"Mamma!" cried little Jack, "I should so much like to see a whale close,-quite close, you know."

"And so you shall, my boy," replied the captain, who was standing by, and had come to the resolve that if his men would back him, he would make an attempt to capture the prize.

He turned to his crew,-

"My men! what do you think? shall we make the venture? Remember, we are all alone; we have no whalemen to help us; we must rely upon ourselves; I have thrown a harpoon before now; I can throw a harpoon again; what do you say?"

The crew responded with a ringing cheer,-

"Ay, ay, sir! Ay, ay!"

CHAPTER VII.

PREPARATIONS FOR AN ATTACK.

Great was the excitement that now prevailed, and the question of an attempt to capture the sea-monster became the ruling theme of conversation. Mrs. Weldon expressed considerable doubt as to the prudence of venturing upon so great a risk with such a limited number of hands, but when Captain Hull a.s.sured her that he had more than once successfully attacked a whale with a single boat, and that for his part he had no fear of failure, she made no further remonstrance, and appeared quite satisfied.

Having formed his resolve, the captain lost no time in setting about his preliminary arrangements. He could not really conceal from his own mind that the pursuit of a finback was always a matter of some peril, and he was anxious, accordingly, to make every possible provision which forethought could devise against all emergencies.

Besides her long-boat, which was kept between the two masts, the "Pilgrim" had three whale-boats, two of them slung to the starboard and larboard davits, and the third at the stern, outside the taffrail. During the fishing season, when the crew was reinforced by a hired complement of New Zealand whalemen, all three of these boats would be brought at once into requisition, but at present the whole crew of the "Pilgrim" was barely sufficient to man one of the three boats. Tom and his friends were ready to volunteer their a.s.sistance, but any offers of service from them were necessarily declined; the manipulation of a whale-boat can only be entrusted to those who are experienced in the work, as a false turn of the tiller or a premature stroke of the oar may in a moment compromise the safety of the whole party. Thus compelled to take all his trained sailors with him on his venturous expedition, the captain had no alternative than to leave his apprentice in charge of the schooner during his absence. d.i.c.k's choice would have been very much in favour of taking a share in the whale-hunt, but he had the good sense to know that the developed strength of a man would be of far greater service in the boat, and accordingly without a murmur he resigned himself to remain behind.

Of the five sailors who were to man the boat, there were four to take the oars, whilst Howick the boatswain was to manage the oar at the stern, which on these occasions generally replaces an ordinary rudder as being quicker in action in the event of any of the side oars being disabled. The post of harpooner was of course a.s.signed to Captain Hull, to whose lot it would consequently fall first to hurl his weapon at the whale, then to manage the unwinding of the line to which the harpoon was attached, and finally to kill the creature by lance-wounds when it should emerge again from below the sea.

A method sometimes employed for commencing an attack is to place a sort of small cannon on the bows or deck of the boat and to discharge from it either a harpoon or some explosive bullets, which make frightful lacerations on the body of the victim; but the "Pilgrim" was not provided with apparatus of this description; not only are all the contrivances of this kind very costly and difficult to manage, but the fishermen generally are averse to innovations, and prefer the old-fashioned harpoons. It was with these alone that Captain Hull was now about to encounter the finback that was lying some four miles distant from his ship.

The weather promised as favourably as could be for the enterprise. The sea was calm, and the wind moreover was still moderating, so that there was no likelihood of the schooner drifting away during the captain's absence.

When the starboard whale-boat had been lowered, and the four sailors had entered it, Howick pa.s.sed a couple of harpoons down to them, and some lances which had been carefully sharpened; to these were added five coils of stout and supple rope, each 600 feet long, for a whale when struck often dives so deeply that even these lengths of line knotted together are found to be insufficient. After these implements of attack had been properly stowed in the bows, the crew had only to await the pleasure of their captain.

The "Pilgrim," before the sailors left her, had been made to heave to, and the yards were braced so as to secure her remaining as stationary as possible. As the time drew near for the captain to quit her, he gave a searching look all round to satisfy himself that everything was in order; he saw that the halyards were properly tightened, and the sails trimmed as they should be, and then calling the young apprentice to his side, he said,-

"Now, d.i.c.k, I am going to leave you for a few hours: while I am away, I hope that it will not be necessary for you to make any movement whatever. However, you must be on the watch. It is not very likely, but it is possible that this finback may carry us out to some distance. If so, you will have to follow; and in that case, I am sure you may rely upon Tom and his friends for a.s.sistance."

