THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 GIFT OF 
 
 Professor 
 Frank W. Wadsworth
 
 S
 
 THE 
 
 VOYAGE OF THE FLEETWING 
 
 NARRATIVE OF LOVE, WRECK, AND 
 WHALING ADVENTURES 
 
 BY 
 
 C. M. NEWELL 
 
 AUTHOR OF " KALANI OF OAHU, ;! " KAMEHAMEHA THE 
 GREAT," ETC. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 DE WOLFE, FISKE & CO. 
 
 ::ir, WASHINGTON STIIKKT.
 
 Copyright, /.SS6, 
 BY C. M. NKWI LL. 
 
 All Rights Reserved, 
 
 ELECTROTVPED BY 
 C. J. PETERS AND SON, BOSTON.
 
 FS 
 
 INSCRIBED TO MY FRIEND 
 
 . Oilman, 
 
 WITH EVER WILLING REMEMBRANCE OF THE LONG-GONE 
 
 DAYS WHEN WE " GAMMED" IN THE SOUTHERN 
 
 OCEAN, AMIDST THE ADVENTUROUS 
 
 SCENES OF WHICH I WRITE. 
 
 THE AUTHOR.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 I. RAYMOND'S LAST NIGHT WITH MARY i 
 
 II. THE SURLY OLD BOATMAN 15 
 
 III. WHARF SCENES ON SAILING DAY 20 
 
 IV. THE FLEETWING AND HER CREW 31 
 
 V. WEIGHING ANCHOR AND LEAVING PORT .... 46 
 
 VI. THE YOUNG MATE AND THE OLD MARTINET ... 60 
 
 VII. UNCLE JOE DISCLOSING THE MYSTERIES .... 67 
 
 VIII. NIGHT SCENE IN THE CABIN 79 
 
 IX. TOM THRASHING THE PORTUGUESE 8? 
 
 X. THE SHIP CAUGHT IN A GALE 95 
 
 XI. THE TERRIFIED AND SEA-SICK LADIES 105 
 
 XII. PERSONALITY OF THE LADY PASSENGER 114 
 
 XIII. CAPTURING THE FIRST SPERM WHALES 121 
 
 XIV. CUTTING AND BOILING THE W T HALES ....... 143 
 
 XV. MAKING A PORT AT THE AZORES . . 157 
 
 XVI. AMONG A SCHOOL OF Cows AND CALVES .... 173 
 
 XVII. THE PERFIDIOUS ALBION 190 
 
 XVIII. THE FIGHT WITH A DEMON WHALE 194 
 
 XIX. THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF "TIMOR TOM" .... 214 
 
 XX. DISCLOSING SOME SECRETS OF THE SEA 230 
 
 XXI. WHALING ON THE "STEEN GROUND" 240 
 
 XXII. STRIKING A SPERM WHALE HEAD-ON 259
 
 Contents. 
 
 XXIII. THE HURRICANE 277 
 
 XXIV. THE WRECKED SHIP 292 
 
 XXV. A NIGHT ON THE WRECK 513 
 
 XXVI. THE DIPLOMACY OF LOVE "530 
 
 XXVII. THE PARTING AT PERNAMBUCO 348 
 
 XXVIII. BOUND FOR THE ABROLHOS 367 
 
 XXIX. THE Two JILTED MATES 378 
 
 XXX. THE PHANTOM KISSES 387 
 
 XXXI. THE BATTLE OF THE GIANTS 397 
 
 XXXII. DOUBLING CAPE HORN 418 
 
 XXXIII. BOUND FOR THE LAST PORT 434
 
 THE 
 
 VOYAGE OF THE FLEETWING. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 RAYMOND'S LAST NIGHT WITH MARY. 
 
 TT was approaching the midnight hour of a beautiful 
 * September night. The broad harvest moon was riding 
 high in the zenith of an almost cloudless sky. Large and 
 full, as in fact only a full-orbed moon could be seen on 
 the meridian at such an hour. The few fleecy clouds seen 
 occasionally drifting past the moon, lingered briefly in the 
 enticing luna-light, until each, in turn, became glorified 
 with a halo of purple and gold. This was the Night- 
 queen's insignia, bestowed upon every luminous mist which 
 timidly came to pay homage at her throne. 
 
 At the open window of a lofty cupola, which adorned 
 one of the pretty dwellings on the hillside of Purchase 
 Street, New Bedford, there sat two youthful lovers gazing 
 out over the housetops, and far down upon the bay, which 
 shone like silver in the mellow sheen of the splendid 
 night. 
 
 Hand in hand sat these two inamorati, silent as statues, 
 watching the moonbeams flood the whole wide landscape 
 with radiance, until every rugged outline softened into 
 beauty. Watching the yellow rays brooding over the
 
 2 The I'lcctwing. 
 
 hushed town, ]ike the fostering wing of some hallowed 
 spirit inviting all to slumber. 
 
 At times their gaze extended to the opposite town of 
 Fairhaven ; but mostly their eyes dwelt upon some object 
 of unusual interest far out in mid-river, some centre of 
 sadness, half akin to sorrow^ to judge from their sober 
 looks and the deep sighs which winged out over the night 
 from the cupola window. 
 
 Anchored here and there about the harbor lay the out 
 bound ships, with their white wings folded, peacefully 
 slumbering in the weird and misty light. Yet these sea 
 going vessels would sunder many loving hearts at the turn 
 of the morning tide. One vessel, more attractive than all 
 others, lay like a spirit-ship in the shimmering beam, 
 showing more artful taper to her graceful masts, a greater 
 mystery of shrouds and stays, and a yet more delicate 
 tracery aloft among the mazy network of ropes and rig 
 ging. Just where she was anchored the moon-touched 
 waters gleamed like a mirror, every ripple on the surface 
 glittering like starlight in the swift running tide. 
 
 As the solemn chimes of the midnight clocks ushered 
 in the new day, it startled the lovers from their long rev- 
 ery of mingled emotions, for it admonished them that the 
 hour of separation drew near. The youth rose and looked 
 out over the bland night, questioning with .searching eyes 
 for some forecast of wind for the coining day. 
 
 The breeze was just enough to frolic playfully with the 
 ringlets of the young girl in the cupola. 
 
 She was a gentle dark-eyed creature of eighteen sum 
 mers, with a full, voluptuous figure. Her face was beauti 
 ful as the night she looked upon. Her clear olive com-
 
 TJic YontJifiil Lovers. 3 
 
 plexion was made doubly fair by the yellow moonlight, 
 stirred as she now was at the thought of parting, and by 
 the open admiration and outspoken affection of her com 
 panion. 
 
 There was a sad, solemn tenderness in the young girl's 
 eyes as she gazed skyward, seeking sympathy in the cold 
 calm orb above, while her lips quivered with emotion as 
 she murmured a half-audible prayer. With her face thus 
 turned to the sky, the affluent curls of her blue-black hair 
 hung gracefully about her white shoulders and bare arms ; 
 elements of beauty to which a sailor strikes his colors 
 quicker than to any other charm in his ideal woman. 
 
 Yet it was a weak, irresolute face which the ardent lover 
 looked upon so doatingly. Its want of character was fully 
 confirmed by the full red lips of her small sweet mouth, 
 together with the languid, indolent expression of her large 
 soft eyes. Yet the girl's eyes could beam with love most 
 eloquently, and her lips ternpt to kisses like the cleft 
 crimson of an over-ripe pomegranate. 
 
 It was not so much the girl's callow youth, her eighteen 
 gentle summers, that made her puerile and passive, as it 
 was her unbalanced character, which left her too thought 
 less and frivolous to value the virile qualities of the youth 
 who now proffered his love. 
 
 The companion of this fair night-elve was a youth of 
 twenty-two years, a manly, noble-looking sailor, having 
 the easy, commanding air of an officer. His blue frock 
 and navy suit, together with the broad white collar turned 
 over his coat, would further indicate that he was. a son of 
 Neptune, even if his bold, frank sailor air was not suffi 
 cient to dispel all doubt.
 
 4 The Flcctiving. 
 
 He was the chief mate of the clipper ship Fleetwing, 
 which had so greatly elated the town just then. The 
 mate seemed too young to fill such a responsible berth in 
 the pet ship of a great whaling mart, judging by the small 
 mustache, his only semblance of a beard. Yet there was 
 a sterling something about the appearance of Charles 
 Raymond which stamped him as a well rounded, cultured 
 man. True, his assured manners and look of superior 
 intelligence were no evidence of his having had sufficient 
 whaling experience for his office. 
 
 Until this late hour of his last night's wooing, Raymond 
 had not fully determined whether Mar)- Tudor really loved 
 him or not. The girl had evidently been subjected to 
 some powerful restraint, perhaps some strong maternal 
 command not to commit her young heart too deeply to 
 this as yet untried youth. A New Bedford method of 
 experimental billing and cooing, all too prevalent in other 
 great seaport towns. A sad, cruel ordeal for a tender 
 hearted girl to be subjected to, taught to secure dual 
 strings to her flimsy bow. 
 
 Mary Tudor had known her lover only a short time. 
 Three months previous, Charles Raymond's ship came 
 sailing into port full as she could stagger, having a rich 
 cargo of sperm and whale oil. For weeks after her ar 
 rival the town was alive with gossip about the young 
 second mate, to whose skilful lance the rich voyage was 
 largely due. 
 
 It was truly said of him that once Raymond's boat got 
 fast to a whale of any kind, it was sure to be captured. 
 He would stick closer, hang on longer, and take more 
 risk of losing his head, than most men cared to do.
 
 Mrs. Tudor 's Advice. 5 
 
 Throughout the voyage, no other officer ever succeeded in 
 killing a whale that Charlie Raymond was fast to. 
 
 In a special whaling port, an officer thus endowed 
 easily becomes the lion of the hour. His fame interests 
 every marriageable maiden in the place. Conniving 
 mammas deem such a person a "good catch," a "rising 
 man," stuff from which "lucky captains" are made. 
 
 Mary Tudor was thought to be greatly favored in secur 
 ing the first opportunity to flaunt her colors before the 
 young officer. Delighted and amazed at her beauty, Ray 
 mond had backed his topsail on the instant. The young 
 sailor was too fresh from the briny deep not to consort 
 with the first fair face and bright eyes that signalled him 
 in the offing. 
 
 It was then that the girl's mother came forward, and 
 weighed the youth in her matrimonial balance, and finally 
 peddled him out one of her least nubile daughters. Hav 
 ing four others on the docket, Mrs. Tudor gave Mary 
 characteristic instructions: 
 
 " Mamie, the young chap is a trump card, though too 
 fond of peril for a ' wait-over.' Bait with a gay hook, and 
 you'll catch him. Fish for a ' catch-penny ' wedding be 
 fore he sails, or throw him over to the next one. Keep 
 your heart out of the matter, my daughter, and remember, 
 don't engage yourself to wait over a voyage ; for the fel 
 low is sure to lose his head before he is a skipper. Now 
 mind, Mamie, for you're good property to keep over for a 
 full-fledged skipper." 
 
 Love at sight is an honest trick of sailors. So long are 
 they debarred the sight of lovely woman that when they 
 do get ashore, and clap eyes on a lovely face, they down
 
 6 Tlic Flcctwing. 
 
 * 
 
 helm at once, let fly sheets and tacks in the wind, and 
 come to anchor in a jiffy. 
 
 It is a charming sight to view Jack's rising emotions 
 when he first sights a pretty girl in the offing. The jolly 
 fellow laughs all over his face, as, with arms akimbo, he 
 deliberately notes the cut of her jib, the swell of her bows, 
 and the graceful motion of the dainty craft as she careens 
 to the wind, and lifts to the sea. 
 
 Jack sails wholly by dead-reckoning while on shore. 
 His land atmosphere is then so greatly befogged that he 
 cannot obtain real latitude by the sun. Thus he hastily 
 moors ship alongside of the first dear creature he meets, 
 hoping to secure his " lay of the land," and anchor for 
 life. 
 
 This sort of love-making is very contagious with the 
 fair sex. Jack's saline magnetism has an overpowering 
 quality. Going to work as he does with his heart in his 
 hand, and his soul in his eyes, he easily overcomes the 
 feeble broadside of a shore girl's conventionalities. 
 
 The fault of a girl's thus yielding to such tidal waves of 
 marine love is that it makes a too willing prisoner of the 
 maiden, so bewildered by Jack's novel sea-fog, without 
 fairly captivating her heart. Thus, when the conquer 
 ing hero makes sail on his next cruise, the girl's delusive 
 love takes wing, and, alas, she finds herself yielding the 
 helm to the next noble sea-lion who sails athwart her 
 hawse. 
 
 At the end of his three months' wooing, Raymond still 
 found himself " all at sea " in the matter of love-making. 
 He was not yet quite certain but Mary's previous listless 
 response to his own strong affection was the most he ought
 
 ' Tis Our Last Hour. J 
 
 to expect from an immature girl. He could not doubt 
 but the girl loved him after the fashion of such coy 
 maidens, for she never tired of receiving his kisses, fondly 
 holding his hand, and laying her downy cheek to his, so 
 browned by the sea and the sun. The entrancing creat 
 ure had learned to sigh lustily at every mention of parting, 
 and her eloquent eyes were ever ready to read him a 
 sweet homily of love. But all these passive methods of 
 love-making were as^the light of a farthing candle to Ray 
 mond's passionate yearnings for her, and she failed to fill 
 the aching void in his heart. 
 
 But now when Mary was reminded that the parting 
 hour had come, the nerveless girl woke as from a trance. 
 The impulsive outlet given to her pent-up feelings amazed 
 her lover, who was in no wise versed in the conflicting 
 mazes of a maiden's heart. 
 
 Raymond broke the long silence by abruptly addressing 
 the girl as he rose to leave her and go aboard his ship, 
 which was to sail in the morning. 
 
 " Mary, my darling, you don't seem to realize that this 
 is my last hour on shore." 
 
 A frenzied look came into the face and eyes of the girl, 
 that was sad to behold. Her lips quivered with emotion 
 as they moved with a voiceless sorrow she could not dis 
 close. She clung to her lover's hand with an impetuous 
 grasp, as if to detain him. With an answering look of 
 sadness, he continued to address her: 
 
 " I must leave you, dear girl ; duty calls me to the ship. 
 The storms and sunshine of many a clime must be en 
 countered before I meet you again. I leave you, to be 
 forgotten, or perhaps remembered only for a day." These
 
 8 The Fleetwing. 
 
 words imparted power of speech to the grieved maiden : 
 " Oh, no, no ! Please don't say that. It's so cruel for 
 you to think that of me, Charles Raymond." And Mary 
 burst into tears, adding, between her sobs : " I don't forget 
 my friends so easily." 
 
 " Friends ! " vehemently echoed the fiery youth. " If 
 friendship is the strongest sentiment you have for me, I 
 reject it. You know I love you. May I not hope for a 
 dearer title to my Mary ? Tell me, darling girl, in one 
 word, if I am loved or not." 
 
 Mary buried her face in her hands, and sobbed aloud 
 with bitter anguish. The influence of the hallowed night 
 had filled her young heart with love, unspoken and almost 
 unutterable. Now the sentiment of parting had broken 
 down the flimsy barrier erected to shield her heart at the 
 senseless parental command. The crisis of the parting 
 hour had unmasked poor Mary's ambushed love, disclos 
 ing it to herself as well as her lover, though her mother's 
 cruel injunction still rung in her ears. 
 
 Raymond drew the sorrowing girl tenderly to him. 
 Parting the dark hair from her brow, he pressed a fervent 
 kiss upon her forehead. The inexperienced youth was 
 still in grave doubt as to the cause of Mary's sorrow. 
 But catching something hopeful from her tender, tearful 
 condition, the warm-hearted sailor drew her tightly to his 
 breast as he whispered : 
 
 " Mary, Mar)*, my precious girl ! Tell me if I read 
 your tears aright. Tell me in one little sentence if I am 
 loved. Then absence and distance, storm or sunshine, 
 shall become as nought to me. For I will take with me 
 such an image of your grace and beauty that it will reflect
 
 Loved, or Unloved? 9 
 
 like starlight in every billow which rocks me in the cra 
 dled deep." 
 
 With dilated nostrils and wide appealing eyes, Mary 
 raised her tear-wet face to Raymond's, that with his own 
 eyes her lover might interpret her grief aright. In answer 
 to his words, she threw her white arms around his neck 
 while an exquisite glow of affection illuminated her face, 
 though as yet she was unable to master her sobs suffi 
 ciently to speak. 
 
 Raymond turned her face to the westing moon, and let 
 the yellow beam stream over it at will. Betwixt hopes and 
 fears he searched for some stronger confirmation of her 
 love than smiles and sobs. His enamoured eyes revelled 
 in the girlish charms before him, until his ardent gaze 
 brought back the native crimson to her cheeks. 
 
 " Do you really love me, Mary ? " persistently asked her 
 lover, in a half doubting tone. The girl was startled with 
 a look of surprise and pain at the question. Her dark 
 eyes broadened and brightened as she scanned Ray. 
 mond's face to catch the source of his doubts. 
 
 " Oh Charles, how can you doubt it ? Should I will 
 ingly lie here in your arms if I did not love you dearly ? 
 How have you failed to discover my affection for you, 
 long ago? You can't expect girls to be as outspoken 
 about their love as men, especially sailor-men, who are 
 always ready to eat a girl up as if she were confectionery." 
 
 " Perhaps you are right, dear Mary. I wish I could 
 believe you love me half as much as you think you do. I 
 don't seem to discover quite enough of it to outlast a 
 three years' voyage. You know New Bedford is a sad 
 place for shipwrecked lovers. A true-hearted girl should
 
 io The Wcctwing. 
 
 be moored by her best bower, if she wishes to hold fast to 
 her anchorage through a long whale-voyage." 
 
 " Then why not give up this hateful voyage ? " she re 
 plied, petulantly. " How dreadful ! to think you have won 
 me but to leave me ; just as mother said you would. You 
 have taught me the rapture of a bewildering love only to 
 plunge me into the depths of sorrow by desertion. Is 
 there not room on the land for you to make a home for 
 me ? " And Mary further pleaded her case with appeal 
 ing eyes. 
 
 Raymond could not gainsay the truth of much she said, 
 but he smothered her unjust demands with kisses ; until 
 they clung to each other with mutual affection. The girl's 
 grief at length gave way, taking wing she knew not how. 
 
 " Mary, you speak truly. I have won you but to leave 
 you. But your own sober sense would not have me give 
 up the sea. It is my vocation ; I love it, and it has fos 
 tered me with a kindly hand. Do not distress our last 
 moments by such a thought." 
 
 " But if you should be wrecked and lost to me, now that 
 I have centred my affection upon you, what would be 
 come of me ? " 
 
 " Fear not, little darling ; the Heavenly Father protects 
 us as readily on the sea as on the land. As for storms, 
 my pet, we love them as you love the sunshine, if but the 
 wind blow us fair. All sun and no cloud is the whine of 
 a land-lubber, not the plea of a sailor. God made the sea 
 for none such as they. Let such spoonies be content to 
 dig the earth, sow the land, and get kicked to death by a 
 donkey." 
 
 The dreadful night clocks now struck three with a
 
 Choosing a Star. 1 1 
 
 heartless clang that took the lovers by surprise. Poor 
 Marv's face blanched to the pallor of death as she realized 
 that their separation could no longer be delayed. 
 
 " So late ! " exclaimed Raymond, as he sprung up from 
 his seat. " I must be gone. The mate of the Fleetwing 
 should be at his post. It bids fair for a breeze, and we 
 shall sail at the first run of the ebb. Besides, I should not 
 have kept you up so late." 
 
 " So soon ! " pleaded the love-lorn girl, clinging to her 
 lover as he rose to go. " Oh, how an you leave me 
 yet ? Promise me that you will write often, by every 
 ship homeward bound. And for my sake hasten your 
 return." 
 
 " Yes, dear Mary. But remember many months elapse 
 between our ports. Write me by every ship sailing for 
 Honolulu our mail port for the voyage. And" now one 
 more token from my darling." 
 
 " What shall it be, dear Charles ? You already have 
 my picture." 
 
 " Yes, and a dear sweet prize it is. I must have a tiny 
 bit of yourself. The veriest little crinkle from your dainti 
 est curl. Only such a treasure can conjure you to my side 
 when yon moon keeps watch with me on the sea." 
 
 " Take it. Take all you wish, my own dear sailor-boy." 
 
 " This will do. Now for a little star through which to 
 commune in the night watches, when the lonely heart 
 yearns wildly for another, and we lean a listening ear 
 out against the silence of the night, hearkening for the 
 heart beat of one we love." 
 
 " Why not choose Venus ? the lover's own peculiar 
 star ? "
 
 1 2 The Flectwing. 
 
 " Not that, for the very reason you say. It is too com 
 mon. We want a little twinkle of our own, one that every 
 brawling tar shall not pollute when he toasts his wanton." 
 
 " Then, dear, you must make choice of one. Why not 
 one of your bright lunar stars ? " 
 ( 'ould you find Aldebaran ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes. Tis the brightest of the virtuous Hyades, 
 directly overhead, in the figure V, on the angry head of 
 Taurus. Nightly the fierce bull dares Orion to combat." 
 
 " Then Aldebaran shall be our own star. 'Tis red as 
 Mars to-night, and always easily found among the broken 
 clouds." 
 
 " And it's so near the pretty ' Virgins of Spring,' sweet 
 daughters of Atlas. For thy dear sake, Charles, I will 
 emulate their virtue." 
 
 And she smiled sweetly on her admirer, and put up her 
 small red lips for guerdon. How sweet a thing to learn 
 is love ! Where has the coyness of this timid maiden 
 gone ? 
 
 " Bless you, sweet love ! for your promise and your 
 kiss. You shall yet become the sweetest Merope among 
 the stars. Nor shall your brightness wane, as did hers of 
 old, for condescending to a mortal love. When the fierce 
 Hull is again in the zenith at midnight, remember to 
 yearly pluck a blossom of its ripening and send me, and I 
 will do the same wherever I am." 
 
 " When will that time be ? " *. 
 
 " If you nightly confess to our little red twinkle, you 
 will not fail to know. The constellation of Taurus di 
 vided the sidereal year for the ancients. Its rising at sun 
 set on November 20 marked the beginning of their winter.
 
 The Betrothal. 13 
 
 Its rising just before sunrise, the 2oth of May, denoted 
 the beginning of summer, as there were but two seasons, 
 of six months each, in those days. 
 
 " Thus, Mamie, remember the Arabic origin and sig 
 nification of Aldebaran. As it once ' led the way for the 
 whole starry hosts,' so may it now become the arbiter of 
 our fate, and lead my way to fortune and to happiness in 
 thee." 
 
 " Dear love ! I doat upon our little star already, and I 
 will nightly search the sky for it when I invoke the di 
 vine blessing upon my noble sailor." 
 
 " Bless you, dear, dear Mary. The dawn approaches, 
 and we must part. One last kiss and I'll go." 
 
 " Not yet. You have not given me a lock of your 
 hair." 
 
 With a touch of impatience Raymond clipped one of 
 his own brown locks and gave her. Tears gathered in 
 her eyes as she received the token. Hastily she bound 
 the tress with a tiny ribbon of blue a sailor's color 
 pressed her lips to it, and dropped the little treasure into 
 her bosom. 
 
 " One word more, dear girl. The disclosure of your 
 love has come so suddenly that I have doubts of its last 
 ing quality. Let us make oath to remain true till we 
 meet again. Here in the hallowed presence of our 
 Maker, I swear to love you and you only until my 
 return, if you keep tryst with me. Will you respond, little 
 darling?" 
 
 " Yes, oh yes, by any oath you please," and with almost 
 hysterical sobs and tears Mary Tudor betrothed herself 
 by a yet more solemn pledge than Raymond's.
 
 14 The Fleetwing. 
 
 " I have asked this, dearest, because New Bedford is 
 famous for its heartless women. Their deceit has crushed 
 more brave hearts and true than all the world beside." 
 
 " I am glad to strengthen our troth-plight, I do love 
 you so." 
 
