous creature again sounded and the boat-header instantly turned
his attention to a cow, which lay perfectly motionless on the water,
apparently too terrified to move.

Half a dozen strokes sent the boat to within striking distance and the
boat-header called to his boat-steerer to 'Stand up.' The boat-steerer,
who pulls bow oar before a whale is struck, and goes aft after striking,
is also the harpooner, and at the order to stand up, takes in his oar
and seizes his harpoon. After he has darted the iron, and the boat is
backed astern, he comes aft to steer, and the officer takes his place
for'ard, ready to lance the whale at the fitting time. There is no
reason or sense in this procedure, it is merely whaling custom.

Just as the boat-steerer stood up, iron in hand, the bull rose right
under the boat's stern, lifted her clean out of the water with his head,
and then, as he swept onward, gave her an underclip with his mighty
flukes, smashing her in like an egg-shell and sending men, oars, tub and
lines, and broken timbers, broadcast into the air. Then, with the lady
by his side, he raced away.

Most fortunately, our own boat was still towing astern, for as we
were so near the land we had not bothered about hoisting her up again,
knowing that we should want her to tow us into Jakoits if the wind fell
light when going through the passage.

The mate, two Penrhyn Island natives and myself were but a few moments
in hauling her alongside, jumping in, and pulling to the assistance
of the whale-boat's crew, some of whom we could see clinging to the
wreckage. The officer in charge was a little wiry Western Island
Portuguese, and as we came up he called out to us that one of the men
was killed and had sunk, and another, whom he was supporting, had his
leg broken and was unconscious. We lifted them into the boat as quickly
as possible, laid the injured man on his back and started for the
schooner. We had scarcely pulled a dozen strokes when, to our profound
astonishment, we saw her suddenly keep away from us.

'The captain's come on deck again,' cried one or our native hands to me.

Sure enough, the skipper was on deck, and at the wheel, and took not the
slightest