ouched."

"Hang it!" he exclaimed, in a tone of vexation; "I don't like to lose
this fine fish that we're fast to; but we shall have to let him go, no
doubt of that; but how the devil am I to recall the other boats?"

"I will fire our gun to attract their attention," I replied, "and you
can make any signal you think most likely to effect your object."

"Thank 'ee," returned he; "I shall be obliged if you will."

And then he signalled to the men who had charge of the line, and they
gradually reduced the speed at which it ran out, and finally held all
fast with an extra turn round the bollard, and away the boat dashed once
more.

I charged the gun (which still remained mounted on deck) with a blank
cartridge, and duly greasing the muzzle to increase the report, fired.
The crew of the whale-boat tossed their oars on end, and kept them so
for a few minutes, or until it was seen that the other boats had
abandoned the chase, and were pulling back toward them. The crew of the
boat which was fast to the whale were knowing enough not to cut
themselves adrift so long as their prize towed them in the direction
they wished to go; and, as he seemed to have started for a regular long
run to leeward, they appeared to stand a very fair chance of being towed
almost alongside their ship.

She had been making short stretches to windward ever since we first
sighted her, and we were by this time within a couple of miles of her.
From her motions we judged that the people left on board to work her had
heard the report of our gun, and had witnessed the recall of the other
two boats, and perhaps suspected that something was wrong somewhere, for
she was now plainly manoeuvring to close with all three of the boats as
quickly as possible.

The whale, meanwhile, had been running in such a direction as to cross
the barque's bows about a quarter of a mile distant, and he actually ran
far enough to enable the crew of the boat which had fastened to him to
cut themselves adrift when fairly in their ship's course; so that, in a
very few minutes after the stroke of the keen tomahawk had severed their
towline, they were alongside, and the boat was run up to the davits.

So smart were the crew of the whaler in picking up their boat, that they
must have swung their main-yard the moment the frail craft was hooked
on, without waiting until she was actually hoisted up.

The barque had scarcely begun to gather way before the hands were in her
rigging,