 " In the morning, Mary, when the sails are all set on 
 the Fleetwing, let me see you here in this trysting-place. 
 Wave your last good-by with this scarf, and watch for my 
 return signal as I stand on the bow taking the anchor." 
 
 Snatching a last hasty kiss from the weeping girl, Ray 
 mond gently tore her tightly clasped arms from his neck, 
 breathed a heart-felt prayer for his new-found treasure, 
 and tenderly seated her by the cupola window, sobbing as 
 if her heart would break. 
 
 Quickly descending to the street, the young officer has 
 tened to the wharf, where he had ordered a shore boat 
 man to meet him an hour before. Little did either of 
 the sad lovers then deem that any mortal could ever sun 
 der their strongly plighted loves.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE SURLY OLD BOATMAN. 
 
 TRILLED with mingled emotions, Raymond hastened to 
 the wharf, where he had ordered a harbor boatman to 
 meet him at three o'clock, though it was now nearly four. 
 As he was a man to require promptness in every one, and 
 had so impressed this upon the old boatman, the late hour 
 was a source of mortification to the young officer, for the 
 boatman was already growling lustily as he brought his 
 boat into the wharf. Hence the unseemly haste in part 
 ing from his lady love. 
 
 How terrible the separation had been to him none but 
 a young lover thus sundered for years can know. Yet it 
 was a glad sustaining thought to remember that he took 
 with him the plighted love of a beautiful girl. Every 
 thought of his Mary filled him with ecstasy as he remem 
 bered her fond arms about him, and it required a strong 
 effort of will to restrain him from returning for yet one 
 more interview with his darling. 
 
 While the boatman was hauling in to the steps, the 
 mate turned to seek the moon, now low down in the west, 
 to note the passing clouds for indications of wind on the 
 coming day, half wishing that a head-wind might delay 
 their sailing, so thoroughly bewitching is the thraldom of 
 a first love. 
 
 '5
 
 1 6 The Fleetwing. 
 
 While Raymond was looking searchingly into the sky, 
 there among the red lunar-rays he suddenly beheld a 
 vision of his Mary, dimly portrayed upon the fleecy clouds 
 which thinly veiled the moon. Her white arms were 
 stretched down to him from the sky, with supplicating ges 
 tures that seemed to call him back to her. 
 
 Though the vision vanished instantly, there was no mis 
 take in what he saw. A deathly chill crept over him. 
 His. soul was tortured, and his strong young heart almost 
 rebelled. With the superstition common to all sailors, 
 Raymond felt that the portentous event was ominous, 
 and he unwillingly believed that he should never behold 
 the fair face of his Mary again. He almost feared she 
 was already dead, and the beautiful apparition he had 
 seen was her departed spirit, winging its way to the ely- 
 sium beyond the stars. 
 
 Had not the boat banged against the wharf at that mo 
 ment, and dispelled some of the visionary part of his de 
 lusion, the call to duty would have failed him, and he 
 would have returned to Purchase Street. But the gruff 
 voice of the surly old boatman was sufficient to arouse 
 him. He descended the slippery steps and seated him 
 self silently in the stern of the boat, to be rudely greeted 
 with impertinent questions, surmising his previous where 
 abouts. 
 
 " Well, matey, you've had yer last look at ' Heart dig ' ; 
 fur a fine breeze am brewin' fur yer sailin'." 
 
 " Hush ! you old sinner ; or I'll cast you into the water 
 as food for the sharks. You've mistaken your man this 
 time." 
 
 "Is thet so? Then I ax yer parden, mister, fur 'tis
 
 Testing his Cargo. \ J 
 
 not of'en I'm called ter ferry ar parson or ar Puritan 
 'twixt midnight an' marnin'." 
 
 " Pull away and be silent, if you wish me to remember 
 you've waited an hour extra for me this morning." 
 
 " Sickness, or piety kept yer, mister ? " 
 
 " Silence ! I told you, or you'll not get your extra pay 
 for waiting." 
 
 "Ay, ay, sir; silence it am. But et strikes me thet I 
 cussed yer for a picter o' promptness, ez yer wuz minded 
 ter spake 'bout whin yer hired me fur three in ther 
 marnin', prompt on ther p'int." 
 
 " There, that will do ; pull away." 
 
 " Ah, weel, jist ter think how I mought o' bin snuggled 
 up ter me old 'oman an hour longer, but fur thet picter o' 
 promptnis, ez yer call it." 
 
 " Well, well ! pull ahead, you old torment. Lengthen 
 the stroke of your port oar, and forelay for the flood tide 
 in the river." 
 
 " Right, sir, yer am. Whin ar chap like me takes ter 
 entertainin' an angil in disguise, he's moughty apt ter fur- 
 git ther spring tide that's runnin'." 
 
 So the imperturbable old boatman continued his 
 humorous gab. He was oftenest called upon to ferry 
 some night prowler coming from a debauch, from whom 
 he failed not to elicit an exorbitant fee, in just accordance 
 to the amount of poor whiskey or brandy smash each de 
 linquent contained in his skin. Even in Raymond's case, 
 the blear-eyed old shellback greatly feared he was being 
 played upon by one of the pious sons of Bacchus. For 
 it is a source of pride with these boatmen never to be out 
 witted by the morally disposed " rum ones."
 
 1 8 Tlic J'/tt 
 
 "Say, mister, the sarvice wux ar leedle late on this 
 'casion ? " 
 
 "Avast there! you're yawing the boat down stream 
 again. Steady, so. Now see if you can't belay your jaw- 
 tackle. I've that on my mind just now that don't abide 
 your social greetings." 
 
 "Ay. ay. mister. I'll be glum ez a church mouse. 
 Ji>t let me count me beads fur ter exorcise ther divil, in 
 fear there mought be afhoof in yer 'onor's boots, 'sted o' 
 five 'spectable looking toes." 
 
 "Confound you!" 
 
 " Please, mister, don't swear, ez I'm religiously in 
 clined, like. You'll obsarve it becomes a honest boatman 
 ter be purtic'lar whin called on ter pull ar mish'nary chap 
 at four in ther marnin'." 
 
 " Is there no way of keeping you silent, you infernal 
 wretch. Who are you ? What's your name ? " 
 
 " Bliss yer 'onor, it's arter some kind 'membrance that 
 ye'd keep o' me fur ar futer job in ther marnin' ? Thar 
 wu/ a name gin me et ther 'atchin', but, bein' uv ar big 
 brood, 'twas lot 'fore I got plumed out. So, mister, I 
 hitched onter 'nother un. Johnny Jones, at yer sarvice, 
 sir, ar quiet boatman thet I am." 
 
 "Well, Jones, I'll avoid every fellow of your name 
 hereafter." 
 
 "Thet's ar wrong reflicshun, sir. I niver peach on 
 ther young uns fur ther night work. I'll not spake ter 
 ther parson or ther timp'rance men 'bout its bein' four in 
 ther marnin'. You tips us ther shiner, an' I shall spake 
 uv it ez but ten in ther evenin'. Ar bully voy'ge ter yer, 
 mister, fur here we is 'longside ther clipper."
 
 Aboard SJiip. 19 
 
 The boat drew up to the gangway, and the darkey ship- 
 keeper swung out the manropes just as the moon was 
 clipping down over the hills. Raymond doubled the fee 
 of the tattling old boatman, and drew himself glibly up 
 the ship's side. 
 
 " Say, nigger ! yer know who thet ere chap is ? " 
 
 " Yes, it's the mate." 
 
 " Hokey ! Thanks ter yer, Mister Mate. Call 'gin, 
 sumtime, an' I'll not ax ef yees divil or angil, ef yer allus 
 pays wid ther yeller uns." 
 
 Bidding the venerable old shipkeeper to call him with 
 the sun, Raymond passed into the cabin to change his 
 'longshore toggery for a rig more suited to his sea duties 
 on the day of sailing. Betaking himself to the sofa in 
 the captain's cabin, he was soon lost in deep repose.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 WHARF SCENES ON SAILING DAY. 
 
 sailing of the Fleeting was long remembered in 
 the great whaling port of New Bedford. She was the 
 first built of the famous clipper whalers that had such 
 wonderful success in the Arctic and Ochotsk seas. 
 
 Though the day broke pleasant and promising, yet not 
 a breath of wind stirred in the harbor until the turning of 
 the late morning tide. People bordering on both sides 
 of the Acushnet were greatly interested on the occasion. 
 Old and young climbed to the housetops, or embarked in 
 boats of every description about the harbor. 
 
 The native heredity of sailor-born children is a most 
 remarkable patrimony. 
 
 So strong is the shinning propensity of these unfledged 
 sailors on sailing day, that every urchin born of web- 
 footed parents may be seen climbing the lamp-posts and 
 mounting the trees. Even creeping infants Jack t .is 
 in pin-feathers aspire to climb beanpoles and broom 
 sticks, in justifiable emulation of their daddies. 
 
 It is not too much to assert that many of the monkey- 
 toed sailor-progeny of New Bedford were born with little 
 marline-spikes in hand, though we are fain to believe that 
 the modest town records have never recorded the 
 fact. 
 
 to
 
 Jack's Weather Bureau. 2 1 
 
 Early on this eventful day, more than a thousand sea 
 going men gathered about the wharves, eager to render 
 officious aid to the departing ship ; all executing various 
 nautical evolutions of importance as they came upon the 
 scene. Some were seen hastily coming to anchor, in 
 mortal fear of being too late for the occasion. Others 
 were laboriously getting under way, shifting their anchor 
 age for a better view. While some, more indolent than 
 their fellows, lazily moored ship on an old cask for the day, 
 or gallantly caulked down at full length on the unoccu 
 pied cap-logs of the wharf intent upon remaining until 
 starvation compelled them to unmoor. 
 
 The most weather-wise of these old shellbacks were 
 seen cockbilling their bald heads to starboard or a-port, 
 squinting alow and aloft to note the "mare's tails" in the 
 horizon, and the " mackerel-back sky " above, cunningly 
 estimating the chances of a coming breeze for the new 
 ship. These prodigies were the revered oracles of the 
 port, to whom the venerating crowd willingly furnished 
 " pigtail " and hardtack that they need not shift their 
 quarters for the day. 
 
 Joking aside, there is certainly a three-corned attic 
 chamber moored somewhere under every sailor's hat, 
 wherein he carries a full rigged "Weather Bureau" a 
 ready reference for all time. What a quaint-looking 
 receptacle it must be; decorated with salt-smelling sea- 
 shells, dried kelp, and mermaid's hair; together with 
 stuffed Mother Carey's chickens, and a full-fledged gony 
 over the door. 
 
 Hidden away in these grotesque " bureaus " the briny 
 old tars keep tally of wind and weather, and the course
 
 22 T/ic Fleet wing. 
 
 and tlistance to every land ; together with photographic 
 \ie\vs of every rock, shoal or headland they have ever 
 seen. So constantly is Jack's attention given to meteor 
 ology during his long voyages, that atmospheric phe 
 nomena become a sort of third nature to him rum and 
 tobacco being recorded as his first and second natures, 
 with lobscouse and hardtack sandwiched in somewhere 
 between. 
 
 Such being the case, one would expect to find an odd 
 mixture of calms and storms, squalls and doldrums, lying 
 around confusedly in a tarry sailor's noddle-box. Yet it 
 is not so. Question a venerable old shellback about his 
 half-century of seagoing life, and you will find his log 
 books and mental records of the Horn, Cape Frio, or St. 
 Helena all clearly kept in his methodical mind, as clear 
 as is his subtle knowledge of the ship's vast snarl of 
 ropes, stays, shrouds, and bobstays, matters ever confusing 
 to a landsman. 
 
 Everything about the wharves on this particular morn 
 ing was in the greatest state of disorder, yet it must have 
 been a very paradise of propriety to Jack. Some of the 
 .ships had just arrived from a three years' voyage. Some 
 had discharged their oil, which lay tiered at the base of 
 the wharf thickly covered with seaweed. Other ships 
 were lying completely dismantled, their masts stripped to 
 a girtline, as if the final hour of dissection had come. 
 
 Several vessels were hove down keel out, in the hands 
 of the noisy caulkers, whose great floating stages were 
 moored alongside ; whereon was mounted the boiling 
 pitch-pot, and the cra.te of hemp oakum priceless per 
 fumes to Jack's olfactories. These ships were having
 
 Sailor J\Tcn. 23" 
 
 their bottoms scraped and caulked, and being newly 
 sheathed and coppered for a voyage and many a sly 
 sailor watched that the job was well done, if he intended 
 to go cruising in the craft. 
 
 About the outfitters' shops, along the adjacent streets, 
 were also gathered every grade of seaman. The crude- 
 looking land-lubbers made themselves most conspicuous 
 ardent youths dressed somewhat too previous in their awk 
 wardly appearing sea-rigs outsailoring the saltest tar in 
 the crowd. 
 
 But the real simon-pure sailors were also abundant 
 among the group. The rollicking, rolling, devil-me-care 
 salts, wearing blue trousers an^ flannel shirts, their 
 shining tarpaulins tipped with a list a-port ; these were 
 the solid substantial seamen. Men who could not only 
 " hand-reef-and-steer," but could also house a topmast, or 
 rig a "jury," and pull a feathering oar that never tires. 
 The counterfeit of such men base skulkers, who ship 
 to do a sailor's work that they never learned are 
 deemed baser coin afloat than any fraud Known to the 
 financial world ashore. 
 
 The sedate and well-mannered officers were there 
 men dressed in 'longshore toggery of frock-coat and white 
 shirt. These notables are the mates, the boat-headers, 
 who can bring the claret from a running whale by pitching 
 their lance from the tip of the flukes into the palpitating 
 hollow over the shoulder. Most of these were dignified, 
 noble-looking men, wearing manly, open faces that would 
 be a passport anywhere. 
 
 Numerous boat-steerers could be discovered^ here and 
 there among the vast jumble of sea-craft. Men who find
 
 24 77te Flcetiving. 
 
 caste somewhere between the cabin mates and the fore 
 castle men ; a high grade of the best class of seamen. 
 Real heroes, who delight to toy with a fighting whale as 
 a child plays with a kitten. Chaps who are often thrust 
 just the length of the boat nearer to a mad whale than a 
 timorous officer likes to venture himself. They are easily 
 distinguished by their dainty blue jackets, low-quartered 
 shoes, and French calico shirts. 
 
 With a boat-steerer it is etiquette to dangle a flashy 
 handkerchief from the left breast pocket, and to assume 
 a little nautic roll in his see-saw gait, imitating an India- 
 man rolling down to St. Helena. 
 
 The boat-steerer is an aspiring genius, always having an 
 eye to his duty on shipboard ; a careful, painstaking man, 
 who mixes his grog a trifle too thin to make drunk come, 
 ever aiming to become an officer. He is thought to be 
 excusable for always talking about harpoons, and the way 
 to dart them. Innocently illustrating his methods on a 
 sure dart by letting fly a carving-fork at the cat, which 
 foolishly leaps through the window, frightening the house 
 hold by smashing the glass, going lick-it-to-cut to wind 
 ward ; thus keeping up the farce of a mad whale running 
 in the wind's eye. 
 
 The boat-steerer also has an alert eye to becoming a 
 family man like his superior officers and the cute 
 ones among the marriageable girls discuss his qualities 
 with wonderful acumen, seeking to tackle the web-footed 
 fellow to shore harness in good time. It is he who is 
 often seen sailing down the street wing-and-wing, a 
 pretty girl on each yard arm. Not that this animated 
 piece of whaling-gear seeks to become Mormonistic,
 
 The Clipper. 25 
 
 looking to marry both girls, only that the marriageable 
 girls of New Bedford are so eager, you know. And then 
 the brave harponier also seeks to show his shipmates the 
 wonderful prestige he has acquired among the shore 
 beauties by his daring deeds on the past voyage. He is 
 thought to be less harmful when thus tackled to two 
 beauties than when he swaggers around among the cats 
 and puppies with a carving-fork in his hand. 
 
 Among the eighty ships lying at the busy wharves, or 
 anchored in the stream above Palmer's Island, were many 
 fine vessels, built on approved modern moulds, but none 
 that had ever attracted such attention as the clipper ship 
 Fleetwing. She was indeed a sight to gladden the 
 seaman's eye, with the fine curves of her hull, and her 
 taunt and taper masts. 
 
 Thousands of eager eyes viewed her from the housetops 
 and the crowded wharves, impatient to see her sail. The 
 long snakish hull was painted black as a raven's wing, 
 slightly relieved by a red line along the planksheer and a 
 broader ribbon of white around the main rail. Though 
 some of her lines were radical, yet they were graceful and 
 symmetrical in every feature. Her extreme sharpness 
 impressed one with the daring of her builder, who had 
 aspired to a wide departure from all previous moulds of 
 conservative shipwrights. 
 
 With a length of not more than one hundred and fifty 
 feet over all, the Fleetwing was built to break her 
 water more than forty feet back from her stem. Yet 
 there was such a broad sheer to the bow, above water, 
 that she certainly would not bury in a seaway. Another 
 innovation commented upon was her great breadth of
 
 26 The Fleet icing. 
 
 beam, for the vessel was thirty-two feet amidships, with 
 quick-tapering quarters, ending in a charming round stern, 
 the especial delight of all. 
 
 Her figure-head was a gilded sea-bird just unfolding its 
 wings for flight. The beak and neck were stretched out 
 over the cutwater with an eager, alert look, which well 
 personified the name Fleetwing. 
 
 A dapper-looking gentleman with a white cravat pushed 
 his way through the crowd on the wharf, and ventured to 
 express his admiration of the vessel ; which induced an 
 old gray-headed, pud"ding-faced skipper to join in the 
 chorus of praise. 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir, there's many a fine thing to admire 'bout 
 thet ere new craft. She's modelled by Dan Talbert her 
 cap'n an old friend o' mine. An', mister, when I tell 
 yer thet her keel am three foot deeper aft than for'ard 
 with a round forefoot at thet ye may well wonder at 
 the novelty o' the ship.'' 
 
 " You do amaze me, captain. Isn't that an unheard-of 
 innovation ? " 
 
 i exactly. Cap'n Dan tells us he got the idee 
 from the Chinee sampans, thet have rocker keels, an' am 
 mighty weatherly ; an' they turn quick on their centre. 
 While the junks of the Chinee an' the Japs wear ships on 
 their heels, from havin' deep wide rudders. Talbert 
 thinks thet builders pay too much 'tendon to the bow 
 parts o' vessels, to the neglect uv a long clean run, an' a 
 deep keel aft." 
 
 "How is that, my friend ?" The white cravat seemed 
 bent on knowing all about the clipper, or perhaps he en 
 joyed the quaint lingo of the superannuated spouter.
 
 The Quicksands. 27 
 
 " Why, sir, it's not so much how a craft grapples her 
 water for'ard, as bein' able to let go the pesky stuff astarn, 
 an' not drag a mile o' dead water under her counters. You 
 see, matey, the Fleetwing's best beam is well for'ard ; an' 
 sich a clean run as hern wus never seen 'fore on a craft 
 o' her size. An' jist twig her set on the water ! She's 
 lean-bellied as a finback whale the race-horse of the 
 seas." 
 
 " Where does this fine vessel go for her voyage ? " 
 
 " To the mouth o' the Amoor river, jist the most dan 
 gerous whaling-ground ever travelled by a keel. But 
 Dan Talbert an' Jim Allen have got some rousin' voy'ges 
 down the Sagalien gulf, in spite o' the quicksands in the 
 river, an' the northers that blow there." 
 
 " What's the trouble about the quicksands ? " 
 
 " Trouble ! Why, mister, a ship in a quicksand sails 
 like a toad in a tar-bucket. If she takes to the ground 
 in a quicksand, she becomes an island in an hour's time. 
 The ship ' City,' o' New Bedford, was lost thet way under 
 me own eye. Then there's the northers ; but the deep 
 keel o' the Fleetwing will walk her to wind'ard like a 
 Mother Carey in a Cape squall." 
 
 "Why not deepen her keel the whole length of the 
 ship ? " 
 
 " Bless you, no. Such a craft would travel too big cir 
 cles in tackin', an' lose all her headway. An' she would 
 take a week o' Sundays to wear ship. Them gales in the 
 Amoor wouldn't stan' no sich nonsense. Shiver my tim 
 bers ! why, I lost more'n a pailful o' me old gray hair 
 beatin' out o' that devilish place in a storm." 
 
 " How was that ? "
 
 28 Tlic l : l editing. 
 
 " How WHS it ! Look you, young chap, the pesky hair 
 stood so stiff with fright that the thunderin' gale carried 
 away every spear by the board. The pigtails down in 
 China seed it comin' an' thought 'twas the Northen Lights 
 shiftin' ground for the Antar'tic." 
 
 " Dangerous place, by your account, captain." 
 " Dangerous, ha ! See here, stranger. The Amoor 
 runs straight out into the gulf ; the eastern edge is jist 
 five miles frum the shore. Beatin' out 'tween land and 
 river in a gale, there's quicksands on one side an' mur- 
 d'rous natives on t'other, who'll skin a feller for his hide 
 an' taller. When on the shore tack in a night gale, we 
 trust wholly to the hand-lead, an' go 'bout instanter when 
 we shoal to quarter less five. On the river tack we're 
 guided by the amount o' sand in the water. When near- 
 ing the quicksand we draw a bucket o' water every five 
 minutes, until 'tis three sands to one water. Then, sir, 
 why, hang my toplights ! an intelligent ship will go 'bout 
 on t'other tack herself, feared o' bein' made a sand island 
 uv 'fore mornin'." 
 
 " So you won't likely cruise there again ? " 
 " Nary a time, you bet. Never'll catch Cap'n Tom in 
 that dreadful place agin. I make a pint o' keepin' on 
 the pious tack, keepin' the best dead-reckonin' I knows 
 on to 'scape the two most tarnal places in creashun : the 
 hot place the parson parlez vous about, an' the infernal 
 Amoor river." 
 
 " That's the secret of your piety, is it, captain ? " 
 " Yis, it am. An', mister, I think more uv dodgin' the 
 last place than the fust one. Fur there's a durned sight 
 better chance uv a sinner's weatherin' Tophet with the
 
 TJie Gnn-Fire. 29 
 
 lee leech o' his mainsail burnin', than uv savin' his ship 
 beatin' through a quicksand 'gin an A moor snorter." 
 
 "A tough place, certainly. What's the meaning of that 
 gun-fire from the Fleetwing ? " 
 
 " Thet's a loud call fur the pilot." And the old skipper 
 reflectively watched the gun-smoke gyratingnn the air. 
 
 " Isn't that the pifot, sculling himself off to the ship ? " 
 
 " Sure 'nough. Old Ben Aiken has her in hand. Cap'n 
 Dan, wife, and little chick will soon have to cut adrift 
 their land-fasts an' go 'board." 
 
 " Does the captain take his wife and child ? " 
 
 " Yes, matey. An' many a heart-string must go by the 
 board when separatin' fur a three years' voy'ge. When 
 the tide ebbs, I think I'll take one more look 'board the 
 new ship. I'd like once more to feel the sea-motion 
 under sail uv sich a fleet creatur as she am." 
 
 " Well, many thanks, captain, for your story of the Fleet- 
 wing. I shall remember her with interest after what you 
 have told me. What may I call your name, sir ? " 
 
 " Tom Coffin Captain Tom who dates his title uv 
 nobility from his big voy'ge in the Briganza." 
 
 "Ah, Captain Coffin, glad to meet you. I remember 
 your great voyage well. Here's my card, sir. Should be 
 iglad to see you at the parsonage in " 
 
 " Oh, hokey ! A parson, eh ? Wouldn't ye like to go 
 'board the new ship with me, when the tide turns ? An' 
 mebbe you'll parbuckle a blessin' aboard. No harm in 
 sich a article ef it comes frum a honest heart." 
 
 " Yes, if it were not intruding too much." 
 
 " Nary a bit, parson ; onless duty prompts yer to look 
 glum when we splice the mainbrace at partin'."
 
 30 The Flcetu'ing. 
 
 " No fear of that, captain. If the wine is good, I shall 
 lend a hand in splicing myself." 
 
