st with him the supremacy of the seas,
or was it some of his antediluvian ancestors come back to earth, I
mean to sea, again?

There the reasoning of the whale stopped. A sudden blind fury came
over him and he charged for the _Sea Eagle_. Two rifle shots rang out
from the deck of the ship, and one tore deep into the black carcass.
Then the monster threw his flukes into the air and down he sounded
towards the depths of the sea.

In a moment the yacht was alongside the exhausted swimmers, and they
were hauled aboard. Jeems Howell was about done for, and had to be
worked over for some time; Jo also had shipped considerable salt
water, but Jim and Juarez were in tolerable condition considering the
experience they had been through.

"I hope you lads are satisfied now," grumbled the captain.

"He chawed our boat to kindling wood," said Jim, looking ruefully to
where the fragments strewed the sea.

"He would have done the same by you, if we hadn't come along,"
remarked the captain. "Served you right, too."

"I hate not getting him, that's what worries me," said Jim.

"How did you feel when he tilted you and the boat up in the air?"
inquired Tom curiously.

"Can't say," replied Jim. "It was so sudden, and I didn't take any
notes."

"I felt like I was going to be another Jonah," remarked Jo feebly.

"He's the Jonah," remarked the captain, pointing a contemptuous thumb
at Jeems, who had just gotten to his feet.

"How can I ever thank you, Captain?" asked Jeems Howell, who had a sly
streak of humor at times. "You saved my life at the risk of your own.
It was a noble deed, and one long----"

"Oh, g'wan with you," cried the captain. "I don't want none of your
banquet speeches."

To escape the infliction, he retreated to the quarter deck, where he
stood ready to repel any thankful survivors who might creep upon him.
Tom was busy asking questions about the whole unfortunate business,
for he had a very inquisitive mind, had Tom. Jeems, however, was the
only one among the gallant survivors inclined to humor him. Jim was
looking longingly over the expanse of ocean, not thinking of his
dripping clothes, but as though he had lost something, as indeed he
had. He was minus one large whaleboat and one small boat. It was not
the boat, however, that he was looking for, and no one but Jim would
have taken a continued interest in his whaleship but would have given
him up for lost.

[Illustration: "JIM STOOD PREPARED TO AIM."--P