ome one had
the gumption to cut the line, so that by the radiation of the
disturbance we presently found ourselves close to the wall, and trying
to hold the boat in to it with our finger tips. Would he never be quiet?
we thought, as the thrashing, banging, and splashing still went on with
unfailing vigour. At last, in, I suppose, one supreme effort to escape,
he leaped clear of the water like a salmon. There was a perceptible
hush, during which we shrank together like unfledged chickens on a
frosty night; then, in a never-to-be-forgotten crash that ought to have
brought down the massy roof, that mountainous carcass fell. The
consequent violent upheaval of the water should have smashed the boat
against the rocky walls, but that final catastrophe was mercifully
spared us. I suppose the rebound was sufficient to keep us a safe
distance off.

A perfect silence succeeded, during which we sat speechless, awaiting a
resumption of the clamour. At last Abner broke the heavy silence by
saying: "I doan' see the do'way any mo' at all, sir." He was right. The
tide had risen, and that half-moon of light had disappeared, so that we
were now prisoners for many hours, it not being at all probable that we
should be able to find our way out during the night ebb. Well, we were
not exactly children, to be afraid of the dark, although there is
considerable difference between the velvety darkness of a dungeon and
the clear, fresh night of the open air. Still, as long as that beggar of
a whale would only keep quiet or leave the premises, we should be fairly
comfortable. We waited and waited until an hour had passed, and then
came to the conclusion that our friend was either dead or had gone out,
as he gave no sign of his presence.

That being settled, we anchored the boat, and lit pipes, preparatory to
passing as comfortable a night as might be under the circumstances, the
only thing troubling me being the anxiety of the skipper on our behalf.
Presently the blackness beneath was lit up by a wide band of phosphoric
light, shed in the wake of no ordinary-sized fish, probably an immense
shark. Another and another followed in rapid succession, until the
depths beneath were all ablaze with brilliant foot-wide ribbons of green
glare, dazzling to the eye and bewildering to the brain. Occasionally a
gentle splash or ripple alongside, or a smart tap on the bottom of the
boat, warned us how thick the concourse was that had gathered below.
Until that w