 " Spoken like a genuine buster. I know'd by the cut o' 
 yer jib you wusn't an infernal Pro'bitionist, one who'd 
 water a feller's grog till he couldn't sail on a taut bowlin'. 
 Come round agin when the ship tails down stream, an' I'll 
 take yer off." 
 
 " Thanks, captain. I'll be here in time." And the two 
 worthies parted for the present.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE FLEETWING AND HER CREW. 
 
 T^HE young mate of the Fleetwing was up with the sun, 
 * looking critically at everything about the vessel, pre 
 paratory to getting under way. Most of the seamen were 
 on board, and all the officers but the second mate. The 
 crew were set to work tidying up matters here and there 
 about the ship, while cook and steward were preparing 
 breakfast. 
 
 Raymond was observed peering zealously about the 
 ship with admiring glances, justly proud of being the chief 
 officer of such a jaunty craft. To him the beautiful thing 
 seemed to be almost a living, breathing creature, a craft 
 born to be queen of the seas. To him there was a wide 
 awake look about the ship's set upon the water that 
 touched his sailor-heart tenderly. The vessel's gentle 
 tip by the stern was very suggestive to a nautical eye. 
 The persuasive lift of her bow made the alert creature 
 seem impatient to be gone eager fora tussle of any 
 kind with the boisterous element she was built to subdue. 
 
 As Raymond stood on the hurricane-house, looking 
 about, the morning sun glistened on the burnished binna 
 cle-hood, and the brass capstan-head, from which the busy 
 ship boys had just wiped the night dew. The polished 
 
 3 1
 
 32 The Fleet wing. 
 
 manrope stanchions flashed back the hot beams over the 
 mirrored waters of the bay. The gilded vane at the 
 main-royal truck coquetted timidly with the golden beams, 
 toying daintily with the baffling airs in the upper world, 
 as a maiden's fingers play with her curls in the presence 
 of her lover. 
 
 The ship's flags were fetched from the transom locker, 
 and the new ensign was run up to the peak, where it 
 hung limp and abashed from the gaff in the windless air. 
 The beautiful flag was yet unused to its proud duty of 
 symbolizing the nation. The owner's color was set at 
 the main-royal truck, unwilling as yet to unfurl the ship's 
 name, worked by dainty fingers, in its folds. The Union 
 Jack, with its blue ground and white stars, drooped at the 
 fore, a sailing signal which refused to blow forth and 
 notify the world of the ship's departure. Yet its very 
 presence at the masthead brought off countless boats of 
 ever)- description from the neighboring towns. 
 
 The tide would not run fair until ten o'clock, some 
 hours hence, yet already there was a busy scene about 
 the bay, people eager to watch the sailing, and repeat 
 their oft-spoken farewells to friends on board. 
 
 The sails were not yet loosed. Every well stowed bunt 
 shone like a fresh snowdrift in the strong glare of the 
 newly risen sun. The running rigging lay snugly coiled 
 on the belaying-pins, hauled taut and made tidy by 
 thoughtful hands. The windlass-brakes were shipped in 
 their places, made ready to round in the cable with cheery 
 song and chorus. 
 
 A large threefold tackle was hanging from a pendant, 
 suspended from the foretopmast head, ready to ca^t and
 
 Tlie Homesick Crew. 33 
 
 fish the anchor the moment it was hove to the bow. 
 The starboard gangway-board was out, and the whip- 
 tackle slung over it from the main yard-arm was fre 
 quently kept busy hoisting in the chests, and other sea- 
 truck, belonging to the few laggard sailors as they came 
 on board. 
 
 In the brief intervals when no labor was required of 
 them, the sailors were seen scattered about the ship in 
 picturesque groups. A cluster of brand-new sailors were 
 mounted upon the topgallant forecastle, dressed in their 
 new slop-chest clothes of variegated colors, leaning lazily 
 over the bow, bandying wit with the passing boatmen, 
 making a manly effort to hide the sadness now brooding 
 over the hearts of all. 
 
 A few young green hands, yet too crude to have learned 
 a sailor's place on board, were lounging over the midship- 
 rail, casting wistful, homesick glances ashore, a heart 
 breaking sadness vividly depicted on their fresh young 
 faces. To these home-brewed boys the beautiful ship and 
 the strange romance of the sea could not wholly displace 
 the dear home scenes from which they were parted, per 
 haps forever. 
 
 None better than the real sailors know how to hide their 
 
 I 
 
 sadness and sorrow at such times. Yet their assumed 
 gayety and sparkling wit, and the subtle foil of rude jokes 
 flung at the passing boatmen, cannot always quench the 
 pathetic tear, or subdue the quivering lip, when some 
 loved hand signals a last farewell from the shore. 
 
 A gang of experienced seamen were running their 
 eyes thoughtfully over the ship, sharply criticising every 
 new crinkle they discovered, their hearts already filled
 
 34 The Fleetwing. 
 
 with love and pride for the maritime beauty to which they 
 were willingly wedded for years. 
 
 Another group of real old shellbacks stood apart from 
 their fellows, with arms akimbo, mounted on the larboard 
 cathead, or astride of the windlass-bitts and the samson 
 post, eagerly scanning every spar and rope with rapt at 
 tention. The keen eyes of these aged connoisseurs fol 
 lowed the lead of the great shrouds from the chain-plates 
 to the hounds ; traced the taut backstays up to the cross- 
 trees and the bolsters in the dizzy distance aloft, sol 
 emnly holding forth upon the strength and solidity of all 
 they saw. 
 
 The faces of these venerable sons of Neptune beamed 
 with senile delight at the neatness of everything they 
 looked upon ; though in proper keeping with the gnarled 
 character of each, they chuckled and growled over even- 
 new-fangled method they saw. Two of these bronzed old 
 sea-dogs were Captain Talbert's pet sailors, older and 
 more experienced than the skipper himself. 
 
 The chest of one of these patriarchs was haired like a 
 bison's, as disclosed by .his wide gaping shirt, while he 
 pointed out the new rig of the windlass-gear, which he 
 had admonished the captain to use. So by his advice 
 there were patent chain-stoppers which grappled every 
 link of cable that passed the hawse-pipe, by which noth 
 ing was lost when the chain slipped on the quick-rolling 
 windlass. 
 
 " Ay, Tom," said his companion, " an' twig ye the new 
 method o' holdin' the anchor-ring at the cathead, trippin' 
 the ring-stopper, when lettin' go the anchor, by a blow 
 with a hammer."
 
 Old Shellbacks. 35 
 
 The shore and all its pilfering " land-sharks," who for 
 months had played upon the credulity of these salt souls, 
 were already forgotten. They had put off the very thought 
 of the land with good relish, and were at home again upon 
 the deep. One of these brawny fellows clapped his great 
 horny palm on the knightheads where he sat, as he ex 
 claimed, in semi-pathetic tone : 
 
 " Ah, Tom Crawford, me old heart warms to'ard sich a 
 fresh new craft as this un. Her saucy set on the sea, an' 
 the pretty rake o' her spars, pumped a pint o' sweet tears 
 inter me old binnacle-lights as we uns pulled out frum the 
 wharf yester' noon. An' look ye, Tom, when I got 'board 
 her wid me sea-truck, I shinned out onter the bowsprit, 
 soon's me chist wuz below, an' I'd chalked B. Buntlin' on 
 a starboard bunk-board. I moored me by the bowsprit 
 cap, an' squinted at her sheer, an' looked along her lines, 
 till me rusty old heart grew big as a scuttle-butt, for the 
 love of the critter." And spoony old Ben wiped the salt 
 dew from his eyes. 
 
 " Yis, Ben, she am ar be'uty. But I'm too old to blub 
 ber much 'bout new-fangled notions. An' p'raps I's too 
 full o' bilge water jist now, arter our long tussle with the 
 cheap grog o' the lubberly beach combers yonder. But, 
 Buntlin', the chap whose axe hewed out a clean run like 
 hern, to take the gripe out o' her helm in ar sea-way am 
 ar gospil man. An' God bless 'im, say I." 
 
 " Ay, matey, the critter'll steer like ar yacht. Not ar 
 chistful o' dead water can play hide-an'-seek 'bout her 
 rudder." 
 
 "Why, look ye, Ben, on me last voy'ge in the Skipjack, 
 forty year ago, we carried a school o' minnows an' pilot- 

 
 36 The Flcctwing. 
 
 fish under our counter fur years. There wuz a acre o' 
 dead slops dragging arter the humpbacked old critter the 
 whole vqy'ge." 
 
 "True 'nough, Tom. I 'member gaming 'board thet 
 old hooker. But there comes the pilot. He's scullin' his 
 own boat ; whistlin' jigs like ar bugler, tryin' to tempt the 
 clerk o' the weather to make a breeze fur us uns." 
 
 "Ay, old Ben Aiken am ar rum un. He carries his 
 big red snout in the air like ar sword-fish worshippin' the 
 sun." 
 
 " He sniffs ar breeze, old Ben duz, calm ex it am." 
 
 " Well, the sun am less hot than he wuz. There's a 
 wee bit o' scud skulkin' yonder in the nor'west. Gather 
 down out o' this ere, boys. Our bully mate's commin' 
 for'ard to 'wake the dead,' ready to get under way." 
 
 " Forecastle there ! " hailed the mate. " Belay your 
 yarns to the nearest belaying-pin, and be up and about." 
 
 "Ay, ay, sir," answered Crawford. 
 
 "Tom, my lad, fling a warp to the pilot. Buntlin', 
 gather up the chain-hooks, and teach some of these young 
 sters how to use them." And the mate allotted some per 
 tinent duty to all the idlers. 
 
 It was not much after nine o'clock when the venerable 
 pilot came up the side. He clutched the manrope stan 
 chions a minute to get his wind after his climb up the 
 side, and then squatted like a toad on the monkey-rail, to 
 take his first view of the new ship. He had kept himself 
 ready to come off at the first indication of slack water, in 
 fear of trouble. 
 
 Even now, so evenly balanced were the meeting waters, 
 the downrlow of the river and the upflow of the tide,
 
 Ben Aikcn. 37 
 
 that the ship still tailed against the stream, though she 
 rode boldly up to her anchor by a slack cable. 
 
 It was just this condition of things which the knowing 
 old pilot came off to look after ; fretting and fuming lest 
 the new craft should override her anchor, and give him a 
 foul cable to deal with when getting under way, an ill- 
 omened event for any vessel to start out with. 
 
 A most comical grin crawled slowly out to the tip of his 
 rubicund nose from among the wrinkles of his tanned old 
 face, mounted to his eyes, and there elevated his shaggy 
 brows to a look of surprise, when he saw that the young 
 mate had completely anticipated the whole difficulty. 
 
 Raymond had shortened the buoy-rope during the early 
 morning, and brought the buoy plumb over the anchor, 
 that it should indicate just where the bower lay. And he 
 had taken the further precaution to run out a boat-anchor 
 .toward the Fairhaven shore, by which a couple of men 
 were even then slowly warping the ship clear of her moor 
 ings, fast as the tide slacked on the cable. 
 
 A gruff, hollow-bellied laugh was the cunning old pilot's 
 first method of showing his approbation of the young 
 officer's thoughtfulness ; sitting there humped up on the 
 rail, grinning a long-continued grin, like a showman's 
 automatic monkey. At length he found voice : 
 
 " Bless our soul ! Charlie Raymond, how are ye ? I 
 see Cap'n Dan has got the right man in the right place 
 this time. Bright boy, you un. You not on'y know'd 
 what ter do in this kinky river-anchorage of ourn, but, fur 
 ar wonder, you're right 'ere on the spot ter do the proper 
 thing. Many 'nether mate I knows on would be at 
 'Hard Dig' or 'Dog Corner,' dancing his last jig, an'
 
 38 The Fleetwing. 
 
 sippin' his last glass o' flip with Miss Nancy, 'stead o' 
 lookin' arter his ship." 
 
 " That's not my style, Captain Aiken. Captain Talbert 
 don't leave that sort of men in charge of his ship." 
 
 "Right, boy. One oughter know an officer by the 
 bringin' up he's had. Mates all aboard ? " 
 
 " All but the second mate." 
 
 " Ah ! Dave Braybrook will set ye a hard stint in whale- 
 killin', eh?" 
 
 " I've heard he's experienced, and shall get him to 
 teach me a thing or two. Shall we get a breeze, think 
 you, pilot ? " 
 
 " Yis, yis. A capful on't to start with, an' all you'll 
 want 'fore ye pass the Sow an' Pigs." 
 
 " What sign do you see of a strong wind in this flat 
 calm ? " 
 
 " Suthin' in the air, that rumples me feathers ar bit." 
 And the old pilot shrugged his shoulders and chuckled 
 to himself, casting a sly leer upon the mate with his lar 
 board eye as he continued : " The sun isn't so clear as he 
 wuz. An inwisible haze shaders his picter. Yonder in 
 the nor'west the blue sky is slowly changin' to gray. 
 Signs 'nough everywhere, an' thet's the place we'll git it 
 frum." 
 
 " You're a great deal wiser than I am, pilot." At 
 which frank compliment the old seaman looked pleased, 
 and kindly sought to modify the show of wisdom. 
 
 " A good deal older, you mean. Old 'nough to forget 
 'bout the frivilous things o' life, gals an' sich like, an' to 
 larn the 'portance o' wind an' weather. Two things what 
 carries me bread an' butter wid um. 'Twill come to you,
 
 Captain* s Coming. 39 
 
 young man, some day, when ye put by all the torn-foolery 
 uv life." 
 
 " Aren't you a married man, Captain Aiken ? " 
 
 " Married ! What, me moored head an' starn to a 
 female critter? Did ye iver know ar real weather-wise 
 married pilot ? " 
 
 " I hadn't thought about that. But there comes Captain 
 Talbert's boat, just shooting out from the wharf. The 
 ensign begins to feel the breeze at the peak." 
 
 The grizzled old sea-dog slid nimbly down from the 
 monkey-rail, tossed overboard the ashes from his short 
 black pipe, as he roused himself for the occasion. Turn 
 ing to the mate, the pilot ordered him to send men aloft 
 ready to take off the yard-arm gaskets from the sails, and 
 gave this further order : 
 
 " Let some light hands stay at the bunts o' the taup- 
 s'ils, ready to let fall the gaskets at the given word." 
 
 "All right, pilot." Tom Crawford was sent up at the 
 fore with some light hands with orders to stay in the fore- 
 top and teach the youngsters the proper thing to do. 
 Buntline, with another lot of boys, was sent up at the 
 main, to look after that duty in the same way. Mr. 
 Bailey, the venerable third mate, was given charge of the 
 mizzenmast, its sails and rigging. 
 
 It was ten o'clock when this light breeze came flurrying 
 down the river, at the first complete turn of the tide far 
 away upstream. 
 
 As Captain Talbert's boat pulled briskly out from the 
 wharf, the clear sweet chimes of the church bells in the 
 two riverside towns locked hands prayerfully over the bay, 
 in solemn benediction over the new bridal of ship and sea.
 
 4O The Flcctwing. 
 
 As the captain's boat came near the ship, bringing not 
 only his family and a lady passenger, but also some of the 
 owners, and the second mate, the pilot gave his orders to 
 man the windlass and hoist the topsail yards, preparatory 
 to making sail. 
 
 Raymond mounted the bow, took his place on the 
 knightheads, and pealed forth his orders over the ship 
 like the blast of a tempest. In an instant the deck and 
 rigging were alive with bustling men. The shrill calls of 
 the seaman were heard alow and aloft. The merry songs 
 at the windlass rivalled the cheery hoisting cries of the 
 men swaying up the topsail yards ready for making sail. 
 
 Getting under way is a noisy evolution on shipboard ; 
 and making sail, a very bedlam of confusion to a lands 
 man. While the real seamen grapple the right ropes, fast 
 as the orders can be given, the green hands are so stunned 
 with the noise, and bewildered by the rapid orders, that 
 their best efforts to be useful are a succession of blun 
 ders. The commands at such times must be given sev 
 eral tones higher than the songs of the seamen, the rattle 
 of chains, and the hoarse clank of the windlass-pawls. 
 
 But to a sailor's ear, the multitudinous din is like the 
 base peals of an organ, heard above a measured chorus of 
 voices. 
 
 To see our sailor-lover of the night before thus active 
 at his post was to behold a marvellous transformation of 
 the man. Raymond was every inch a sailor, and his soul 
 was in his work. Alert and alive with conflicting im 
 pulses, a dozen orders were on his tongue in a minute, 
 while his voice rang out over the deck like a tornado, as 
 he hastened the crew to their various labors.
 
 ^Taking Sail. 41 
 
 The observing eye of the young mate was every 
 where, now looking down over the bow at the incoming 
 cable, then flinging impetuous glances aloft where the 
 brand-new sailors were seen clumsily taking off the yard- 
 arm gaskets from topsails and topgallantsails, prompting 
 the windlass gang to keep up their merry "flip-flop" mo 
 tion, and urging the other men to range the chain evenly 
 along the deck ; now sending an able seaman to the helm, 
 and a leadsman into the chains, to be beforehand with the 
 pilot, as he saw that the cable was nearly hove short. 
 
 When the slack cable was fairly hove in, and the anchor 
 hung " apeak," Raymond promptly lifted his hand to the 
 men for the windlass-brakes to, "Vast heaving!" and 
 notified the pilot: 
 
 " We're hove short, pilot ! " To which was replied : 
 
 " All right. Send a good hand to the wheel, a leads 
 man in the chains, and make sail ! " 
 
 , " Ay, ay, sir ! Aloft there ! Let fall your bunts. Away 
 all hands to stations ! Stand by to make sail ! " 
 
 These rapid orders sent every hand to duty, the be 
 wildered green ones following in the wake of the seamen, 
 like the bobs to a kite, standing ready to bowse home 
 the topsail sheets, and hoist away on the halyards. Down 
 tumbled the broad canvas from the topsail yard, followed 
 by the piping, boyish cry : 
 
 " Sheef home ! Foretopsail Maintopsail Mizzen- 
 topsail." 
 
 Nimble as monkeys the lively bunt-boys flitted about 
 from block to block, overhauling clewlines, buntlines, and 
 reef-tackles, until the huge sails were fairly set. Mount 
 ing in quick succession from topsail to topgallant yards,
 
 42 TJic Flcctwing. 
 
 and on to the royals ; like magic the flopping clews ran 
 out to the yard-arms, and the yards swayed steadily up to 
 the cross-trees. A cloud of span-new canvas soon adorned 
 the beautiful craft, and she tugged away at her cable 
 chain as the rising breeze pressed her sails aback, as if 
 impatient to be gone. Very pretty \vas the shapely 
 shadow which the ship cast upon the mirrored .water, as 
 she daintily curveted to the one side and the other, to the 
 full scope of her chain ; like a newly rigged maiden be 
 fore her pier, bewitched by her own reflected charms. 
 
 When sail was made, Raymond's thoughts reverted to 
 the girl he loved. Snatching a moment's reprieve from 
 duty, he glanced at the far-away cupola on the hillside, 
 and saw Mary's white signal just flung to the breeze. 
 Bringing his spyglass to bear upon the spot, he saw 
 Mary's loved figure dimly outlined on the housetop. 
 
 With bounding heart he drew out his red handkerchief, 
 and fluttered it in answer. Only a brief moment could 
 he give to the loved girl, for the calls of duty came thick 
 and fast, too imperative to be neglected even for the dalli 
 ance of love. 
 
 Disturbed by the flood of morning sunshine streaming 
 through her chamber window, Mary woke rosy, and re 
 freshed by slumber, recuperated after her long love carni 
 val of the night, where only the sympathetic moon and 
 spying star-beams had witnessed her betrothal with her 
 sailor-lover. 
 
 An oft-recurring flush suffused her face at the thought 
 of what had transpired. With hasty hand she robed her 
 self, and ran with girlish avidity to the housetop, where, 
 from the observatory, she beheld the Fleetwing still lying
 
 The Love-lorn Girl. 43 
 
 at anchor. She was gifted with sailor instinct sufficient to 
 determine that there was too little wind for sailing, con 
 firmed in her conclusion by seeing the ship still trending 
 up the river, held in the strong clutches of the flood-tide. 
 
 Going below to breakfast, Mary took occasion to whis 
 per one little sentence in her mother's ear, unfolding all 
 her precious tale of love. The unfeeling smirk which 
 dawned on the maternal face implied that the parent- 
 heart was not of the sentimental order. 
 
 Again Mary returned alone to the cupola in time to see 
 a puff of white smoke whirling upward in the morning air. 
 It was the ship's signal-gun calling the pilot to his duty on 
 the vessel. 
 
 Seating herself in the window, her heart beating wildly, 
 Mary patiently waited where she could overlook the bay, 
 and observe every movement on the ship which held her 
 lover. The thought of their separation became too cruel, 
 too dreadful to contemplate. Heart-sick with dwelling 
 upon the parting, and her mother's lack of sympathy, the 
 young girl fell upon her knees and sought communion 
 with her Heavenly Father, praying that her new-found 
 idol might be watched over in his perils, and restored 
 once more to her loving, longing arms. 
 
 Half frantic with feelings of desolation and despair, she 
 reached out her arms toward the ship, mentally deter 
 mined to snatch back her lover from this cruel wrong, 
 piteously exclaiming : 
 
 "Comeback! Come back to me, my darling! you 
 who have taught me the precious enchantment of love, 
 imparting to me a sweet, fresh legacy of life, only to 
 snatch it from my grasp as soon as found."
 
 44 7/^ Fleetwing. 
 
 Ah, what sources of crucifixion are these heart-breaking 
 scenes to the loving. It is well a young maiden's heart is 
 so elastic beneath such crucial tortures as these, else it 
 would oftener be riven by the terrible retrocession of the 
 life-current in such hours. 
 
 If the rapture of the strong brave youth was so bewil 
 dering that, in spite of his resolute character, he found it 
 hard not to return to his loved one, how must it have been 
 with this timorous, sensuous girl, who for the first time in 
 life had pressed the lips of man with love, until now a 
 stranger to the newly awakened emotions of womanhood ? 
 Mary had only been permitted to taste from the blissful 
 cup before it was dashed from her lips forever. 
 
 Watching with her heart in her eyes, Mary saw the cap 
 tain and his family board the ship, saw the crew heave 
 the anchor short, let fall their sails, till a vast confusion 
 of canvas hung from the yards. When one by one all the 
 sails were set upon the ship, then, with trembling hands, 
 she flung forth her white scarf to the breeze, till it flut 
 tered down the bay, pointing over the far seaward track, 
 which would soon bear her loved sailor from sight, leaving 
 her nothing but the dear memory of his radiant, royal love. 
 
 Sadly she watched her telltale pennant flow in the wind, 
 bearing her last lo\je message to the ship. Spying with 
 her glass, she beheld a quick response come from a dear 
 hand on the Fleetwing's bow. One moment Raymond's 
 red kerchief was held to the wind, and 'twas gone. The 
 task of duty called her sailor-boy from his love. 
 
 With streaming eyes and heaving breast, Mary watched 
 the anchor tripped, and saw the ship swing to her course 
 with all her white sails given to the breeze. Gay with
 
 Loves Last Signals. 4$ 
 
 flaunting colors waving from her tapering masts, and the 
 national flag at the gaff, the ship quickly gathered way ; 
 then, joyous as a bird let loose, went winding down the 
 bay. 
 
 With sobs, and tears, and piteous, pleading prayers, 
 Mary marked the lessening sails until one by one they 
 sank over the blue horizon's rim, then with heart-broken 
 cries she resigned her noble lover to his long ocean 
 home.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 WEIGHING ANCHOR AND LEAVING PORT. 
 
 \\ 7HEN the tide turned, and the time approached for 
 sailing, the parson again made his appearance on 
 the wharf where Captain Coffin's boat was moored. The 
 old whaleman sat perched on the crown of an anchor, 
 spinning yarns to a group of seafaring cronies. He soon 
 discovered the reverend gentleman, and reluctantly cut 
 off his story, securing the ends with a bowline-in-the- 
 bight, convenient for splicing at some future time. Shift 
 ing his enormous quid to port, the captain got his rheu 
 matic legs under-way and hobbled to the minister's side. 
 