One and all, the negroes a.s.sured the captain of their willingness to obey d.i.c.k's instructions, the st.u.r.dy Hercules rolling up his capacious shirt-sleeves as if to show that he was ready for immediate action.

The captain went on,-

"The weather is beautifully fine, d.i.c.k, and I see no prospect of the wind freshening; but come what may, I have one direction to give you which I strictly enforce. You must not leave the ship. If I want you to follow us, I will hoist a flag on the boat-hook."

"You may trust me, sir," answered d.i.c.k; "and I will keep a good look-out."

"All right, my lad; keep a cool head and a good heart. You are second captain now, you know. I never heard of any one of your age being placed in such a post; be a credit to your position!"

d.i.c.k blushed, and the bright flush that rose to his cheeks spoke more than words.

"The lad may be trusted," murmured the captain to himself; "he is as modest as he is courageous. Yes; he may be trusted."

It cannot be denied that the captain was not wholly without compunction at the step he was taking; he was aware of the danger to which he was exposing himself, but he beguiled himself with the persuasion that it was only for a few hours; and his fisherman's instinct was very keen. It was not only for himself; the desire upon the part of the crew was almost irresistibly strong that every opportunity ought to be employed for making the cargo of the schooner equal to her owner's expectations. And so he finally prepared to start.

"I wish you all success!" said Mrs. Weldon.

"Many thanks!" he replied.

Little Jack put in his word,-

"And you will try and catch the whale without hurting him much?"

"All right, young gentleman," answered the captain; "he shall hardly feel the tip of our fingers!"

"Sometimes," said Cousin Benedict, as if he had been pondering the expedition in relation to his pet science, "sometimes there are strange insects clinging to the backs of these great mammifers; do you think you are likely to procure me any specimens?"

"You shall soon have the opportunity of investigating for yourself," was the captain's reply.

"And you, Tom; we shall be looking to you for help in cutting up our prize, when we get it alongside," continued he.

"We shall be quite ready, sir," said the negro.

"One thing more, d.i.c.k," added the captain; "you may as well be getting up the empty barrels out of the hold; they will be all ready."

"It shall be done, sir," answered d.i.c.k promptly.

If everything went well it was the intention that the whale after it had been killed should be towed to the side of the schooner, where it would be firmly lashed. Then the sailors with their feet in spiked shoes would get upon its back and proceed to cut the blubber, from head to tail, in long strips, which would first be divided into lumps about a foot and a half square, the lumps being subsequently chopped into smaller portions capable of being stored away in casks. The ordinary rule would be for a ship, as soon as the flaying was complete, to make its way to land where the blubber could be at once boiled down, an operation by which it is reduced by about a third of its weight, and by which it yields all its oil, the only portion of it which is of any value. Under present circ.u.mstances, however, Captain Hull would not think of melting down the blubber until his arrival at Valparaiso, and as he was sanguine that the wind would soon set in a favourable direction, he calculated that he should reach that port in less than three weeks, a period during which his cargo would not be deteriorated.

The latest movement with regard to the "Pilgrim" had been to bring her somewhat nearer the spot where the spouts of vapour indicated the presence of the coveted prize. The creature continued to swim about in the reddened waters, opening and shutting its huge jaws like an automaton, and absorbing at every mouthful whole myriads of animalcula. No one entertained a fear that it would try to make an escape; it was the unanimous verdict that it was "a fighting whale," and one that would resist all attacks to the very end.

As Captain Hull descended the rope-ladder and took his place in the front of the boat, Mrs. Weldon and all on board renewed their good wishes.

Dingo stood with his fore paws upon the taffrail, and appeared as much as any to be bidding the adventurous party farewell.

When the boat pushed off, those who were left on board the "Pilgrim" made their way slowly to the bows, from which the most extensive view was to be gained.

The captain's voice came from the retreating boat,-

"A sharp look-out, d.i.c.k; a sharp look-out; one eye on us, one on the ship!"

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Captain's voice came from the retreating boat. Page 72]

[Ill.u.s.tration: "I must get you to keep your eye upon that man " Page 73.]

"Ay, ay, sir," replied the apprentice.

By his gestures the captain showed that he was under some emotion; he called out again, but the boat had made such headway that it was too far off for any words to be heard.

Dingo broke out into a piteous howl.

The dog was still standing erect, his eye upon the boat in the distance. To the sailors, ever superst.i.tious, the howling was not rea.s.suring. Even Mrs. Weldon was startled.

"Why, Dingo, Dingo," she exclaimed, "this isn't the way to encourage your friends. Come here, sir; you must behave better than that!"

Sinking down on all fours the animal walked slowly up to Mrs. Weldon, and began to lick her hand.