His slightest movements were closely watched by Barnstable and his
cockswain, and when he was in a state of comparative rest, the former
gave a signal to his crew to ply their oars once more. A few long and
vigorous strokes sent the boat directly up to the broadside of the
whale, with its bows pointing towards one of the fins, which was, at
times, as the animal yielded sluggishly to the action of the waves,
exposed to view. The cockswain poised his harpoon with much precision,
and then darted it from him with a violence that buried the iron in the
blubber of their foe. The instant the blow was made, long Tom shouted,
with singular earnestness:
"Starn all!"
"Stern all!" echoed Barnstable; when the obedient seamen, by united
efforts, forced the boat in a backward direction beyond the reach of any
blow from their formidable antagonist. The alarmed animal, however,
meditated no such resistance; ignorant of his own power, and of the
insignificance of his enemies, he sought refuge in flight. One moment of
stupid surprise succeeded the entrance of the iron, when he cast his
huge tail into the air, with a violence that threw the sea around him
into increased commotion, and then disappeared with the quickness of
lightning, amid a cloud of foam.
"Snub him!" shouted Barnstable; "hold on, Tom; he rises already."
"Ay, ay, sir," replied the composed cockswain, seizing the line, which
was running out of the boat with a velocity that rendered such a
manoeuvre rather hazardous, and causing it to yield more gradually round
the large loggerhead that was placed in the bows of the boat for that
purpose.
Pages:
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253