 " Ship ahoy ! So here ye am agin, parson ; prompt as 
 old Sol at the noon meridian. Right too, you are. Fur 
 a gospil feller who 'spects to turn the key fur St. Peter in 
 his watch below, should never be behind the lighter. Fur 
 sometime, a sinful feller like me mought slip into King 
 dom Come without yer vise on his passport." 
 
 " Perhaps so. But I saw the flood-tide had ceased, and 
 I wished to be on hand." 
 
 " Sartin you did. So you've got yer eye peeled fur 
 wind an' water, ez well ez the heavenly way. Boat ahoy ! 
 Bring her in 'ere, Billy," yelled the captain to his son, 
 who was in a small sloop-rigged boat within hail from 
 
 46
 
 The Windlass Song. 47 
 
 the wharf. The young sailor had previously hoisted the 
 the mainsail, and had just run up the jib, and was belaying 
 the halyards. Casting off the fast from the buoy, the lad 
 sprang aft to the tiller and put it aport. Easing off his 
 sheet, the boy brought the boat to the wharf, touching the 
 wharf-logs too gently to have broken an egg. 
 
 " Bully fur you, me son. You're a chip o' the old 
 block, an' ye was born in a Cape Horn snorter. I calker- 
 late touch an' go ez a good sailor. Now jump 'board, 
 parson. I'll set ye the example, old coon." 
 
 Suiting the action to the word, the wiry old skipper 
 leaped amidships, lightly as a dancing-master ; an example 
 his companion, though a much younger man, could not 
 follow. 
 
 " Bear away fur the Fleetwing, Billy. Forelay for the 
 ebb, which quickens with the flow uv the river." 
 
 "All right, daddy. The ship's hove short, father, an' 
 'they're loosing her sails." 
 
 " Ah, yis. Down drop 'er taups'ils. Every bunt gasket 
 let go at once. Charlie Raymond has got his new team 
 into workin' order. A man o' war couldn't dun better. 
 You see, parson, the mate o' that craft is one o' Cap'n 
 Dan's own bringin' up. All steel an' whalebone hisself, 
 he means to train every he critter aboard to navigate like 
 clock-work." 
 
 " They seem quite cheerful about their work." 
 
 " Trew as Moses ! Some ships sail to the tune of Old 
 Hundred, yer know. Jist yer listen 'board o' there, parson, 
 an' obsarve the difference." 
 
 Suiting the action to the word, the captain put his hand 
 to his ear and hearkened to the cheery song of
 
 48 The Fleet-using. 
 
 High randy dandy, O-o-o-h ! 
 
 A dandy mate and a bully crew, 
 High randy dandy, Oh, 
 
 Our jolly captain and wife are 'n view, 
 High randy dandy ; 
 
 And look me hearties a baby too, 
 High randy dandy, O-o-o-h ! 
 
 " I hear them, captain. They seem to improvise the 
 song as they go along." 
 
 " Yis, yis. Thet's the sort o' bull-beef to sail ar ship 
 with. The mate made choice uv every scalawag in the 
 forc'sle. They're made uv the stuff what never says 
 die." 
 
 " How neatly the sails are set." 
 
 " Sartinly ! Ef you've an eye fur the be'utiful, look at 
 them three taups'ils, set taut ez fiddlestrings lower 
 yards sprung up at the yard-arms ; taups'il yards bent 
 like a bow at the tie. There go the to'gans'ils, sheets an f 
 halyards all running home at once. Up go the r'yals, 
 taut ez ar ribbon. Pretty kites to tip off with. Jist as a 
 woman tips off her headgear with a last bow, to show 'er 
 breedin'." 
 
 " She is truly a very beautiful vessel." 
 
 "Twig the step o' her masts. For'mast set plumb ez a 
 fallin' arrow. So. straight ez the nigger says that it 
 leans a trifle t'other way. Round to a bit, Billy, an' let 
 parson make a sarmon out uv this fur the heathen fellers 
 in his parish. Helm aport, an' weather-haul yer jib 
 sheet, an' let 'er drift. What a pictur she am ! A neat 
 piece of architectur ! " 
 
 "Why is the foremast stepped erect, while the other 
 masts are so raking ? "
 
 Cap' u Toms Talk. 49 
 
 ' 'Cause the yards at fore an' main are so square so 
 long that they need to be thrown apart. Otherwise the 
 sails at the main would overlap the for'ard sails an' cause a 
 back draft, keepin' the weather leech o' the main-taups'il 
 flutterin' when on a wind." 
 
 "Ah, I see"- 
 
 " Hold yer wind, parson, I've got the pulpit jist no\v, 
 an' I wanter give yer nuther reason. If the for'mast wus 
 not set plumb in a sharp ship, with a deep keel aft, she 
 couldn't show for'ard sail 'nough to prevent a weather helm. 
 An' a weather helm makes dead water, an' that would 
 slow up her speed." 
 
 " I understand it quite well, for I am familiar with 
 ships." 
 
 " Sartin' you duz, parson. Fur a minister knows a 
 smatterin' uv everything under the sun. Why, a feller uv 
 your kidney can tell the best way to kedge inter heaven 
 when everytln'ng's gone by the board an' there's a 'spic- 
 ious smell o' brimstone under yer lee." 
 
 " Perhaps so, captain. But isn't that Captain Talbert 
 going up the side ? " 
 
 " Yes, it am, an' we'll board her too. Bear away, Billy. 
 Skute 'longside han'sumly." 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir ! They're goin' to man the windlass 'gin, 
 father." 
 
 " Vis, they'll break out their last foothold from the 
 bottom mud. Steady, lad. Take her to the gangway 
 gingerly. Here we is. Climb 'board, parson, an' no bap- 
 tisin' tricks, mind yer, if yer am ar Hardshell." 
 
 The two cronies climbed the manropes and found their 
 way on board, Going aft, they received, a, warm welcome
 
 50 The Flee living. 
 
 from Captain Talbert, who had gathered his family and 
 visitors by the taffrail ; the whole sweep of the round stern 
 being sumptuously provided with a cushioned seat. Here 
 they could witness the doings about the ship, the pilot 
 having charge of the vessel while on board. Word was 
 now passed forward to : 
 
 " Trip your anchor, an' stand by the jib halyards." 
 
 A wild shout of song burst forth from the windlass 
 gang when this order was given. The iron pawls clanged 
 noisily as the windlass-brakes went flip-flop in the hands 
 of twenty men. 
 
 When fairly hove short hanging just "stay a-peak " 
 the anchor clung like a last hand-grip to the bottom of 
 the dear home land. But at length, after a tug of desper 
 ation, the great iron fluke let go its hold of the sticky blue 
 clay, and the anchor came dangling up to the bow, ready 
 for the cathook. The tenacious river-mud was washed 
 from the crown and the stock of the great bower, and it 
 was then roused up to the cathead and secured. 
 
 The jibs were run glibly up, to cast the ship to port, 
 and the head yards backed by the starboard braces. 
 Making a graceful stern-board towards the Fairhaven 
 shore, the ship hung irresolute a moment in the strong 
 grip of the wind and tide her sails fluttering their 
 tautened leeches in the wind's eye then the ship payed 
 off, filled her sails and shot ahead, swinging gradually 
 to her course down the bay. 
 
 A tinkling ripple of foam at her bow, a blended murmur 
 of gladness from ropes and spars and sails, showed what 
 delight an inanimate thing may express when let loose, 
 like a bird, to the breeze,
 
 The Wizened Pilot. 51 
 
 A shout went over the bay from lumpers, riggers, and 
 sailors along the wharves, joined by the town folks, 
 making an uproar akin to the bellowing of a tempest. 
 Housetops and steeples and flagstaff's were made glad 
 with bunting and flaming colors, a pleasant greeting to 
 the beautiful ship as she sped away. 
 
 The weather-beaten old pilot swaggered about the 
 quarter-deck, grinning from ear to ear, until the tan-colored 
 face of the wrinkled little man resembled anything but a 
 human visage. He rubbed his rough-skinned hands with 
 glee as he perked his diminutive head aloft, or peered over 
 the side and watched the quickening paces of the ship. 
 
 Standing with his spindling bow-legs apart like a saw- 
 horse, the shrivelled little man swayed to the pitch and 
 roll of the ship as she met the bay-swell heaving in, 
 poising himself in graceful accord with every motion of 
 the beautiful craft. Cocking his small gray eyes aloft 
 from sail to sail, he chuckled with delight as he saw the 
 tapering masts bend and buckle to the fast freshening 
 breeze. 
 
 Captain Aiken had been a shipmaster a score of years 
 before he became a pilot, and knew the speed and paces 
 of every kind of seagoing craft ; therefore his judgment 
 was of the best. This self-assured old skeleton clucked 
 and cooed to himself like a mother-hen calling her chicks 
 for a worm ; but as yet he would not exchange a word 
 with any one about the amazing qualities of the ship. 
 Yet all were curious to learn the pilot's opinion, deeming 
 him the best connoisseur of the port. 
 
 The wind was well aft when the Fleetwing ran down 
 past Palmer's Island. The great ensign fluttered its stars
 
 52 The Fleetwing. 
 
 and stripes over the man at the wheel venerable old 
 Tom Crawford who reverently stood bare-headed at his 
 work, indulging in some sailor superstition about : " the 
 first man ; \h& first time ; on the first voyage of a ship." 
 The beautiful new flag had quickly learned its maritime 
 duties with the coming breeze, and now waved a national 
 benediction over the new enterprise and all who had 
 embarked therein. 
 
 The anchor had been catted and brought to the bo\v. 
 The ring-stopper was secured to the cathead, and the 
 chain shank-painter grappled the iron crown fast to the 
 forerail. The iron toe of the great anchor was caught in 
 a well greased shoe, ready for dropping again should any 
 need occur. 
 
 The river-mud was cleanly washed from the cable, and 
 the huge chain was neatly ranged along the deck beaft the 
 foremast. The rigging was everywhere coiled clear for 
 running, and the whole deck made snug, fore and aft, for 
 ship work. 
 
 A leadsman was stationed in the main chains, who was 
 just then sonorously calling: "Quarter less five!" as he 
 drew up his lead to the song of his craft. Looping his 
 leadline carefully, he prepared for another cast, ready to 
 again give the pilot the depth and nature of the bottom in 
 the twinkling of an eye ; for old Ben Buntline had 
 been a leadsman forty years and a day. 
 
 Everywhere about the decks men were placed at the 
 braces, ready to cant the yards as the ship rounded 
 Palmer's Island Light, and shaped her course past Black 
 Rock, over toward the squatty Dumpling Light, and hr.lf 
 way down the bay.
 
 Racing ivith the Yachts. 53 
 
 The wind freshened and hauled to the westward as the 
 ship passed the fort at Clark's Point, and the spoondrift 
 began to fly from her bows. A luminous " Milky Way " 
 flushed the green waters far astern, where the fleet thing 
 had cleaved her maiden track across the harbor. 
 
 Looking between Palmer's Island and the Bedford 
 shore, a fleet of forty yachts was seen coming, like a 
 flock of white-winged birds, down the bay. All were 
 eager to test their speed with the racehorse paces of the 
 ship. Captain Talbert's name was upon every lip, for, 
 besides being one of the most successful whalemen, he had 
 modelled the swiftest sailer from the port, if not in the 
 country. The yachtsmen were delighted with her proud 
 and prancing motion as the wind increased and she met 
 the long undulation heaving in from the sea. Their 
 attempt to keep pace with the ship was a source of long 
 remembered fun. They were as evenly matched as the 
 tortoise and the hare. 
 
 The bay-shore was flitting past, changeable as a pano 
 rama. Rocks, farm-houses, and fruit-laden orchards swept 
 astern, as if bent upon a jubilee on this gala day. The 
 sombre autumn foliage was just beginning to glow with 
 tints of color wherever clusters of maples or birches grew 
 amidst the fading autumnal green. The coastwise deni 
 zens were gathered in groups on cliffs and capes, watch 
 ing the famous clipper sweep past like a lordly swan 
 hastening to its ocean home. 
 
 The gulls screamed defiantly as they raced along with 
 the ship, in noisy emulation of her speed. Even the sun 
 shine and the shadows chased her playfully over the 
 water, and the fleecy little clouds above her joined in the
 
 54 The Fleetwing. 
 
 race. A school of brown-backed porpoises came feeding 
 leisurely up the bay ; meeting the ship, they wheeled in 
 wild gambol, and raced back by her side until the ship 
 hove to at the Lightship to discharge the pilot. 
 
 As the wind breezed up, the face of the pilot began to 
 assume a stern and anxious look, until his mahogany- 
 colored visage glowed like a lobster. He was watching 
 the royals with the utmost care. The eye of the world 
 was upon him, and his doing, or he would have furled the 
 dainty things at once. The ship proved stiff and staunch, 
 yielding so little to the strong wind that she would the 
 more easily snap off her slender "whip-sticks" aloft; an 
 event too humiliating to think of, a dreadful alternative 
 for an old water-dog to contemplate, one who grows timid 
 and fussy as he ages. 
 
 The experience of the pilot taught him many cunning 
 tricks of caution. The best seaman in the ship was kept 
 at the wheel, and a glance from the pilot was sufficient 
 cue for Tom Crawford to ease her a spoke or two in the 
 sudden puffs from the land. A cool hand was also put to 
 the royal halyards, ready to let run if the wind came in 
 squalls. 
 
 It is indeed dainty work testing the sailing qualities of 
 a new ship. She is as freaky and deceptive as a coquette. 
 One must beware of too great familiarity with either a 
 ship or a woman on first acquaintance. Handle them 
 both gingerly, with cool eye and a steady hand. Give a 
 ship plenty of time to show her mettle, and, like a dainty 
 woman, she will not fail to repay you for your cunning 
 and your caution. 
 
 The Fleetwing quivered in every fibre during the strong
 
 S/ie am a Bcnty. 55 
 
 puffs, trembling from truck to keel with inward de 
 light as she clove the pea-green waters. When she 
 approached Dumpling Light, the ship was spinning past 
 the headlands ten knots an hour, with but little show 
 of suds where she broke her water forward, or left it 
 astern. 
 
 The pilot had cleverly got her gauge, and was now 
 becoming too jubilant to longer keep his joy to himself. 
 While still conning the ship with care, he sauntered aft 
 toward the gentlemen at the stern, when Captain Talbert 
 hailed him : 
 
 " Well, pilot, what do you think of my new ship ? " 
 
 "Ah, Cap'n Dan, she am* a be'tity! Never trod the 
 deck of her equal before. I know'd she'd be a whole 
 team in heavy weather ; but I'm s'prised to see her race 
 so in a skys'il breeze." 
 
 " That's 'bout as I expressed it, Captain Ben. I mod 
 elled her for rough sledding ; but her buoyancy and speed 
 under these light kites shows we've given her finer lines 
 than we thought." 
 
 " Yis, yis, that's the how be it. Twig the saucy jade 
 quicken her footsteps at every word o' praise like ez a 
 jocky pats the neck o' his racer, to make 'im buckle to 
 the course." 
 
 " Here we come to the Dumpling Light ! Sheer in 
 close 'longside, Captain Aiken ; wife wants to shake 
 hands with her cousin, the lightkeeper." 
 
 " Not quite so neighborly ez thet with this ere dainty 
 craft. I'll skin near 'nough fur Mrs. Talbert to toss a 
 bit o' hardtack to the leddy keeper, who's waddlin' down 
 the rock to greet us."
 
 56 The Plcetwing. 
 
 " Steward, lend us a tray of pilot-bread to feed the 
 starving people on Dumpling ! " 
 
 The cabin boy came just in time for the lady to seize a 
 biscuit, and toss it into the apron of the keeper's wife, as 
 the women gaily exchanged salutations. 
 
 As the wind began to cant to the south of west, the 
 ship was headed over toward Hen and Chickens, to 
 secure sufficient weather-gauge to clear the Cuttyhunk 
 lightship. The yards were braced sharp up, and the 
 ship was put on a taut bowline ; the jib-sheets were 
 flattened aft, and the spanker set, and, to the surprise 
 of all, the ship was found to carry very little weather- 
 helm. 
 
 When they drew out from under the land, heading 
 over toward the Sow and Pigs, the wind freshened more 
 than ever. This induced the ship to show her mettle, 
 and require a taut rein and a steady hand. It needed a 
 few more weather-spokes of the wheel to prevent her 
 luffing in the squalls ; and she seemed just a little in 
 clined to take the bit in her teeth as when a restive 
 courser is held too rudely in check. 
 
 The log-reel and sand-glass were now got ready to 
 ascertain her rate of sailing. The " chip " was thrown, 
 and the line run out twelve knots. It was not thought 
 possible; it was deemed a mistake in casting the log. 
 All was made ready again, and with every precaution the 
 pilot and second mate made a careful cast, and found, to 
 the amazement of all, that the actual speed was thirteen 
 and a half knots, owing to a trifling increase of the wind. 
 The pilot's enthusiasm knew no bounds. 
 
 " By George 1 Captain Talbert, I wanter ship 'board
 
 Off Sow and Pigs. 57 
 
 this craft in any capacity, from swab-boy to cook's mate ; 
 an' I knows Cap'n Coffin will do likewise eh? " 
 
 "Yis, indeed, Uncle Ben. I'll volunteer to tend tack 
 or sheet fur me daily bread. An' here's the parson. He 
 shall live in the maintop, an' take toll at the cat-harpens, 
 ruther than not go." 
 
 It was not so much the speed of thirteen knots which 
 amazed these ancient mariners as the unassuming way in 
 which she did her work. The ship had careened about 
 ten degrees, and there remained fixed, showing her bear 
 ings to be low down, and that she was stiff as a tower. 
 A graceful burwave was spurting out from her cutwater, as 
 from the prow of a swift steamer ; while her wake was a 
 laughing glitter of sunbeams for more than a mile astern. 
 
 The ship was now abreast of the Sow and Pigs 
 lightship. Vineyard Sound lay to the east, broad open 
 to view. The pilot hailed the mate, and made ready to 
 depart. 
 
 " Mr. Raymond, drop the r'yals on the caps ! Brail up 
 the coursers, an' lay headyards aback ! Take in fly-jib, 
 an' flow the jib-sheets." Turning to Captain Talbert, he 
 said : 
 
 "Way's all clear now, cap'n, and I must leave yer. 
 You've got a perfect vessel under yer, an' I'll so report to 
 the builders ! " And tears stood in the old man's eyes ; 
 for it was a case of love at first sight. 
 
 O 
 
 " So do, Captain Aiken. Hilman will be glad to get 
 your report. Now, pilot, and you, gentlemen, step into 
 the cabin, and indulge in a parting glass of champagne." 
 
 When all were gathered about the cabin table, Cap 
 tain Talbert requested Parson B to ask a blessing
 
 5 8 The Plcetwing. 
 
 upon his splendid new enterprise. The parson gladly 
 acquiesced : 
 
 " Certainly, sir. Are we ready ? " 
 
 " Wait a moment. Boy, ask the mate to step into the 
 cabin. Most of you are aware that it's not etiquette to 
 call in the other officers. It is all a farce calling the 
 mate, who never drinks anything but baby drinks. Here 
 he comes, gentlemen. This is my first officer, Mr. Ray 
 mond. We're going to take a parting glass ; can you 
 think of something to have with us ? " 
 
 "I'll see, sir. Steward!" 
 
 " Sir?" 
 
 " Have you lemonade ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir ; just made some for the ladies." 
 
 " Pour me a glass." 
 
 " And me another," said the parson, stepping briskly 
 forward, and ranging himself on the side of temperance. 
 " I'll keep you company, my young friend." 
 
 All things being ready, Parson B offered up a 
 
 heartfelt prayer for the ship and all on board. Then 
 came the sparkling beverage the sailors' benediction 
 after prayer for all but the minister and the mate; for 
 the noble example of the latter had deterred the reverend 
 brother from the tempting glass he had so willingly an 
 ticipated. 
 
 One by one, in turn, all grasped the hand of the cap 
 tain and his young mate, and with cheery words tossed 
 off their wine. Bidding adieu to Mrs. Talbert and the 
 lady passenger, who had remained on deck, the shore- 
 party sprang on board the pilot-boat, which was ranged 
 alongside to windward to receive them.
 
 At Sea. 59 
 
 When the visitors had embarked, the headyards were 
 braced forward, and the courses hauled aboard. The 
 jib-sheets were flattened aft, the flying-jib and the three 
 royals hoisted, and the voyage of the Fleetwing was fairly 
 begun. 
 
 The ship was kept off a little, all the course would 
 allow, and run clear of Gay Head. The pilot-boat made 
 all sail, endeavoring to keep along with the ship, a few 
 minutes, to observe her appearance from an outside view. 
 But the ship was kept " rap-full," the bowlines slacked 
 up, and the upper yards checked in ; she sprang to her 
 task like an antelope, and soon dropped the pilot-boat 
 astern. With shouts and cheers, and a last farewell of 
 waving hats and hands, the defeated boat tacked around, 
 and headed off up the bay.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE YOUNG MATE AND THE OLD MARTINET. 
 
 T^ROM the quarter-deck of the Fleetwing her people 
 eagerly watched the receding pilot-boat scudding 
 away up the bay, until a visible touch of sadness crept 
 into every heart. This severed the last link which con 
 nected them with the home land ; and, as their loneliness 
 dawned upon them, one by one the little group looked 
 mournfully into each other's faces for the needed sym 
 pathy. 
 
 As with a sigh the mate turned to leave the party and 
 attend to his ship duties, Captain Talbert bade him wait 
 until he called the second mate for an introduction. 
 
 Neither of these brave spirits had seen the other until 
 they met on board. When they were presented, and 
 while shaking hands, the two officers quickly took the 
 calibre of each other. They felt like two powerful athletes 
 who were about to meet in the arena and test their skill 
 their whale-killing power. The words of both officers 
 were frank and fair-spoken, yet there was an interchange 
 of sharp, scrutinizing glances passed between them that 
 clicked like the meeting of two keen rapiers a mental 
 clash of arms in which there was no love fostered on 
 either side. 
 
 60
 
 Dave Braybrook. 61 
 
 Braybrook was a large, square-shouldered man, with 
 keen gray eyes, small and restless, looking savagely out 
 from under shaggy, overhanging brows. The' Jewish 
 hookedness of his massive nose made it the most charac 
 teristic feature of his face. Thin-cut lips, that implied 
 great firmness, yet having a cynical curl that indicated a 
 savage, brutal courage. 
 
 The leathery, tan-colored face of the veteran officer 
 vouched for his being an old stager on the sea, while his 
 sinister expression implied that the milk of human kind 
 ness had not been squandered in the make-up of the 
 man. There was the bellow of an angry bull in his voice 
 when giving orders, which was terrible to the ear of a 
 timid seaman. A fierce, ferocious, defiant tone,* which 
 had the snarl of a mastiff in it, and jarred even upon the 
 ear of his superiors. This was, perhaps, the most ag 
 gressive quality of the man, for while it served to overawe 
 the timid ones it aroused a kindred antagonism in the 
 courageous and self-respecting part of the crew, which 
 could not fail of breeding dissension. 
 
 Massive and strongly built as Braybrook was, the 
 greater preponderance of brute strength and animal cour 
 age in the second mate was hardly a match for the more 
 sinewy, cool, quick, fearless mate. God grant there may 
 be no personal antagonism between two such men. 
 
 During all the evolutions of the morning, while getting 
 .mcler- weigh and making sail, Braybrook had kept too ex 
 clusively at his station on the main hatch ; though he 
 was watchful and prompt to pass the orders of both the 
 pilot and the mate, yet he purposely held himself aloof 
 from his young superior.
 
 62 The Flsetwing. 
 
 But for Raymond's frank and manly nature which 
 would win its way anywhere one might doubt of his 
 power to acquire the full ascendancy over this one brutal 
 man. 
 
 As Braybrook had been chief mate on his previous voy 
 age, and was a successful whaleman, he could not now 
 help feeling scornful and dissatisfied with his present 
 position when he found himself subordinate to so young 
 and inexperienced a mate. Captain Talbert had not 
 failed to detect the mutinous drift of Braybrook's feelings, 
 and the mate had already learned to hate the vicious, 
 snarly twang in the voice of his subordinate. 
 
 Raymond knew that the second mate had acquired 
 large experience in many previous voyages, and that he 
 was a good disciplinarian and prime whaleman. But he 
 was disgusted to find that he was a coarse, brutal marti 
 net; a quality of discipline which the young officer could 
 not endure. The mate did not know that the arrogant 
 Braybrook had been given extra wages a mate's lay 
 and that he was expected by the owners to do most of the 
 whale-killing. And it was well that he did not possess 
 this knowledge at their meeting, else professional jealousy 
 would have sharpened his glances into something all too 
 scornful for endurance. 
 
 While Braybrook knew that the mate had always sailed 
 in the same employ, was young, and a pet of the captain's, 
 with but half his own experience, yet, until he now saw 
 him in his official capacity a large, self-poised, imperi 
 ous youth he had never entertained a doubt of his own 
 mental mastery, as well as whaling superiority. Thus 
 was he piqued and angered when confronted eye to eye
 
 The Mental Conflict. 63 
 
 with his young superior, having to reluctantly confess that 
 he had certainly met his master in this boy whaleman. 
 
 The mental conflict between the two was brief and de 
 cisive. It always must be so in the meeting of two brave, 
 ingenuous souls. By some swift mental process of com 
 parison too ethereal for analysis when two such spir 
 its meet they must find their level on the instant. No 
 matter what the previously prepared ambush may be as 
 in Hraybrook's case the conflict is always short, sharp, 
 and decisive. 
 
 After a brief talk with his officers, the captain left the 
 ship in charge of the mate, and retired into the cabin to 
 prepare to test his chronometers with the land, from which 
 they must soon take their "departure." 
 
 Raymond at once assumed control of the deck, pleas 
 antly ordering Mr. Braybrook to go forward and get the 
 anchors on the bow, and secure them thoroughly for sea 
 service. The chains were also unbent and ranged down 
 in the chain-pens. Scrub-brooms were then called into 
 play, and an hour was spent in cleansing the deck of 
 every vestige of river-mud, their last memento of port. 
 
 While this was going on, Raymond sat at his ease, re 
 clining in the quarter-boat, watching the paces of the ship. 
 He amused himself by timing the ship's speed by a bird, 
 a bit of seaweed, a dead crab or other object floating on 
 the water. 
 
 When abreast of Vineyard Sound, a broken spar was 
 discovered far out ahead, with a bunch of kelp adhering to 
 it, and on it a couple of gray gulls holding noisy gossip. 
 This dismal looking mile-mark of the sea was a broken 
 topmast that had drifted out from a dismantled wreck on
 
 64 The Flectiving. 
 
 Devil's Bridge, at the mouth of the Sound, and it gave 
 the mate a fine sea-mark by which to estimate the ship's 
 rate of sailing. 
 
 Cuttyhunk and the lightship off the Sow and Pigs 
 had vanished in the distance astern. The striped clay 
 cliffs of Gay Head were becoming dim and indistinct over 
 the quarter. The ship's " departure " was now finally 
 taken from No Man's Land, a small habitable island 
 south of Vineyard. 
 
 The ship's course lay to the southeast, and every sail was 
 drawing with a fresh beam-wind. The dull gray sky was 
 in sad keeping with the sea and the great ocean solitude 
 which now spread out before them. The sickly green 
 waters of the coast-soundings were heaving about them, 
 an ugly, heart-saddening color for the homesick hearts to 
 dwell upon. 
 
 Since the ship took " departure " from No Man's Land, 
 the green hills of the Vineyard had been transformed into 
 an ash-gray color. An hour after, the great island was 
 just discerned on the quarter, showing a purple lump, 
 diminishing along the verge of the horizon until lost in a 
 dull slate color. Past the last point of Vineyard, neither 
 Nantucket nor the coast beyond could be seen. 
 
 When the land had vanished, the sun was westing fast. 
 The wind was blowing fresh from the southwest in the 
 face of a strong spring-tide which caused a sloppy, wob 
 bling sea. The sickly green waves began to curl into 
 noisy crests, making foam of a ghastly hue, unpleasant to 
 look upon. 
 
 In the eye of the wind hung a low bank of nimbus 
 clouds slowly heaving up over the horizon, looking black
 
 The Doomed Schooner. 65 
 
 as the day of doom, and ominous with a threat of rain. 
 But that appearance was the phenomenal effect of the 
 meeting wind and tide. 
 
 Far out ahead, at the southeast, great mountains of 
 hoary-headed cumuli were climbing skyward from out the 
 warm vapor of the Gulf Stream; powerful antagonist to 
 the sluggish rain-clouds in the west. 
 
 In the eastern board and at the south, numerous vessels 
 were seen displaying their white sails to the western sun, 
 gleaming with the sheen of snow-drifts on the dark sea ; 
 while astern and at the west, the few visible vessels looked 
 like another tribe of aquatics, with their dark, dismal look 
 ing sails lying in the shadow, dimly outlined against the 
 black background of nimbus. 
 
 A powerful ocean-steamer, foreign-bound, loomed up at 
 the north, with her red stacks just emerging into view, 
 vomiting a dense black smoke, from burning soft bitu 
 minous coal, that hung draped like a dingy curtain 
 against the lead-colored sky. 
 
 A schooner, evidently a West Indiaman, was in the 
 near foreground, crossing the bow of the Fleetwing. She 
 was running wing-ancl-\ving with all her light kites out, 
 endeavoring to double Nantucket Shoals before dark. As 
 she drew past and displayed her stern, " Boston " was 
 seen painted on her signboard. The white letters were 
 streaked with rust, and her rudder-chains clanked in the 
 swash of the sea, like the shackles of Bonnivard. 
 
 The little craft was deep and " logy," wallowing awk 
 wardly through the strong tide-rips and the choppy sea. 
 She had undergone heavy weather, and was making water 
 freely, for her pumps were going with a steady rhythmic
 
 66 TJic Flcctiving. 
 
 clang that smote upon the ear and conjured up visions of 
 wreck and drowning. 
 
 As the ship crossed the wake of the doomed vessel, 
 there rose a sickening smell of a mixture of molasses and 
 palm-oil, products of the tropic isles whence she had 
 come. Before morning she was wrecked on Sconset 
 Head while running for Sankaty Light. 
 
 A long, low-running swell began heaving in from the 
 southeast, disturbing the ship's equilibrium a trifle, by 
 making her courtesy too obsequiously to the grim sea- 
 gods. 
 
 The rising undulation and the heaped-up cumulus were 
 unpleasant intimations of rough weather and foul wind 
 awaiting the ship. But an angry snarl of the elements 
 must be looked for in passing through the Gulf Stream. 
 It is a greater weather-breeder than Cape Horn or the 
 Stormy Cape. There a dreadful sea-demon watches that 
 no vessel shall pass without displaying her sea-going quali 
 ties and the temper of her crew.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 UNCLE JOE DISCLOSING THE MYSTERIES. 
 
 the afternoon, the seamen were all kept 
 busily at work upon the chafing-gear. Wherever a 
 brace or other running rope came in contact with the 
 standing rigging, there a wooden Scotchman, or woven 
 mats, were put on for protection. Landsmen cannot con 
 ceive the amount of oft-recurring labor of this kind on a 
 vessel, especially a new one just from port, required to 
 protect the shrouds and backstays from the fret and chafe 
 of conflicting ropes. 
 
 At eight bells, four o'clock in the afternoon, all 
 hands were called down from aloft. Marline-spikes, tar- 
 buckets, and spun-yarn, were stowed snugly away in the 
 boson's locker for the night. All hands were then gath 
 ered amidships, for the purpose of choosing sea-watches 
 and boats' crews for the four boats. The sea-watches are 
 designated as starboard and larboard watches. The first 
 is also called the captain's ; the other, the mate's watch. 
 Usually the second mate heads the captain's, and the 
 third officer the mate's ; but in emergencies, both captain 
 and mate head their own watches. 
 
 There were thirty-four men on board. The cook, 
 steward, and cabin boy were reckoned as deadheads, 
 
 67
 
 68 The Flcetwing. 
 
 having all day out and all night in. After the crew had 
 been divided into two watches, Captain Talbert and the 
 three superior officers chose their boats' crews. 
 
 The captain chose Tahiti John as boat-steerer for the 
 starboard boat. John had been foremost hand with him 
 on two previous voyages, and was a smart, active de 
 scendant of Queen Pomare. The fourth mate, Mr. 
 Antoine Joseph, would head the boat when the captain 
 did not go in her. 
 
 Nantucket Jim said to have been born with a har 
 poon in his hand was selected as bow-oarsman, a posi 
 tion requiring a cool, fearless fellow, one who would bow 
 on when ordered, even if the flukes of a hundred-barreler 
 were fanning his cheek. 
 
 In this connection, Captain Talbert loved to tell of 
 the time when Charlie Raymond then a mere boy 
 bowed him on to a fighting sperm whale on the Japan 
 ground. Raymond hauled the boat steadily on through 
 the boarding seas and the hissing foam without flinching 
 a hair, though the boy's hat had been knocked off by the 
 ponderous flukes, and his bow oar was sent spinning fifty 
 feet in the air. 
 
 After the perilous tussle was over, during which the 
 " old man " had driven his lance home to the vitals, and 
 brought blood, he ordered the boat slacked astern out of 
 danger, and turned with admiration to the brave boy, 
 saying : 
 
 " Charlie, my lad, you're the stuff to make a whaleman 
 of. Slack away your line ; a miss is as good as a mile 
 for your little head any day. You shall have my best hat 
 when we get aboard, to replace yours."
 
 The Brave Bowman. 69 
 
 But when the boat had been fairly slacked out of the 
 seething waters, Charlie fainted dead away, and tumbled 
 into the bottom of the boat. Captain Talbert caught him 
 up, and found his left ear badly bruised, and the whole 
 side of his head and shoulder made black and blue by the 
 nearness of the blow from the whale while hauling on. 
 Brainal congestion had taken place ; and it was many 
 weeks before the brave boy was wholly rid of the trau 
 matic fever which followed. 
 
 From that day Charlie Raymond was elected to the 
 topmost rung of the ladder for heroism, and became 
 endeared to every one on board. Such a reputation, 
 once established, requires a cool head and fearless heart 
 to maintain ; for continuous heroism is ever after expected 
 of one. That accidental blow was the prime incentive of 
 his whole after life. 
 
 But now that he had been made mate so young, with 
 such a strong team as Braybrook and Uncle Joe Bailey to 
 contend with, it certainly seemed impossible for Raymond 
 to hold his own against men of their large experience. 
 Yet we know that there is an intuitive genius in such fel 
 lows, which often impels them to short cuts through old 
 methods, doing things that flash upon us with the glamour 
 of originalities. The sequel alone can tell. 
 
 The mate made choice of brave John Hoogley for his 
 boat-steerer. John was a tall, lithe, intelligent-looking 
 Malay, with a piercing black eye, which glittered Hke an 
 eagle's. He had been harponier on previous voyages, 
 and bore the reputation of never having missed a whale 
 when once within fair dart of his prey. Hoogley was said 
 to be a Brahma priest, who had left his country for unknown
 
 70 The Flectiving. 
 
 reasons. Be that as it may, Raymond had made choice 
 of him in New Bedford, as one who would fasten to a 
 whale in whatever position of peril the boat might be 
 carried. And it may well be conjectured that the hot- 
 blooded mate had already contemplated many a daring 
 skirmish during the coming voyage. He had done well 
 in choosing a Brahmin, one who believed heroism to be 
 the best passport to the heaven of Brahma. 
 
 The mate chose hardy, well knit Americans for his 
 oarsmen. Tom Crawford, the bow-oarsman, was the best 
 man in the ship for any conceivable emergency ; brave 
 old Buntline was taken for the midship oar. Both of 
 these men had sailed with Raymond since he first went 
 afloat ; and they loved the peril of whisking flukes as well 
 as their young officer. The other two oarsmen were new 
 to whaling business. 
 
 It was thought Braybrook had the best boat-steerer. 
 Morey had steered him the voyage before, and ought to 
 have had a third mate's berth ; but at Braybrook's 
 request the agent secured Morey by an extra lay and 
 three hundred dollars bonus. The waist boat's crew were 
 all Portuguese, strong, hardy Fayal fishermen, docile to 
 their superiors, and having great endurance upon a long 
 pull. Every man of them was minus a forefinger on the 
 right hand, a crafty amputation to which the Azore 
 people submit to prevent forced enlistment into the ser 
 vice of the Portuguese king. 
 
 The boats' crews were instructed in their special duties 
 by their own boatheaders. The third mate's method of 
 teaching his crew all the nice points to be observed when 
 catching a whale was, perhaps, the most worthy of note,
 
 Uncle Joe Bailey. 71 
 
 as Mr. Bailey was not only the best whaleman on board, 
 but the best known whale-killer in the fleet of six hundred 
 vessels. 
 
 Uncle Joe Bailey was a cripple. He had encountered 
 the ferocious whale Mocha Dick thirty years before, 
 when his boat was stove, and he was left floating about 
 on the water for dead. Having been picked up after a 
 while, and taken on board for burial, he was found to be 
 alive, but maimed and mangled as few could be and live. 
 Both legs and an arm were broken, and one eye was 
 gone. 
 
 Believing he was saved for a purpose by the Divine 
 Providence, the young colored officer ever after was a 
 pious, prayerful man. Since that dreadful day, the one 
 absorbing thought of his life had been to search out and 
 kill the " Demon Whale," who was yearly destroying 
 many other boats, killing or maiming their crewSj and 
 occasionally sinking ships by dashing his mighty head 
 against their sides or breaching across their decks, crush 
 ing them at a blow. < 
 
 This white-headed old patriarch was a queer mixture of 
 negro and Gay Head Indian. His father was a Vineyard 
 chief ; his black mother, a plantation slave, whom his 
 sailor father had wooed, and subsequently abducted from 
 Mobile, and taken to his Nantucket home. This novel 
 parentage accounted for Uncle Joe's droll negro idiom 
 and quaint Nantucket provincialism. 
 
 Joe Bailey was a grave study for the physiognomist, 
 and impressed people differently. The closed port of his 
 larboard eye imparted to the starboard optic a double 
 degree of expression, whether the mood was sad and
 
 /2 The Fleetwing, 
 
 solemn, or bubbling over with fun and frolic. A humorous 
 person could not forbear smiling audibly when first con 
 fronted with such a long, lank, ungainly body, made 
 doubly awkward by the badly set, angular arm, and the 
 comical limp of his two crooked legs, which in walking 
 dipped and rose like a dancing Jack ; something as a 
 crank ship careens, in a squall, then rises with many :i 
 jerky lift in the lulls. 
 
 Fifty years of seagoing life had shrivelled and furrowed 
 Joe Bailey's tan-colored visage to the hue of leather ; this, 
 with his shaggy, overhanging brows, served to impart a 
 look of rough-hewn wisdom to the old man's peaked, an 
 gular face. At first sight, one would think that such a 
 decrepit person was more fit for a " snug harbor " at home 
 than poising a lance in a tottling whaleboat at sea. But 
 the closer scrutiny of a more sagacious observer passed a 
 different verdict. There was a keen intelligence and a 
 shining soul-light discovered in the old man's one soft, 
 dark eye and luminous face, together with a hint of latent 
 strength and activity in his free-swinging, brawny arms, 
 which led one not to condemn his usefulness in time of 
 action because of his skeleton frame and ungainly limbs. 
 
 Crippled in legs, arm, and eye, the saintly old whale 
 man ever bore about him a solemn reminder of his rash 
 vow to follow on the track of Mocha till his death. He 
 was commiserated for his deformity, respected for hi> 
 Christian piety, but above all was he venerated for a mar 
 vellous degree of prophetic wisdom about whales, which 
 frequently appalled his superstitious class. Irreligious 
 sailors would often declare Uncle Joe to be in league with 
 Satan, so reliable were his predictions as to the where-
 
 77u- Christian Officer. 73 
 
 abouts of whales ; but Joe Bailey's only incantations were 
 by prayer. It was truly said of the good old man that he 
 often beheld angels in his dreams, and was in frequent 
 communion with the great Unseen during his daily prayers, 
 so that God's loving presence was as familiar to this pious 
 soul as a father's face to his child. 
 
 Mr. Bailey proved a valuable acquisition to every ship 
 in which he sailed. His services were secured by a writ 
 ten agreement with the owners that once during the 
 voyage the ship should cruise on the ground of his desig 
 nation, where his prophetic vision had discovered Mocha 
 Dick. With such a life-purpose, the old seer was always 
 planning new ways to kill a mad whale ; for the cunning 
 of the Demon Whale was such that he never attacked a 
 boat twice alike. Many brave whalemen had harpooned 
 the monster, but none could kill him, as their boats would 
 be knocked skyward the next moment, or crushed between 
 his terrible jaws. So great was the dread of this whale 
 that the Mocha Dick cruising-ground was always kept 
 secret from the crew, and sometimes from the officers, 
 who often became panic-stricken. In one instance, an 
 old officer became insane in fear of being killed by the 
 mad whale his ship was cruising for. 
 
 Bailey was certainly a most sagacious and observing 
 man, and had acquired great knowledge of the habits of 
 whales and the nature of their most attractive cruising- 
 places. He was the first to teach captains to look for 
 whales near the land on full and change of the moon, 
 a time when every fish in the sea travels shoreward, but 
 to seek whales on the quarters of the moon in the swirl 
 ing eddies along the edges of great ocean currents, where
 
 74 The Fteetwing. 
 
 they may be found making passage from one ground to 
 another. 
 
 It was a favorite speculation of Uncle Joe's that most 
 of the large sperm whales hibernated at the' bottom of the 
 deep sea during the moon's quarters, where they fed on 
 the juicy flesh of the squid, a monster larger than the 
 whales themselves. The magnetic influence of the full 
 moon, which imparts virility to every living thing, brings 
 the whale up breaching to the surface again, and usually 
 near to the land. These theories are still maintained by 
 the most successful men of the fleet. 
 
 Cape de Verde Jose, a tall, raw-boned colored Portu 
 guese, had been shipped to steer the bow boat. He was 
 a bold, surly, unbridled barbarian, and seemed much too 
 turbulent a fellow to be easily managed by an unassuming 
 person like Mr. Bailey, who had not the prestige of a 
 white officer to help create discipline. But the cute old 
 man had his own peculiar tactics, by which he gained 
 perfect mastery over his men. 
 
 After the watches and crews had been chosen, Uncle 
 Joe hobbled along to the bow boat, in his distressing, see 
 saw gait, climbed up into the stern-sheets, and called 
 lustily for his crew : 
 
 " Cum 'long heah, all de white folk an' de pink-starned 
 darkies wot b'long ter de bow boat. Skuf 'long dis way. 
 .nil yer game chickuns wot wanter larn yer dooty. Clum 
 up heah inter de boat, an' h'ar yer ole farder tek his tex' 
 frum de log-book." 
 
 The four oarsmen climbed gleefully up into the boat, 
 and were assigned their thwarts. The surly boat-steerer 
 got upon the rail, and leaned over the boat's bow with a
 
 Uncle Joe s Sarmon. 75 
 
 disdainful look upon his face, implying that he did not 
 require teaching. Taking each in turn, Mr. Bailey taught 
 the men their special duties, as well as the perils of their 
 places. 
 
 " Now, chilun, jus' cum ter anchor in yer places, an' 
 h'ar de sarmon 'bout de oars an' de paddles, how ter starn 
 all, an' pull ahead. Tut, tut, no laffin' in meetum time. 
 Open yer tinkin'-box, an' pile in de 'hole lectur' ; becase, 
 honeys, when de 'parm whale cum roun' de boat, bite, 
 bite, hungry for boy meat an' cedar, yo' uns wanter 
 starn queak, pull t'ree oar an' back two lively, an' wisey 
 wersy. 
 
 " Fur bimeby, whin yer ole mudders cum down ter de 
 wharf, an' ax Uncle Joe, ' Whar's my chilun, ole gent ? ' 
 sezee, ' All rite, missis.' But dem uns wot dunno de tex', 
 doze yere chiluns wot laff in meetum time, dey won't be 
 dar! An' whin yer ole mudders ax fur yez, wot'll I sez ? 
 
 " Eh, ah ! dis yere cullud pussun wul jus' pint ter heb- 
 * ben wid de finger wat Mocha Dick bit off; fur all yez 
 dead chilun wul be gawn ter glory wid dat finger. 
 
 " Darfo', honeys, all dem yere brudders ob spect'ble 
 color, wid de niggars hove in, jus yer look at dese yere 
 ole wapple-jawed flippers an' walkers ob mine. Obsarve 
 dat dis ole niggar hab seen sarvice, an' means bizness 
 whin he lectur' de boys." 
 
 Turning to little Jack Crow, the steerage boy, who was 
 to pull the stroke oar, the old man continued : 
 
 " Now, yo' leedle white chick wot pulls de arter oar, 
 lemme splain ter yez. Dish am yo' oar. Put yer sit-down 
 yere whar yer b'long. Dish foot-brace am fur de toes 
 whin yo' make de back bend like ar whalebone. Mind,
 
 76 TJie Fleefaing. 
 
 dearie, wot yer old farder sez whin de big whale am clos' 
 roun'. Doan yer turn yer blue peepers for'ard ter look et 
 nuffin, but mind yer oar." 
 
 Addressing the next oarsman, whom he had seated on 
 the tub-thwart, he explained: 
 
 " Hyah, Bill Brown, yuz de tub-oarsman. Mind yo' no 
 flop 'bout wid yer fins an' flukes whin de whale's roun'. 
 Doan yo' stick yer flippers in de coil whin de line go zip, 
 zip, past yer starboard eye. Fur look ah heah, see dis 
 finger wot am step'd out, becuz de leedle niggar Joe 
 dunno no better in dose days." 
 
 Eying the surplus avoirdupois of the Dutchman on the 
 next thwart, the one humorous eye of the old man twin 
 kled with fun, as he addressed him : 
 
 " Eh, ah, big Dutchy ! Dis ole niggar wud like ter 
 edicate yo' un how ter trim boat. De pint am ter sot still, 
 an' doan yer shift ballast fo' de ole man told yer. Dish 
 yere am de midship oar. Kep yer wedder eye skinned 
 whin de tussle cums, an' doan yer look for'ard sorter" 
 skeery 'bout de whale, but jist trim dish. Fur dis ole 
 gent gits dreffle cross sumtime, whin de boys am gawkin' 
 roun', an' doan mind queak." 
 
 Stepping forward over the thwarts with the rhythmic 
 motion of a crocodile, the oid man addressed his only 
 colored oarsman, a good-natured, ebony-black fellow : 
 
 " Law ar mussy ! Talio John, yez gut dreffly tanned 
 las' time ashore. Nuffin but 'parm-a-city frum de whale's 
 head wul bleach yer. Well, Tally, yez brack nuf ter kno' 
 dis yam de bow oar. Dese yere am de bow-cleats, what 
 yer bow de line ter haul yo' ole farder 'longside de critter 
 ter make de tar cum."
 
 Uncle Joe s Wrath. 77 
 
 The boat-steerer had slipped away long before Uncle 
 Joe got ready to lecture him. This had the effect to ele 
 vate the old man's " ebenezer," and slightly disconcert 
 him at this first breach of discipline. 
 
 " Whar's dat yere milk an' molasses niggar? Marvel 
 'long dish way, yer white-wash'd Portugee ! Doan yer go 
 ter tink yo' old farder kant splain ar ting or two ter yez, 
 kaze yo' bin steer ar boat befo' dis v'y'ge. Mussy sakes ! 
 Jose Verd, dish yere cullud pussun bin kotch 'parm 
 whales duzzen year fo' yoz born. Darfo,' sah, jist 'mem 
 ber dat Joe Bailey heads dis yere boat -hisself, an' 
 doan want no Portugee niggar ter help 'im ! Dis chile 
 gibs de orders, sah, an' spects dem yere orders 'beyed, 
 dubble-queek time. 
 
 " Now, dis am de tex' fo' yo', sah ; doan yer dart till 
 yo' ole farder teld yer. Doan yer strike de 'parm whale's 
 head, nor de right whale's bilge whin de back holler in ; 
 fur de iron won't go dar, honey. Prick off de 'parm 
 whale in de eye, or down in 'is mouf, yo' brack brudder. 
 Prick off de right whale on de tip ob de nose, whar de 
 smellers gro' ! An,' Jose, hold yer han' whin yo' go 'n 
 'longside de sparm whale, an' put de iron in two-thirds 
 frum de hump ter de bunch ob de neck. Dat brings de 
 blood, honey. An,' Jose, put de iron inter de right whale 
 six fut beaft de spout-'ole, jus' ober de shoulder : an' h'ar de 
 peoples holler : ' Dar's blood ! Dead whale fur dat niggar ! ' 
 
 " Dar, chilun, dat'll do fur dis time. Ke'p de 'hole 
 sarmun wevolvin' round 'n yer noddle-box, an' Uncle 
 Joe wul make suffin ob yer yit. Now skedaddle whar 
 yer b'long. Go an' fill your bread-locker full ob fried 
 'ysters an' chic'un pie."
 
 78 The Fleetwing. 
 
 Mr. Bailey's final admonition, for the boys to improve 
 their menu, brought down the house. An uproar of 
 laughter burst forth from the group of officers and men 
 who had gathered about the boat unnoticed by the third 
 mate. The other officers, not having gone into details 
 with their men, had soon dismissed their crews, and all 
 quietly grouped beaft the try works to listen to Uncle 
 Joe's cute instructions to his surly boat-steerer. When 
 the harangue was finished, the mate called out: 
 
 " Well done, Mr. Bailey ; you seem to be putting your 
 boys through a collegiate education." 
 
 " Well, sah, it wul all cum in play whin we git down off 
 de ' King Mills,' whar de niggars am born wid dar clos' 
 on, an' whar de 'parm whale hab dreffle sight ob shark 
 'bout urn." 
 
 " We must get you to teach our crews some of these 
 whaling mysteries." 
 
 " No, Misser Raymon', each ob de chilun mus' larn 
 de ways ob his own boat-header. Odderwise, sah, de 
 'hole matter wud go starn fust, like de pig in ar hail 
 squall."
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 NIGHT SCENE IN THE CABIN. 
 
 A T length the shades of night began to gather down 
 ^^ over the great solitude of waters. As daylight faded 
 slowly away, the purple horizon hastened to draw near 
 and nearer unto the ship, until one could almost lay his 
 hand upon the dark sea-rim, which an hour since was 
 miles away. 
 
 The ship was not yet in the hands of the night-watch. 
 It was the second dog-watch, and the captain and mate 
 were leisurely pacing up and down the opposite sides of 
 the quarter-deck, laying out the necessary work of the 
 coming day. It would be a busy day for all hands to fit 
 the boats for whaling, and complete the countless chaf 
 ing-gear of the ship. 
 
 A tub of new line must be coiled for each of the four 
 boats, together with a spare line to replace the accidental 
 loss of one. A full complement of harpoons, lances, 
 spades, knives, and boat-hatchets were to be sharpened 
 and fitted for each boat. 
 
 New rowlocks must be served and covered with leather 
 or raw-hide, each made to fit its own oar, lest its cheeping 
 noise should disturb the ever-watchful whale. Lantern 
 kegs were to be unheaded by the cooper, stowed with a 
 
 79
 
 8o The Fleetwing. 
 
 boat-lantern, flint and steel, and then be chocked off with 
 sea biscuit providential food in time of need and the 
 kegs caulked tightly and slung beneath the stern-sheets of 
 each boat. Every precaution must be taken that the boats 
 should be ready for an encounter with whales, though the 
 rich prey might be delayed for weeks or months. 
 
 Wear)' of his walk in the dog-watch gloom, Captain 
 Talbert bade the mate give Mr. Bailey charge of the deck, 
 and together they would join the ladies in the cabin, be 
 fore they wrote up the logs for the night. 
 
 The upper cabin of the Fleetwing was a half-trunk 
 deck-house, with a front entrance leading from the quarter 
 deck. There were passageways on each side of the 
 cabin leading aft to the helm and the spanker. 
 
 The front cabin was entered through a short vestibule. 
 The mate's stateroom was on the right side of this vesti 
 bule, and the steward's pantry on the left. The main 
 saloon, beyond, was neatly finished with black walnut and 
 maple. The dining-table, on the port side of the saloon, 
 was strongly secured to the deck. A row of cushioned 
 seats surrounded three sides of the table. Above it was 
 a swinging tray, slung from the ceiling, its lower part 
 being used for table implements ; while above was a rack, 
 glittering with tumblers and decanters, with a water 
 pitcher in the centre. 
 
 The mizzenmast passed down through the after part 
 of the saloon, and was prettily encased in plate mirror on 
 three sides. A mercurial barometer for general use was 
 suspended from the front of the mast, from which the 
 night-watches sought indications for change of weather, 
 and recorded them on. the log-slate.
 
 TJic Cabin. 81 
 
 Though surrounded with side windows, the cabin was 
 best lighted by a large skylight overhead, in which a 
 transparent telltale compass hung, convenient for the 
 officer to read on the top of the house, as well as in the 
 cabin. The light from the cabin table served to illumi 
 nate the compass-card at night, so that it was still useful 
 to the night-watch on deck. 
 
 Staterooms for three of the officers were on the star 
 board side of the cabin, opposite the dining-table, each 
 room containing two berths. The third and fourth mates 
 had the forward room, and Mr. Braybrook and the cabin 
 boy occupied the after stateroom. The sea-chests of the 
 officers were secured in their rooms, and served as seats. 
 
 Entering the after cabin, one was greeted with surprise 
 and pleasure at the elegance and convenience of the 
 ladies' saloon. Mrs. Talbert and Miss Allston, the lady 
 passenger, were sitting on a sofa richly upholstered with 
 crimson plush. This was secured against the after part 
 of the cabin, facing the bureau, medicine-chest, and the 
 two chronometers, all of which were ranged along the 
 opposite side. 
 
 In the middle of this charming boudoir stood a large 
 mahogany centre-table, firmly fastened to the deck. Pro 
 jecting two feet above the centre of this table was a slen-. 
 der steel spindle, to which numerous ingenious sewing im 
 plements were attached. The lower contrivance which 
 revolved on the spindle was a lady's work-basket, contain 
 ing compartments filled with every conceivable nicknack 
 used in needle-work. Above the basket, revolved a beau 
 tiful ivory spool-stand, with receptacles for thirty varieties 
 of silks and threads, each spool reeling upon its own
 
 82 The Flectwing. 
 
 spindle. At the top of all perched a charming red velvet 
 watch-case, made to represent a miniature French clock, 
 wherein Mrs. Talbert's tiny watch showed the time to all. 
 
 The spindle upon which all these conveniences were 
 mounted was itself hung on pivots like the gimbals of a 
 compass, heavily weighted at the bottom to keep it up 
 right whatever position of pitch or roll the ship might 
 undergo in stormy weather. 
 
 Captain and Mrs. Talbert's berth was on the starboard 
 side of the saloon, hidden behind a heavy portiere. This 
 large double bed was also hung on strong iron pintles at 
 each end, meant to be always upright, as a compass. 
 The upper berth was nearly breast-high ; beneath this 
 was the child's berth, swinging from the same pintles. 
 Below both of these berths was a long narrow box, con 
 taining sufficient ballast to counteract the weight of the 
 three occupants above. Once nestled in this sleeping- 
 receptacle, the occupants were impervious to the toss and 
 tumble of a stormy sea. This ingenious bed, as well as 
 the table and many other conveniences, was the inven 
 tion of Raymond during the previous voyage. 
 
 On the opposite side of the saloon there was a small 
 winding stair leading down to a neat ladies' cabin below- 
 deck, where Miss Allston occupied a berth. This cabin 
 was meant for a retreat during violent storms, should the 
 wind and seas become too noisy in the upper cabin, or 
 perhaps crush in its sides with an unlucky wave. The 
 lower cabin was lighted by two square stern windows, high 
 up over the transom lockers, and furnished good light in 
 fair weather, when it was not necessary to close the 
 wooden dead-lights. A plated swinging lamp, suspended
 
 About Courting. 83 
 
 from the carline nearest the berth, served for evening 
 illumination: lighting up the bureau, wardrobes, sofa, and 
 numerous trunks lashed to the forward bulkhead. 
 
 Mrs. Talbert was very fond of Raymond, her husband's 
 favorite young officer, and she at once replied with good- 
 natured repartee to one of the mate's jocular remarks as 
 he entered the cabin : 
 
 " Well, Charles, I saw the white flag from the housetop 
 this morning. I suppose that means ' All's well that ends 
 well ' ? " 
 
 " Very likely it does. But it was a sad time for one of 
 us, I know. It was all wrong for me to have waited till 
 the last moment for a final understanding with Mary 
 Tudor." 
 
 " Of course it was, you goose. Why did you delay so 
 long ? " 
 
 "All owing to the captain's giving me wrong sailing 
 orders when we laid out the dreadful courting campaign." 
 
 " Oh, you rogue," she said to the captain ; " you have 
 been meddling with this delicate matter, have you ? " 
 
 " Well, yes. I just lent a hand to shape course and 
 distance, when Raymond took his love tacks aboard," 
 replied the captain, grinning. 
 
 " Why, Daniel ! didn't you know that / was managing 
 that matter ? " with a mock-demure look on her face, to 
 express her pique and disappointment. 
 
 " Yes, I knew you had slipped the boy's fasts, and set 
 him afloat in a free wind and a fair tide ; running the 
 poor fellow off dead afore it, with square yards, and not 
 a single fathom of ground-tackle aboard to bring to 
 anchor with, in case of a squall."
 
 84 The Flcctiving. 
 
 " What of it, you naughty man ? Didn't you think I 
 could teach . him best how a pretty damsel should be 
 courted ? " 
 
 " P'raps so. But then it's all wrong for a young chap 
 to go sailing with a flowing sheet after that fashion. He's 
 sure to forget his soundings, and risk getting aground, 
 when trying to board one of those shore-craft too soon. 
 You'll admit, Annie, I'm the better sailor of the two, and 
 I tell you it's best to try a new gal ' full-an by,' ' reach 
 ing and beating,' as well as running 'fore it ; to 1'arn all 
 her nice p'ints of sailing, 'fore you pop. That's the kind 
 of tactics I tried on you, and it worked fust rate." And 
 the old skipper laughed heartily at the wry faces his 
 better half was making. 
 
 " But don't you see that you have broken up a nice 
 wedding by your meddling, my dear ? Perhaps, no\v, 
 Raymond will lose her before we return. Then you'll 
 feel bad, for you wished him to be married." 
 
 "Ah, there's where the proof of the pudding comes in, 
 my lady. If a gal misstays, and plumps into another 
 consort the first time she's tested, then abandon the craft, 
 say I. It's the weatherly qualities of the heart, the sea 
 going condition of the shore-critters, that a sailor wants 
 to test 'fore he splices." 
 
 " How can you talk so about such a bewitching creature 
 as Mary Tudor ? " 
 
 " Beauty ain't but skin-deep, anyway ; and her pretty 
 ways are only fine weather qualities. I tell Raymond to 
 select a gal for her weatherly p'ints of sailing, as I did. 
 There's many a lee-shore to encounter in the lives of us all, 
 and it's only the seagoing qualities of a gal that will help
 
 No Secrets off Sounding. 85 
 
 her to hold her luff in the ground-swells and lee-tides of 
 life. Charlie Raymond don't want a painted dingy to 
 tow at his stern, in fair weather or foul ; what he requires 
 is a staunch, weatherly, free-going craft, that will keep 
 tack and tack with him through all the voyage of life." 
 
 " Raymond isn't wholly of your mind about Mary, I 
 know; and you sha'n't talk so about her." Turning to 
 the mate, Mrs. Talbert continued, " I did not see Mamie 
 this morning, as I hoped to; so you must promise to tell 
 me all about the engagement." 
 
 "Perhaps so," said the blushing officer, "when we 
 deepen the water a little more. Blue water and no 
 soundings is the only proper place to haul a sailor into the 
 confessional." 
 
 " Well, my boy," said the kind-hearted old skipper, 
 coming to the mate's relief, "go and write up your log 
 book for the day, and turn in. You've had a busy day, 
 and look tired." 
 
 " Not so much the busy day, I guess," added Mrs. 
 Talbert, with a roguish leer at the abashed young officer, 
 " as last night's late hour of billing and cooing." 
 
 " Tut, tut, my love ; mebby you and I did all that sort 
 of thing in our day," said the fond captain to his pretty 
 young wife. 
 
 " Now, Daniel, don't talk nonsense before the company, 
 for Mr. Raymond says the water isn't blue enough yet to 
 tell all you know." 
 
 After their gay laughter had subsided at this jolly 
 retort, Raymond bade Miss Allston and the others good 
 night, and retired to write up his log. 
 
 "Oh, isn't he nice!" exclaimed the vivacious lady
 
 86 The Fleetwing. 
 
 passenger in an animated tone, the moment the mate 
 disappeared. " I do hope his girl knows how to prize 
 him." 
 
 " She'll prize him, no doubt, all she is capable of doing. 
 But she isn't a girl of much resolution. Yet I think she'll 
 be true to him, if her dreadful worldly-wise mother don't 
 compel her to receive attention from other gentlemen, 
 hoping to accomplish a more speedy marriage. That's 
 Mrs. Tudor's usual way of doing. Having four other 
 daughters, the scheming mother will hustle the whole five 
 of them into premature wedlock, in the same hasty way 
 that she did the three older ones." 
 
 " How dreadful to think of ! Mr. Raymond deserves 
 a better fate than seems in store for him from that 
 quarter." 
 
 While the captain sat at his desk writing his journal 
 and recording the true " departure " of the ship, Mrs. 
 Talbert went below with the girl to instruct her how to 
 manage her berth, and initiate her in numerous other new 
 quirks of sea-life. As the ship was careened to port, 
 Miss Allston was taught to give her mattress a larboard 
 hoist over against the lee berth-board, making the bed as 
 nearly on an even-keel as the low-berth-board would 
 permit. If the wind should shift during the night, she 
 was told to hop up and tack ship with her bed ; thur. 
 learning to counteract all the sudden sea-changes of the 
 hour. 
 
 Miss Allston belonged in Lowell, and in early life had 
 been brought up in affluence. Her father had been dead 
 two years. The estate was greatly involved in debt, 
 leaving the family in poor circumstances ; this induced
 
 Asenith Allston. 87 
 
 Asenit'.i, the youngest of three daughters, to take passage 
 to Honolulu, where she was going to meet an old lover 
 and former schoolmate by the name of Richards, to whom 
 she was to be married. 
 
 Raymond had known Miss Allston in his schoolboy- 
 days, and had been yachting with her and her father at 
 Lowell Island. After an interval of years the acquaint 
 ance had been renewed during the week they were 
 staying at Captain Talbert's house, in New Bedford, 
 where her mother was visiting, in company with Ray 
 mond's mother, previous to sailing.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 TOM THRASHING THE PORTUGUESE. 
 
 QUITE a different scene was to be found in the fore 
 castle of the Fleetwing during the evening hours. 
 Entering through the companionway, and descending by 
 the steep, narrow steps into the bedlam of noise below, 
 a large, roomy forecastle was indistinctly seen through 
 clouds of tobacco-smoke, and the darkness made visible 
 by two hanging lamps suspended from the great beams 
 overhead. 
 
 Even by daylight the forecastle was an ill-lighted place. 
 The four ground-glass lights inserted in the de|k\ together 
 with the open scuttle of the gangway, proved insufficient 
 to dispel the gloom of the place. The constant dash of 
 spray on the bows forbade the use of bulls-eyes in the 
 side, like those on the quarters of the ship. 
 
 With such twilight gloom ever pervading the family 
 domain of the sailors, one or more of the quaint tin 
 lamps, shaped like double-nosed coffee-pots, were kept 
 burning night and day. From these dimly-flickering lamps 
 Jack's oft-recurring pipes were lighted, an occupation dili- 
 . gently followed by all the sailors during their hours of 
 leisure. 
 
 During the two dog-watches of this first day out, the 
 older sailors were seen busily lashing their chests to the 
 
 88
 
 Cock of the Roost. 89 
 
 deck floor and the berths, to prevent their capsizing in a 
 heavy seaway. The first sailors to come aboard placed 
 their chests near to their berths, which permitted them to 
 lash the chest-beckets through holes made for the purpose 
 in the lower bunk-boards. This first row of chests circled 
 the whole forecastle. The beckets of the second tier 
 were secured to strong staples driven into the lower deck. 
 
 This orderly arrangement of Jack's furniture is a work 
 of importance, which some experienced seaman gener 
 ally takes upon himself to look after. If a chest breaks 
 adrift in a gale, it not only tumbles the occupant to 
 leeward with the loss of the meal he may chance to be 
 eating, but with the more considerable risk of breaking 
 his neck. 
 
 The green hands were seen sandwiched in among the 
 seamen, eagerly watching their doings, and drinking in 
 every briny phrase let fall from the lips of the old salts, 
 deemed by the youngsters as the most essential elements 
 of their nautical education. 
 
 Woe to the forecastle that has no leading spirit strong 
 enough to rule over its chaotic broils. In such a case, it 
 requires a dozen or more fighting bouts to determine who 
 shall be "cock of the roost," the "biggest toad in the 
 puddle." 
 
 It often requires weeks, more or less, to fairly assimilate 
 such a motley crew as the Fleetwing's. But eventualities 
 of wind or weather will arise, giving occasion for winnowing 
 the chaff from the wheat, when the better element among 
 them comes bounding to the surface of the seething mass, 
 and asserts the leadership by unmistakable tokens, and 
 holds despotic sway throughout the voyage.
 
 90 The Flcctiving. 
 
 The Portuguese element in the Fleetwing was such as is 
 usually found in the forecastles of most whalers. It is a 
 problem which requires the most judicious handling at the 
 very outset of the voyage. They are a race of strong, 
 robust sailors, though quick-tempered, and ever ready to 
 use the knife upon small provocation. 
 
 If men of such uncurbed elements acquire the ascen 
 dency in a ship's forecastle, they become the veriest 
 tyrants. Many of these Azores men are minus the fore 
 finger of the right hand their method of dodging enlist 
 ment and if they come to rule, others must obey, under 
 the penalty of a knife-stab, or at least be deprived of 
 a finger, that the American shall no longer call the Port 
 uguese "four-fingered Jack." 
 
 The first display of a deadly weapon took place at an 
 early hour of the dog-watch. Most of the crew had fin 
 ished their supper, and were then lying in their berths, or 
 lolling around on the chests, puffing away at their pipes. 
 On the starboard side of the forecastle sat a merry group 
 of American seamen, smoking and yarning. Huge Tom 
 Crawford, the veteran of the starboard watch, was lean 
 ing against the bowsprit bitts, where they reached down 
 through the forecastle, puffing away at his stubby pipe, 
 and telling a humorous story of his brief shore-life, be 
 tween the whiffs of smoke. The youngsters were gath 
 ered about the good-natured sailor, listening intently to 
 every word which fell from his lips. One bright-eyed lad 
 sat snuggled up to old Tom, whose ponderous arm big 
 as the boy's leg lay lovingly abouf the youth, whom he 
 had adopted as his bunk-mate. The youngsters soon 
 acquire veneration for such a jolly old tar, and delight to 
 run at his beck and call.
 
 A Knock-down. 91 
 
 Over on the larboard side of the forecastle, a cluster 
 of six Portuguese sat about in a circle, playing cards, 
 gambling for tobacco, and were very intent upon their 
 game. Several of these black-bearded foreigners were 
 boisterous and quarrelsome, evidently a little the worse 
 for liquor; for occasionally they swore vigorously at one 
 another, in their own musical tongue. Big Antonio 
 seemed to be the noisy arbitrator among them. Yet, 
 with all this hubbub among the Portuguese, one would 
 get the general impression of a good-natured jollity per 
 vading the scene. 
 
 Suddenly the large black-bearded Antonio snapped up 
 a saucy-spoken green hand, who had insinuated, upon see 
 ing a Jack turned up, that the whole group of card-players 
 were " four-fingered Jacks." This, though true, was an 
 imprudent speech to make in the hearing of such men, 
 when a little groggy. The boy retorted to the savage 
 oath of the Portuguese, who instantly drew a glittering 
 dirk knife, and made a fierce lunge at the breast of the 
 youth, which nearly proved fatal, having slashed the boy's 
 clothes, and pierced his arm. 
 
 In an instant the forecastle was a scene of wild uproar. 
 Revengeful threats were bandied back and forth, sounding 
 ominous in the smoky gloom which pervaded the scene. 
 Old Tom sprang up with the alacrity of youth, when he 
 comprehended what had happened ; stalked quickly across 
 the forecastle, and, without a word of preliminary rebuke, 
 let fly one of his great topmauls at the head of the burly 
 assailant, who stood brandishing his weapon, vowing ve'n- 
 gance upon all Yankees. 
 
 The huge Portuguese went down like a felled ox at the
 
 92 The Fleetwing. 
 
 shambles, falling across the chests, still littered with play 
 ing-cards, where he lay insensible, as if dead. An instant 
 hush fell upon the tumultuous scene ; all eyes bent upon 
 Tom, awaiting the next act. 
 
 " Pick up thet ere sticker, an' pass it over 'ere," said 
 the royal fellow, as he readied out his ponderous hand for 
 the dirk. 
 
 " It b'longs ter Antonio, an' yer sha'n't 'av it," replied 
 one of the quarrelsome card-players, as he picked up the 
 knife and brandished it with a threatening air. 
 
 Tom's long arm suddenly left his side again, projected 
 over a-port, like an animated catapult ; and a second per 
 son of the Portuguese nationality lay doubled up across 
 the first one. Crawford caught up the dirk and passed it 
 to his young bunk-mate, with a peremptory order to go on 
 deck and throw it overboard. 
 
 Whereupon the other foreigners drew their sheath- 
 knives and stood on the defensive ; which elicited a brief 
 moral discourse from Tom, before proceeding to further 
 action, for he had been the Demosthenes of many a fore 
 castle in the past score of years. 
 
 " Look ar 'ere, you uns ! I've a blow fur every durned 
 'Guee who draws blade on ar shipmate o' mine. Now 
 mark thet, an' bide ther licks thet foller." 
 
 This speech induced the four banded ruffians to urge 
 each other on to " Giv' et 'im, 'tween ther ribs ! " 
 They were four good sized men, armed against one who 
 innocently sought to do battle with a pair of fists the size 
 of a garden squash. These villains began to hedge 
 around Tom as if to assail him on both flanks at once. 
 At this stage of affairs, brave old Buntline and nimble
 
 End of the Row. 93 
 
 Nantucket Jim pushed forward to the front to join sides 
 with Tom. But with an eloquent look of heroism lighting 
 up his blue eyes, noble old Tom bade his willing ship 
 mates to : 
 
 " Go sot down, Ben ! An' all you uns what 'ave any 
 'spect fur yer ole shipmate. Lemme boss thes 'ere job, 
 ez I'm goin' ter keep order fur ther rest uv ther voy'ge." 
 
 It took Tom less than four minutes to add four other 
 insensible Portuguese to his previous underpining of two; 
 making six burly ruffians heaped up together, breathless 
 as dead men. 
 
 Walking quietly back to his chest, Tom took his seat, 
 and resumed his pipe ; sending some of the men on deck 
 to call down the other four Portuguese in the larboard 
 watch, to come and take their shipmates up into the air 
 and dress their wounds. 
 
 Henceforth quiet old Tom Crawford was the ruling 
 mind in the Fleetwing's forecastle, and his sway was ac 
 knowledged in the most conclusive logic known on ship 
 board. 
 
 Each of the old seamen usually made choice of a young 
 sailor from the other watch to occupy his berth during his 
 deck-watch. In this way the old shellbacks mated with 
 the youngsters, protecting them against the Portuguese, 
 in exchange for the boys' running promptly at their beck 
 and call. 
 
 However daintily a seagoing youngster may have been 
 nurtured at home, he must now be taught to drink, smoke, 
 and swear in true nautical phrases ; which is Jack's chief 
 process of concocting a sailor-man. 
 
 The young chummy must run to the galley to fetch the
 
 94 The Fleetwmg. 
 
 lobscouse and pot of coffee for his venerable instructor, in 
 payment for being taught to make a bowline and to tuck 
 a Mathevv Walker. Jack is logical, and means to do noth 
 ing for a greenhorn without adequate equivalent. The 
 old salt is a vast vocabulary of sea-terms, and the young 
 ster is a crude sponge bent upon absorbing all the briny 
 things which fall from Jack's lips. 
 
 A truly noble sailor is loved and venerated by his ship 
 mates. Even the blustering, swaggering sea-lawyer, like 
 English Bill, shows respect to such a leader, and dares not 
 air his mutinous talk before such a marine nobleman. 
 One such seaman in the forecastle is an invaluable safe 
 guard to a ship. Tom Crawford, Ben Buntline, and Nan- 
 tucket Jim were such men, and the Fleetwing's little oli 
 garchy below-stairs stand in no danger of either Goth or 
 Vandal invading their domain.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE SHIP CAUGHT IN A GALE. 
 
 \ I J HEN Braybrook came out to take charge of the first 
 night-watch, every sail was set from deck to truck ; 
 all drawing with tautened leeches and arching footropes. 
 The bowlines were eased away, and the weather-braces 
 checked in, just enough to take a little list out of the 
 steep incline of the deck ; though even now, whenever 
 the ship sprung her luff a trifle too much, and bumped 
 into the southern swell, the water would swash in at the 
 lee scuppers, gurgling like a sink spout in finding its way 
 out. 
 
 The heavy head-swell had steadily increased during the 
 dog-watch, and now the forward plunge of the sharp bow 
 was becoming too much for the 'longshore stomachs of 
 the green hands. Several of these worthies, more be 
 nevolent than their fellows, were already hobnobbing with 
 Davy Jones, gratuitously feeding his fishes with the half- 
 digested slops from their own bread-lockers. 
 
 Even the ladies in the cabin had again taken to the 
 same charitable doings, at the instigation of Neptune, 
 breaking the stowage of the steward's more delectable 
 dainties with no better grace than the new forecastle 
 sailors. The man at the helm was grinning from ear to 
 
 95
 
 g6 The Fleetwing. 
 
 ear at the musical grunts and groans which came to him, 
 scented with camphor and cologne, through the after 
 cabin windows. 
 
 To a genuine old shellback, the first lunge of the ship 
 to a deep-sea roll, tickles his fancy and renews his affec 
 tion for the sea. The reeling deck awakens the long- 
 forgotten instinct of his crooked sea-legs the instant he is 
 afloat. Tender as the embrace of lovers is the meeting 
 of Sailor-Jack and the Sea, after a long absence, and bluff 
 and hearty is the greeting each gives the other. Well 
 he knows the great contempt old Ocean has for the 
 spewing spoonies who toss their lobscouse about on the 
 blue sheen, when playful winds and dancing waves are 
 doing their best to enliven the beauty of the sea. 
 
 To a callow sailor, when first set afloat on a laboring 
 sea, the uneven deck seems intent upon rising up to meet 
 his unsteady feet, at every backward pitch and windward 
 roll of the ship. Even the far horizon will not keep down 
 in its place, but is ever threatening to hop up and bump the 
 head of the deluded novice, whether he reels forward or 
 staggers aft in his theatrical perambulation of the deck. 
 If the greenhorn ventures to look away from the dreadful 
 sea, the towering foremast comes pitching backward to 
 ward him, as if it would certainly tumble upon his doomed 
 head. At this stage of the farce, brainal anaemia sets 
 in the true source of mal de mer. Following this dizzy 
 premonition, the blood recedes from the surface, and the 
 heart becomes engorged ; then the stomach begins to 
 raise Cain rolling and tumbling, spitting and spewing, 
 endeavoring to pattern after the wallowing seas. 
 
 When Captain Talbert was about to turn in for the
 
 The Dark Night. 97 
 
 night, he noticed that his aneroid was falling, indicating 
 bad weather. With an anxious look upon his face, he 
 stepped out into the main cabin to consult the mercurial 
 barometer, half hoping that instrument would confute 
 this sudden threat of a storm. The mercury was found 
 nearly on a level with the gauge, yet the glittering column 
 was deeply indented, having a cup-shaped top a sure 
 forerunner of a quick fall. 
 
 Advising both of the ladies to retire at once and pre 
 pare for the worst, the captain went out on deck for an 
 hour's walk with Braybrook, intent upon watching the 
 weather. With a new ship, her rigging not yet fully 
 stretched, and the running-gear full of kinks, with the new 
 hands not accustomed to their work, and the greenhorns 
 babying with sea-sickness and whimpering with apprehen 
 sion, the prospect of dealing with a gale was not pleasant 
 to contemplate. 
 
 It was ten o'clock when the captain left the cabin and 
 groped his way out into the gloom, for the night had shut 
 down dark as Egypt. The wind was slowly dying out, yet 
 it still held fair from the southwest. The pitch and roll of 
 the ship was increasing every minute with the growing 
 southeast swell. The sails began to thump and thunder 
 against the masts, until the whole fabric shook from 
 truck to keel. The rudder thrashed and groaned like a 
 resurrected ghost, until the new tiller-ropes became 
 slacked, taxing the strength of the helmsman lest he 
 should be flung over the wheel. 
 
 For half an hour the two officers walked the gloomy 
 quarter-deck, unable to see each other in the blackness, 
 speculating in ghostly voices upon the probable direction
 
 98 The Fleetwing. 
 
 of the coming storm, in which time the barometer was 
 found to have fallen an inch. The air had now become 
 close and oppressive a negative condition preluding 
 great atmospheric disturbance. Looking aloft, nothing 
 could be distinguished half way up to the tops. The 
 sea was like ink, except where the great lumping swell 
 floundered against the broadside and set the water aflame 
 with phosphorescence a weird mockery of light, which 
 does not illuminate an inch beyond your nose. 
 
 Sober and anxious, the captain and Braybrook kept up 
 their walk, both awed by the terrible suspense impending 
 over the ship. The voices of the thoughtless, hilarious 
 men on the forecastle sounded strange and out of place 
 in such an hour. When it was known among the crew 
 that the barometer was low, and falling fast, the hews 
 served to stop their jubulous whistling and singing ; the 
 oldest seamen instantly caught the ominous threatening 
 of the rising undulation, and the blinding darkness of the 
 night. 
 
 After again inspecting the two barometers, Captain 
 Talbert came out and spoke in low tones to the second 
 mate, evidently expressing his increased anxiety about the 
 weather. He went aft and looked at the compass, and 
 listened, closely to the snarling, spiteful swash of the great 
 swells ; which, windless as it was, humped themselves up 
 almost like wind-driven billows, and came so near to 
 breaking into crests that they made a gurgling, sup 
 pressed noise, like the choking of a score of drowning 
 men. This determined the captain to act at once, and he 
 gave his orders in a loud voice : 
 
 "Brail up the foresail and mainsail ! Snug them up 
 close to the yards."
 
 Taking in Sail. 99 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir ! " came in quick response from Braybrook, 
 and he in turn bellowed to the men : 
 
 " For'ard there ! gather aft and brail up the mainsail. 
 Man clew-garnets and buntlines. Let go tack and sheet." 
 
 Dark as it was, there was a sufficient leaven of sea-going 
 men among the watch to find the ropes readily, and in five 
 minutes the great sail hung in the brails. 
 
 '' Belay all the main rigging. Lay for'ard, and up with 
 the foresail." 
 
 "Ay, ay, sir," answered Nantucket Jim, the worthy 
 spokesman of the starboard watch, who led the chorus in 
 the hoisting, took the highest hand-grip on the halyards, 
 clewlines, or reef-tackles. 
 
 When the foresail was snugged, Braybrook so reported 
 to the captain, and received his further orders : 
 
 "Haul down jib and flying jib. Clew up royals and 
 to'gans'ils, and furl them. Work lively, every man of 
 you." 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir," replied Braybrook. " Mr. Antoine, keep 
 a few hands for'ard, and down jibs, and clew up the r'yal 
 and gansail. Aft here, the rest of the watch. Let go 
 r'yal halyard and sheets, and clew up. Well ! To'gans'il 
 halyard, and sheets let run, and man the rigging. Belay ! 
 Up aloft, 'Tucket an' English Bill, an' take with you two 
 greenies, an' furl the sails. Aft here, the rest of yer, to 
 the mizzen rigging, an' clew up r'yal an' 'gans'il." 
 
 A half hour's labor was expended, and the light sails 
 aloft were all furled, and the jibs stowed. That done, the 
 fore and main hatches were bared down, and the tar 
 paulins put snugly on, making ready for the deck to be 
 submerged. When the watch was all down from aloft, the
 
 IOO The Flee twins;. 
 
 men were stationed at the three topsails ; the halyards were 
 coiled carefully on deck, ready to be let go by the run. 
 
 With the exception of the abrupt fall of the mercury, 
 the ugly swell rolling in from the southeast gave the only 
 indicated direction of the coming gale. Even that might 
 be only the after-swell of a furious cyclone, a thousand 
 miles away, which had long since blown itself out. On 
 the contrary, it was the joint belief of the most weather- 
 wise on board that a terrific gale was brewing in the 
 southeast, and the swell was deemed a true forerunner of 
 what was coming. 
 
 The suspense increased with every moment's delay of 
 the wind. The rudder continued to thrash as if it would 
 be torn from its pintles; and a second time the slack 
 wheel-ropes had to be tautened. The wind had fallen to 
 a flat calm. The ship fell off into the deep trough of the 
 seas, rolling frightfully, bringing up with a heavy lurch, 
 whenever she reached her bearing. The dread uncer 
 tainty and oppression hung like a pall over every one. 
 Something dreadful was surely impending ; and a frightful 
 danger was evidently very near at hand. All felt as if 
 they could not be kept much longer in suspense. 
 
 As an outlet to his growing apprehensions, Captain 
 Talbert now gave an order to furl the mainsail and brail 
 up the spanker, as the latter was a dangerous sail to be 
 caught with, though much needed in a rolling ?ea. That 
 done, the mizzentopsail was close-reefed, hoisted, and. 
 braced sharp up. Nothing now remained on the ship but 
 the two broad topsails, canvas which must be kept set at 
 all hazard, to prevent the vessel from straining her masts 
 by rolling.
 
 All Hands Called. 101 
 
 All hands were now hurriedly called, for it was evident 
 to all that the crisis was at hand, though but few could 
 tell upon what they grounded their belief. But it was a 
 time when the mental part of man seemed suspended in 
 the air, nerved up like a bird with wings extended, ready 
 for flight. 
 
 The second mate's watch was concentrated at the main- 
 topsail halyards, reef-tackles, and clewlines, under Bray- 
 brook's own eye. Fast as the larboard watch came up, 
 they were stationed at the foretopsail rigging, by the 
 mate, who took his position near the man at the halyards, 
 to make sure they were let run the instant the word was 
 given. Captain Talbert took his station at the binnacle, 
 where he could overlook the helm, which had a strong 
 man and a lusty boy tugging at the jerking wheel. 
 
 Mrs. Talbert had a window open at the head of her 
 berth, where she could receive a needed word of assurance 
 from the captain, for the oppressive atmosphere had 
 struck inboard as well as out. Miss Allston would occa 
 sionally call up from the depths of the lower cabin to her 
 companion in the upper, to know what awful thing was 
 going to happen. Again she called with urgent voice, 
 asking what that dreadful thing was pounding beneath 
 her berth, as if it would break in the ship's bottom. 
 When told that it was the rudder, she felt ashamed of her 
 idle fears, and did not further inquire what made the par 
 titions groan and the carlines creak, like cart-wheels that 
 needed greasing. 
 
 For half an hour all hands were thus kept at stations 
 watching for what had not yet come. One by one the 
 crew let go the ropes and crouched in a drowsy heap
 
 102 The Fleetwing. 
 
 under the bulwarks, and were soon sleeping, oblivious of 
 the threatened danger. 
 
 At length the sharp ear of the mate caught a low moan 
 ing sound far away in the southeast, which he reported to 
 the captain. For a while no one else could hear it, and 
 precious time was lost. Soon after, a low rumble became 
 audible to every ear, which quickly increased to a sullen 
 roar, followed by a terrific squall, which struck the ship 
 abeam, bursting with an overwhelming force of wind and 
 waves, crushing the vessel down upon her broadside in 
 an instant. 
 
 Though the topsail halyards were let go promptly on 
 the order, even before the gale struck, yet by chance the 
 ship was careened over by a low lee-lurch, at the time, 
 and the iron parrels jammed on the masts, and the yards 
 would not come down to the caps. Thirty men were put 
 on to reef-tackles and clewlines, tugging t away like mad 
 men, but there hung the yards, cockbilled by the wind, at 
 the risk of losing the spars and the sails. 
 
 The helrri was put up and the mizzentopsail squared 
 in, endeavoring to run the ship off before the wind. She 
 would only pay off about four points, take the bit in her 
 teeth, and rush madly back into the wind again ; burying 
 her lee-bow under the monstrous seas half-way to the 
 mainmast, until the men to leeward had to spring into the 
 rigging and climb above the fair-leaders for security. 
 
 The situation was full of peril, and required good sea 
 manship to extricate the ship. The sails were new and 
 strong, but the yards could not long stand such strain. 
 More head-sail must be set, or the ship would not pay off. 
 Order was passed to the mate to set the foresail ; first try-
 
 Struck by the Gale. 103 
 
 ing a !ee clew ; and if that would not do, then set the 
 whole sail. 
 
 The foresheet was manned, the clew-garnet and lee 
 buntlines eased carefully away, and at length, a goose- 
 winged foresail was set. Again the helm was put hard 
 up, and, after a moment's irresolution, the ship payed off 
 before the wind, the yards were got down on the lifts, and 
 the reef-tackles were hauled up two blocks. 
 
 The men were then ordered aloft, a full watch upon 
 each yard, and, as a lull came just then in the gale, the 
 ship was brought to the wind without shipping a sea. 
 Before the hands were fairly upon the yards, the gale 
 piped on again, listing the ship over until the lee rail lay 
 level with the frothy sea. It was a test of true courage 
 for the seamen, while the poor green hands had sufficient 
 reason to be appalled by what appeared certain destruc 
 tion awaiting them. 
 
 In the bright, brief glares of lightning which lit up the 
 ship, the black figures of men could be seen clinging to 
 the white yards with the grip of death. The thrashing 
 canvas ballooned out high above the men for a moment, 
 and then beat down upon the yards with a thundering 
 crash, endangering the heads of the watch at every blow. 
 
 During the squalls the men could only cling for their 
 lives, waiting for another lull in the gale. The boat-steer- 
 ers at the lee earings, sitting astride of the yards, and the 
 reefers on the lee yard-arms were in positions full of peril ; 
 and nothing but the top-lifts prevented the former from 
 being hurled from the yard-end into the sea, with every 
 leeward slat of the sail. 
 
 When the squall again abated, quick work was made by
 
 IO4 The Fleetwing. 
 
 the men on both yards. The first two reefs were made in 
 one. Then a close reef was taken, earings hauled taut 
 and reef-points knotted, the best that time would permit 
 in the howling gale. Gladly the overtaxed men crept in 
 from the yards, and worked their way slowly down the 
 dark rigging, jammed hard against the shrouds by the re 
 newed force of the wind. 
 
 When all were on deck, the hazards were tautened, 
 and the yards braced up. The goose-wing of the foresail 
 was taken in, the whole sail furled, and the ship made 
 snug fore and aft for any emergency. 
 
 All of the first and an hour of the middle watch had 
 gone by when the hard tussle of the reefing was over. 
 Mr. Bailey took charge of the middle watch, while Bray- 
 brook and his water-soaked men went below to change 
 their clothes, and snatch a brief sleep from the three re 
 maining hours of their watch below.
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 THE TERRIFIED AND SEA-SICK LADIES. 
 
 \\ 7HEN the Fleetwing had been made snug alow and 
 aloft, and it was found the noble vessel weathered 
 the gale easily, Captain Talbert put the ship in charge of 
 Mr. Bailey, and retired to the cabin, to look after the little 
 family within. Mrs. Talbert was found desperately sea 
 sick, and had been badly frightened at one time in fear 
 the ship was going to pieces, judging from the fearful 
 hubbub without. Having been compelled to close her 
 window when the gale struck, the lady was shut off from 
 all means of communication with her husband, while his 
 long delay on deck alarmed her lest something very seri 
 ous had happened. 
 
 Miss Allston had suffered far more from sea-sickness 
 and fright than Mrs. Talbert. Imprisoned in the loneli 
 ness of the lower cabin, where her fears were augmented 
 by the surrounding gloom, the young girl had received 
 a severe mental shock in addition to her sea-sickness. 
 When the gale struck the ship, a deluge of sea-water 
 burst in at the lee stern window the dead-light not being 
 closed and dashed with terrible force across the transom, 
 down which it poured in a cataract, leading the already 
 alarmed girl to believe the ship was sinking, and that all 
 on board would be drowned. 
 
 105
 
 io6 The Fleetwing. 
 
 Occupying a rather elevated weather berth, whose berth- 
 board was much too low for a storm, Miss Allston had 
 barely escaped being flung headlong out at the first dread 
 ful lee-lurch of the stricken ship. Such a fall would have 
 plunged her waist-deep into the water then swashing 
 about in the lee-scuppers. This fright, occurring amidst 
 the unearthly noise of creaking timbers, groaning bulk 
 heads, howling wind, and roaring seas, made the dismal 
 place seem a very pandemonium created to madden her 
 brain. 
 
 In this dazed state of mind Miss Allston lay two long 
 hours before help came, watching the hideous black 
 shadows made by the swinging lamp, whose flame flickered 
 just enough to people the gloom with moving terrors. 
 When the ship was recovering from a frightful forward 
 pitch, or a low-down leeward lurch, then the wind-blown 
 lamp would swing quickly back toward the berth, disclos 
 ing to the frenzied girl numerous half-defined monsters 
 creeping out from dark crannies, threatening her by 
 menacing gestures as they stealthily approached the berth, 
 until the horrified girl would cover her face to smother her 
 cries, and lie trembling with fright, possessed with the 
 belief that she was to be seized by the black demons, and 
 flung into the sea. 
 
 As Captain Talbert could not leave his wife to go to the 
 assistance of the lady passenger, it fell to the mate his 
 wet clothes having been changed to attend the sick 
 girl below. Raymond had officiated as the ship's doctor 
 on the previous voyage, being gifted with a natural love 
 for medical lore. He had further greatly perfected him 
 self during the past three months at home, where he had
 
 The Young Medico. 107 
 
 not only attended a full course of medical lectures, but 
 had also applied himself diligently to private instruction, 
 posting on Materia Medica with a view to specific 
 medication under the guidance of a prominent city 
 physician of the reformed practice. 
 
 There was now an urgent call both for prescriptions 
 and medical attendance upon the two sick ladies, and the 
 young medico was not long in showing that he was equal 
 to the emergency. After administering a cerebro-spinal 
 remedy to Mrs. Talbert, whose lower brain was yet the 
 principal seat of trouble, and having advised hand-friction 
 to the spine, followed by a supine position, with the head 
 low to overcome the brainal anaemia Raymond left 
 his first patient in charge "of the captain, with the positive 
 assurance that she would be all right and asleep within 
 an hour. 
 
 Hastening below to Miss Allston, who had already been 
 left too long to herself, he found the sick girl in such con 
 dition that she could not have long survived without 
 relief. Her stomach had been greatly strained by retching 
 and vomiting, so that an emesis of blood was induced, 
 which frightened her, coming as an accessory to other sur 
 rounding horrors. 
 
 When Raymond approached the berth of the half- 
 dead girl, she lay cowering with terror ; her head hidden 
 from view, half smothered beneath the clothes. She was 
 doubled up with severe pleurisy pain, probably caused by 
 retching, and had a high fever, the effect of her all-per 
 vading fear of death. Every drop of the wretched girl's 
 blood had receded from the surface, engorging the heart 
 almost to suffocation, leaving her deathly pale, as seen in
 
 io8 The Fleetiving. 
 
 the dim light, and quaking audibly with the deadly ague 
 of fright. 
 
 Horrified at the sad condition in which he found the 
 young creature, Raymond endeavored in vain to break the 
 frenzied clutch of her one hand from the berth-board, and 
 of the other from the bedclothes, held fast over her half- 
 stifled head. Not until he spoke to her, in the tenderest 
 tones, and told her who he was, and for what purpose he 
 had come to her, would the terror-stricken girl disclose her 
 face. Clutching fast to Raymond's hand for protection 
 as she glanced furtively about her, Miss Allston looked 
 gratefully up into the mate's eyes as he bent over her, 
 bursting into hysterical sobs and tears when assured of 
 safety. 
 
 Well might her young heart gladden when she saw Ray 
 mond's cheery face bending tenderly over her berth. 
 The sympathetic tones of his voice acquired a charm to 
 her in that moment which the girl would never forget. 
 Besides, it is a well known fact that an intelligent sailor 
 has the rare faculty of making a woman feel instantly at 
 her ease in his presence ; so much at home with herself in 
 his company that she forgets her natural feminine constraint 
 before men. This psychologic quality of a noble mariner 
 begets implicit confidence with the gentle sex, and easily 
 leads to mutual admiration, if not to lasting endearment. 
 
 In his province of physician, Raymond was quick to 
 perceive the imperative call for aconite in each and all of 
 the indicated symptoms of the almost death-stricken girl. 
 He administered a few minute doses of this powerful 
 herbal medicament, which together with his own re-assur 
 ing presence, soon showed a beneficial effect,
 
 The Terrified Girl. 109 
 
 It allayed the fever and the unquenchable thirst; sub 
 dued the pleurisy without the aid of bryonia, the usual 
 specific ; quieted her apprehension, and gradually restored 
 her to an almost normal circulation again. Her sea-sick 
 ness, which was at first increased by a moderate fright, 
 was at length wholly subdued by the mental shock of real 
 terror. 
 
 So completely dazed was the young girl before Ray 
 mond appeared, that every sight and sound about her took 
 on some supernatural aspect. But when her rescuer came 
 to officiate as the good Samaritan, pressing her aching 
 temples with his magnetic fingers, chafing her ice-cold 
 hands, and soothing away her fears by his sympathetic 
 tones, the whole train of terrifying evils were exorcised as 
 by magic. 
 
 The girl believed every word which Raymond said to 
 her, when he felt it necessary to declare that all danger to 
 the ship had passed ; and that she must put away her 
 fears, trust to his medical skill, and suffer him to soothe 
 her to sleep, as the only anodyne which could alleviate 
 her aching heart and disordered brain. All these appeals 
 were appreciated by the half-crazed girl, and they fell on 
 her ear like a mother's lullaby when wooing her sick child 
 to slumber. 
 
 Finding she was growing drowsy in spite of herself, 
 Miss Allston would renew her effort to keep awake ; ap 
 palled at the thought of again being left alone with the 
 hideous noises made by the laboring ship, and in the 
 midst of darkness so peopled with stalking shadows. 
 
 Clinging with desperation to Raymond's free hand, so 
 that he could not steal away from her should she drop to
 
 HO The Fleet^ving. 
 
 sleep, at the end of two hour's tussle with her lingering 
 terrors, the sick girl quieted into a tranquil state and slept 
 soundly, oblivious of all the wild uproar of the gale. 
 
 The aconite had acted beautifully, and proved the best 
 hypnotic she could have had. In fact it is an incontrover 
 tible axiom in medication that the truly indicated remedy 
 in acute diseases, of whatever name or nature, is the best 
 possible soporific for the sick. 
 
 For another long hour Raymond clung to the berth mid 
 
 %. 
 
 the tossing of the storm, watching tenderly over the sleep 
 ing girl, who was often startled from her deepest slumber 
 by the noisy jerks of the wheel-rope, whenever an ugly 
 sea came, lunged down under the counter, and whanged 
 away at the rudder, like some infuriated monster. 
 
 To sleep the first night at sea is usually a difficult 
 matter. Somnolence is then crowded so full of night 
 mare visions and unearthly noises, that even a sailor can 
 not always accomplish the task. Thus the passive rest of 
 this gently nurtured girl was remarkable, considering that 
 she had undergone the awful crash of the storm-lashed 
 ship lurching to her beam-ends ; the deluge pouring in at 
 her chamber window, imparting the dreadful delusion of a 
 sinking ship ; horrors enough to disconcert the bravest. 
 
 When eight bells struck, Raymond quietly disengaged 
 his hand from the clasp of the sleeping girl, and stole up 
 into the cabin to see what was needed there. Finding 
 Mrs. Talbert sleeping soundly, he went out on the storm- 
 tossed deck to exchange a word with Uncle Joe, whose 
 men were gathered about him under the hurricane-house, 
 having one by one been below to change their wet gar 
 ments.
 
 The Wrecked Spars. 1 1 1 
 
 The ship was making good weather of the gale, though 
 the seas ran high and the wind blew hard. Toward the 
 last of the watch the gale had gradually worked around to 
 the south, blowing harder than ever for a while ; coming 
 in sharp, shrieking hail-squalls, that tuned up the strained 
 shrouds and backstays into gigantic fiddle-strings. This 
 shift of wind let the ship head up nearly square into the 
 old southeast swell, which made the vessel pitch furiously 
 for a time ; though it was too dark to discover whether 
 anything was carried away or not. 
 
 So passed the first black night of the gale. When 
 Braybrook came out to take his morning watch, Raymond 
 went in and took another look at his patients, and, finding 
 them sleeping, turned in " all standing," ready to tumble 
 out again at a moment's notice when needed. The gale 
 continued veering until daylight, by which time it had 
 backened fairly round into the west, and again piped on 
 furiously ^or an hour ; giving the ship three separate run 
 of seas to battle with. 
 
 Morning dawned upon a desolate wilderness of waters. 
 The starboard watch lay crouched under the weather-rail, 
 seeking shelter from the cutting wind and drenching 
 spray. At the first outlook over the deck, it was discov 
 ered that the lee bulwarks were much sloven forward, and 
 amidships, where the monstrous waves had found their 
 way out, after mounting over the weather-rail and rushing 
 across the deck. 
 
 With further accession of light it was found that the 
 flying jib-boom was broken short off at the boom-iron ; the 
 sail blown from the gasket and torn to tatters ; while the 
 martingale stay and the t\v> jib-guys hung trailing in the
 
 112 The Fleetwing. 
 
 sea, bleached by the wash of the turbulent waters. This 
 mishap to the boom served to carry away the fore royal 
 mast, which was broken short off at the eyes of the rig 
 ging ; and, together with the royal yard, hung thrashing 
 against the lee shrouds. Here was work for nimble men 
 aloft, to send down the wreck ; and a wet job for others 
 to bowse in the rigging of the broken boom. 
 
 While at work pulling in the fly-jib guys, a worse disas 
 ter was discovered. The outer chain bobstay had parted ; 
 which greatly endangered the massive bowsprit whenever 
 the ship pitched into the head-beat seas. As the vessel 
 buried her bows too much to secure her bowsprit, while 
 on a-wind, the helm was put up and the ship kept off 
 before the gale. After much trouble, the heavy chain bob- 
 stay was fished up, and secured to the bowsprit by strong 
 rope-lashings, passed round the spar just outside of the 
 bowsprit bees. 
 
 The wind had previously hauled until the ship could 
 now steer her course, with the gale on her quarter. Bray- 
 brook stepped into the cabin and reported the change to 
 Captain Talbert, and received orders to set a reefed fore 
 sail, and head the ship to the eastward, as near on her 
 course as she would go and make good weather. After 
 the foresail had been reefed and set, with both tacks and 
 sheets bowsed taut while yet dead before it, the ship was 
 luffed to the east-southeast; this brought the gale two 
 points off the starboard quarter, and set the vessel racing 
 like a bird over the monstrous seas. 
 
 The lumping side-swells, still heaving in from the south, 
 made the ship roll at times in an unseemly manner: often 
 careening until her lee rail lay level with the white tops of
 
 The Welcome Stm. 1 1 3 
 
 the racing seas. When the Fleetwing was thus soused 
 down by the heavy lee-lurches, the foresheet dipped in 
 the frothy spume of the waves, and the chain-plates were 
 buried until the lashed waters spurted like fountain-jets 
 from the side. 
 
 The gale held strong for three days, and the sky re 
 mained cold and gray until nearly noon of the second 
 day ; then the welcome sun came out through the narrow 
 rifts in the clouds, in time to secure observations by which 
 to determine the latitude for the day ; and at length, while 
 the watch were at dinner, the remaining storm-scud blew 
 away, like smoke after the battle, leaving a pale blue sky 
 arched timidly over the storm-lashed Ocean.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 PERSONALITY OF THE LADY PASSENGER. 
 
 IN the afternoon of the second day of the gale, when 
 * the deck became dry, and the scudding ship had 
 steadied down her frenzied leaps and staggering gait so 
 troublesome for the best sea-legs to encounter the ladies 
 and child, assisted by the captain and mate, ventured out 
 from the damp cabin to warm themselves in the sun. 
 And much they needed the cheering light of day and the 
 welcome solar beams to tint their pale faces, and coax 
 away the lurking remnant of timidity that still lingered 
 about them both. 
 
 The courage of the ladies had been put to a much se 
 verer test than that of the sailors, who were permitted 
 the cheering stimulus of personally battling with the 
 storm. Deprive a person of the moral support gained by 
 facing a peril, and you inflict the added horror of sus 
 pense to his apprehension of an unknown, because un 
 seen, danger. 
 
 Mrs. Talbert and her child were snuggled together in a 
 large cane chair, secured by lashings to the weather side 
 of the round-house, where the bleached rays of the 
 afternoon sun could bestow his constant attention, as well 
 as the thin veil of cold scuds would permit. The ship was 
 
 114
 
 Scudding in the Gale. 1 1 5 
 
 racing along on the tops of the combing seas, making 
 easy work of keeping the tallest crests of the fiercest 
 billows from slopping over the quarter, or pooping against 
 the stern. But so monstrous and menacing were the 
 larger waves as they chased along with tigerish ferocity in 
 the wake of the ship, rearing savagely up over the taffrail 
 and threatening to invade the quarter,- that well might the 
 ladies be alarmed, and cover their faces and utter girlish 
 cries of terror, though they soon subdued their childish 
 fears and enjoyed the scene. 
 
 Miss Allston leaned languidly over the quarter rail, 
 carefully supported by Raymond, and peered thoughtfully 
 down into the sun-touched water, until a gleam from its 
 iridescent hues tinted her pale cheeks, whilst the blue of 
 her eyes was made brighter and bluer by the reflected 
 azure from the sea. 
 
 The excitement of thus watching the ship bowling be 
 fore the gale, fleeing from the whistling wind, and racing 
 along with the mountain billows, awoke the slumbering fire 
 in the dull eyes of the convalescent girl. Mastering her 
 fears, she soon became amazed and amused with the 
 ship's frolicsome capers, as she watched the writhing 
 coils of foaming waters sent roaring away from the bows. 
 The strong sunlight on the crests of the breaking waves was 
 another notable sight to enliven her heart when she saw 
 the wind-blown froth sprinkle the smooth deep hollow of 
 the seas with silver stars of dazzling whiteness. 
 
 The ship rolled easily on the long curves of the gigan 
 tic waves, careening just enough to bury her lee channels 
 in the creaming seas, hurling from them a glittering cata 
 ract of foam as she rose with a quick weather lurch, thus
 
 1 1 6 The Flectiving. 
 
 burying her channels again and again, as if in playful 
 pastime with the blue and white billows. When, in her 
 deeper rolls, the ship washed down to her planksheer, the 
 lee scuppers would gurgle and splutter, taking in a pail 
 ful of the sparkling foam-bubbles, wetting the deck for 
 fathoms around. 
 
 As Raymond and the girl thus sat confidingly together 
 by the quarter rail, looking thoughtfully out over the tur 
 bulent ocean, and contemplating its frightful mood of 
 wrath, frequent nervous tremors ran quivering through the 
 girl's slender frame ; brief recurrences of past apprehen 
 sions that were seared into her memory for a lifetime. In 
 such moments of renewed terror, both of her pretty 
 hands would clutch fast upon Raymond's arm, clinging to 
 the strong, manly mate with a sweet confiding look in her 
 face, implying that whatever the danger, there was safety 
 for her with him near to protect her. It looked as if the 
 young mate was fast becoming to her more than she 
 knew since that terrible night rescue, so frank and out 
 spoken were her words, so glowing and tender were her 
 appealing looks. 
 
 The girl possessed easy, assured manners, yet she could 
 be reserved and dignified if she wished, and often was 
 with the other officers when occasion required. But with 
 Raymond she had already assumed the role of a loving 
 sister, openly worming herself into his confidence with 
 sweet feminine ways, and seeking every opportunity to 
 proffer her sympathy in his love affair with Mary Tudor. 
 
 How such delightful companionship as this was to end 
 with the virile young mate, time alone can disclose. There 
 can be no doubt that Raymond's heart was sincerely occu-
 
 Asenith A Us ton. 117 
 
 pied with another. But here was a noble, brilliant girl, 
 worth a shipload of his puling Mary Tudors. Was Ray 
 mond sufficiently blinded to Miss Allston's superior qual 
 ities to resist her fascination during a long sea-voyage ? 
 Who can tell ? 
 
 The girl was not capable of inducing the mate to break 
 compact with his beautiful Mary ; for she was as pure- 
 minded and full of noble impulses as he. Yet, view it 
 as we will, it was a pitiable situation for a noble-minded 
 man to be thus subjected to temptation, bound as he was 
 by the hasty covenant of love in an unequal match ; it 
 must surely end in breaking his previous bonds with Mary 
 Tudor, and who shall be blamed ? 
 
 Asenith Allston was a graceful, delicately built girl of 
 twenty-two; apt and intelligent in conversation ; pleasing, 
 and sprightly in her manners. A susceptible, warm-hearted 
 creature, ever ready to lend a helping hand when pressing 
 need required. She had a well formed, ideal head, sparsely 
 crowned with soft brown hair ; her cheeks were tinted 
 with a delicate flush of peach-bloom, which imparted a 
 most winsome expression to her animated face. Her 
 blue-gray eyes, shaded by long dark lashes, were lustrous 
 as moonbeams in her placid moments ; though the high- 
 strung girl could be easily aroused, till the blue would 
 wholly absorb the gray in her flashing orbs ; then a light 
 ning ire would wither the assailant who dared invade her 
 maiden prerogative. As shrewd old Uncle Joe happily 
 expressed it : 
 
 '' Golly ! sah, doan yer see, dat ar gal wul mind 'er 
 helm ebbry time yer touch ar spoke ob 'er wheel ? " 
 
 Why such a stylish, attractive girl should have remained
 
 1 1 8 The Fleetwing. 
 
 unmarried at her age was, indeed, a strange anomaly, 
 one of those grave physiological problems pertaining to 
 thousands of other self-asserting American women. She 
 was a girl certain to attract universal attention in the 
 society of gentlemen, because of her sprightly, sparkling 
 ways. Yet, alas, there surely was some grievous fault, 
 hidden somewhere in the veiled arcanum of her being, 
 which the world at large has failed to comprehend. A 
 vital lesion of the nerve-centre, from some previous spinal 
 hurt, only perceptible to the few, which causes the intel 
 lectual faculties to dominate the more feminine qualities 
 of a loving, sensuous temperament. A type of woman 
 such as a keen-eyed physiognomist can readily distinguish 
 by her straight, slender nose, her thin lips, and her large, 
 firm, and well chiselled mouth. 
 
 To all outward appearance, Asenith Allston seemed 
 most admirably modelled to attract, entertain, and amuse 
 the opposite sex ; but beyond doubt she was not one to 
 easily win to herself lasting endearments from a gentle 
 man, a sad misfortune, which shames the boasted skill 
 of our practitioners, few of whom understand the cause 
 or know the cure. Yet it is an abnormal condition which 
 a skilled physiologist could determine at sight, by the thin, 
 straight eyebrows, the insufficient growth of light hair, a 
 lack of robust physique, and the absence of the abashed, 
 retiring manners of true feminality. 
 
 Therefore it happens that such vivacious, keen-witted, 
 self-possessed girls as Miss Allston are rightfully deemed 
 forward ; and, however beautiful and attractive they may 
 otherwise be, they fail not to overawe men of less assert 
 ive character than themselves; as most men have an ever-
 
 A Woman 's Foibles. 119 
 
 haunting fear of being mated witli a dominant-minded 
 woman. 
 
 Beautiful and entertaining as she was, it remained to be 
 seen if Asenith Allston could withstand the severe test of 
 a sea-voyage, the place of all others to expose every hu 
 man foible a girl may possess. The constant attrition of 
 two persons on shipboard, daily dependent on each other 
 for social pabulum, held face to face till each becomes 
 familiar with every freckle and moth-patch of the chosen 
 companion, is a severe ordeal for any woman, with her 
 fastidious notions and squeamish lunar moods. 
 
 Yet, per contra, if a woman has some more enduring 
 quality than her beauty, some more winsome charac 
 teristic than her piquant tongue to offset her multitu 
 dinous hobbies, then a sea-voyage is the place to disclose 
 her feminine attractions, where they will shine like 
 beacon-lights midst the dreadful monotony of shipboard. 
 
 The ladies had spent three hours of instructive pastime 
 on deck, in becoming familiarized with the sublime aspect 
 of a pleasant gale. Nothing could so readily divest their 
 minds of the lingering apprehensions still clinging to 
 them, as watching the frolicsome, fleet-winged ship, racing 
 easily before the gale, seemingly defying the utmost efforts 
 of the larger seas to board her, or sprinkle the sparkling 
 spray from their bursting tops as they exploded with an 
 angry roar. 
 
 As the afternoon drew near to a close, the gale abated a 
 little, and the tattered cirrus clouds became less torn and 
 curled at their extremities, as they streaked across the far 
 upper sky. The pleasant sun-side of the low-down masses 
 of cumulus had been gradually expanding to the growing
 
 1 20 The Fleetwing. 
 
 warmth of the afternoon sun, until the western side of 
 these vast cloud-masses had now become white and 
 fleecy as snow-drifts, so far promising that the whistling 
 wind would soon abate its turbulence. But there are two 
 sides to the clouds to be judged of in weather prognostics. 
 The shady side of these low-flying cumuli still remained 
 dark as a nimbus, looking ominous with wind or rain. 
 The squally appearance of their eastern aspect was in a 
 measure confirmed by the surly dirge-notes of the storm- 
 waves, which rose spitefully up into tall crests, spitting 
 and spuming their frothy scum with the snap and snarl of 
 fighting cats. 
 
 Though much of the lowering appearance of the 
 weather was due to the low sun and the approach of 
 night, yet it was agreed, even before the barometer began 
 to fall, that the gale was about to increase, or the wind to 
 shift and pipe on from another quarter. This made it 
 advisable for the ladies to seek their berths and bottle up 
 a few hours sleep before the change, and at the captain's 
 suggestion they were escorted to the cabin and admon 
 ished to turn in. 
 
 Since the terrible experience of the first night of the 
 gale, Raymond had put up a bar across the front of Miss 
 Allston's berth, precluding the possibility of her being 
 thrown out, however suddenly the ship might be knocked 
 down in a gale. The young lady had since contrived to 
 sleep fairly well, with an occasional complaint of sore 
 bones, induced by the lively toss and tumble of the Fleet- 
 wing in her mad antics when throttled by the rough hands 
 of the gale.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 CAPTURING THE FIRST SPERM WHALES. 
 
 '"THE Fleetwing was now twelve days out, and was fast 
 approaching Flores and Corvo, two outlying islands 
 of the Azores. For a week past the ship had been steer 
 ing east, looking for sperm whales along the southern edge 
 of the Gulf Stream, a large part of which stream contin 
 ues on to the eastward until it strikes the coast of Africa, 
 thence sweeps south to the equator, from whence it flows 
 west until it joins the parent stream. 
 
 The very innermost curve of this great ocean current 
 circles around the Azores, which makes the vicinity of the 
 islands a favorite feeding-ground for sperm whales. It 
 was this southernmost curve of the Gulf Stream, which 
 cast ashore the Indian arrows, and numerous other Amer 
 ican products, upon the Azores, and induced Columbus 
 and other great navigators to believe that the Indies lay 
 not far away to the west. 
 
 The so-called " Flores Ground " is about three degrees 
 to the northwest of the island, in the latitude of 40, lon 
 gitude 33, and thereabout. Though the masthead of the 
 Fleetwing had been well manned, thus far the lookouts had 
 seen no indications of whales. Neither porpoises, black- 
 fish, nor even birds had been seen for several days, as 
 
 121
 
 1 22 TJie Fleetiving. 
 
 sufficient inducement for the ship to tarry. Yet, much 
 to the surprise of the officers, Captain Talbert now an 
 nounced his determination to cruise awhile on the " Flores 
 Ground," hoping to obtain a good catch of sperm oil to 
 send home from Fayal, where the ship would touch for 
 the purpose of shipping four or five hardy young fisher 
 men, to increase the crew. Just why the captain was so 
 sanguine about seeing whale on such a dead-looking 
 ground none could tell. If the wind held fair, the ship 
 would reach the Flores ground early on the coming 
 morning. 
 
 During Braybrook's morning watch there had been a 
 current report wafted through the ship that Uncle Joe said 
 whales would soon be seen. The rumor grew to such pro 
 portions during the night-watch that before seven bells it 
 was asserted that whales were to be seen on the coming 
 day. Braybrook had ever shown great contempt for Mr. 
 Bailey's so-called prophetic power; but curiosity finally 
 became so generally aroused throughout the ship that 
 the steerage-boy was sent down to wake up Hoogley, 
 and learn from him if there was any foundation for the 
 story. 
 
 Hoogley confirmed the report to this extent : during 
 the middle watch Mr. Bailey entertained his two boat-steer- 
 ers with what John Hoogley supposed to be a vivid dream 
 about seeing sperm whales, and put it in Uncle Joe's own 
 words : 
 
 " Darfor, brudders, ef I's right, dem yare ole Sogs wul 
 pop up 'bout de crack o' day, an' jes gib de piecious chil- 
 un time ter et dar breakfus' 'fore we lower de boats. So 
 .pray de gude Lawd whin yer go to bunk, Jose, to ke'p de
 
 Foretelling Whales. 123 
 
 sole til mornin'. Fur, chilun, whin Uncle Joe bin seen 
 de whale in he sleep, he allus sez, ' Now I lay me,' arter 
 de gude dream. An', brudders, I spects de bressed Lawd 
 teks it kindly ob dis yere ole niggar, for I allus feel dat I's 
 been lie in his buzum arter dat leedle pray'r. Why, Hoog- 
 ley, dis chile lubs the Lawd so much I duzn't tink he minds 
 de brack on dis niggar." 
 
 There was something so touching in the Christian pre 
 cepts of the pious old man that, whether Braybrook and 
 other scoffers believed in his power of prophecy or not, 
 they all conceded this one priceless quality, which had 
 already gained him the respect of all on board. Uncle 
 Joe's faith and trust in the Heavenly Father were like that 
 of a little child casting himself on the bosom of the 
 parent. The roughest sailor never makes light of genuine 
 piety, and his harshest oaths were always abbreviated in 
 the presence of the old darkey. Even Cape Verd Jose 
 the fiercest barbarian on board was often seen counting 
 his beads with awe when the old veteran was addressing 
 him. When Bailey was asked if he thought it possible to 
 redeem such a reprobate, his reply was characteristic: 
 
 " Sure nuf, Jose am gut ar shinin' sole down in de dark 
 sumwhar. An' de gude Lawd 'spects old Uncle Joe ter 
 find it fur his sake. So I's kep' fishin' 'mong dat ar nig- 
 gar's in'ards allers, an' de blessed Lawd wul bait de hook 
 till it kotch 'im." 
 
 At daybreak, when the mate was called out, Braybrook, 
 in a vein of ridicule, told hirn of the current report 
 coming from Mr. Bailey. Without placing very much 
 reliance on the prescience of Uncle Joe, the mate, being 
 of a more sanguine temperament, let the story grow upon
 
 1 24 The Fleetwing. 
 
 him as he walked the deck, until he suddenly ordered the 
 mastheads double-manned. And finally the fascination of 
 the story became so great that Raymond himself caught 
 up the spyglass and went aloft, to stay until breakfast- 
 time. 
 
 Eight bells struck, and the larboard watch were called 
 out, and the whales had not yet made their appearance. 
 Raymond came down from aloft, and, without making 
 talk with any one, slipped in to breakfast, evidently a .little 
 ashamed of the enthusiasm he had shown. Meeting Mr. 
 Bailey coming from his state-room, the mate asked : 
 
 " Is it true that you have promised whales for to-day ? " 
 
 " Yis, Misser Raymon', de ole sogs am down off de lee 
 bow sumwhar. Jis et yer breakfas', sah, an' let de boys 
 hab dar lobscouse an' coffee ; an' 'fore yer can git in de 
 lines de 'parm whales wul be cumin', sartin sure, sar." 
 
 There was a tender tone in the old man's voice, and a 
 pleading lustre in his one soft eye which Raymond likened 
 to the look of a hungry deer when approached with 
 food. 
 
 During breakfast, Captain Talbert asked Uncle Joe 
 what was up, and was told that he had done a heap of 
 whaling in his dreams of the first watch. Mrs. Talbert 
 remarked that she feared he didn't sleep very much in his 
 last watch, if he was anticipating whales. 
 
 " Suthin' better dan sleep, leddy. De Lawd am bin 
 wid us ternite, an' de bressed Farder wul hole us in de 
 holler ob de hand terday." 
 
 " What'll yer bet 'bout seeing whales, Mr. Bailey ? " 
 asked the skeptical Braybrook, with a sneer on his lip. 
 
 "Ah, Misser Braybruck, dis chile would bet yer all de
 
 There She Breaches ! 125 
 
 ole shoes he hab, 'gin yer old boots, sah ; but it wouldn't 
 be fa'r ter cheat yer, whin I's bin done kno' fur sartin." 
 
 " I'll believe it when I see um, and not till then," con 
 tinued the second mate, as he crammed in the hash and 
 ^oft tack, rather hurriedly for a disbeliever. 
 
 Just at that moment a clear, shrill voice came ringing 
 down from the masthead : 
 
 " There she breaches ! There's white water ! Blows ! 
 
 blows ! blo-o-o-w-s ! " cries that were like bugle blasts 
 
 to every one on board, bringing forth the people from 
 
 cabin, steerage, and forecastle, eager to learn what kind 
 
 of whales were in sight. 
 
 " Where away are they ? " shouted the captain, who, 
 together with the mate and two other officers, had sprung 
 from his seat and run on deck at the first shout of the 
 lookout. 
 
 " Four points off the lee bow, sir ? " 
 
 " How far off ? " 
 
 " Three miles off, sir. A school of large sperm whales, 
 heading to leeward." 
 
 " Sing out every time you see 'em." 
 
 " There she blows ! There blows ! blows blows. 
 Going very slowly dead afore the wind." 
 
 " Mr. Raymond, get up the hands, put the lines in the 
 boats, and see all ready for lowering." And the captain 
 took a spyglass from its bracket in the vestibule, seized 
 the fore-swifter, sprang on to the rail, and went aloft fast 
 as his legs would take him. 
 
 The lookouts were sent down to their breakfast, and the 
 ship was run off with the after yards squared in. The 
 four boats were got ready for a tussle. Irons, oars, sails,
 
 126 The Fleetwing. 
 
 and paddles were carefully inspected by the officers of 
 each boat. The shieves in the davit-heads, and the 
 tackle-blocks were freshly oiled, that a squeaking block 
 should not frighten off a five-thousand-dollar whale, as 
 had happened before. Tackle-falls were coiled carefully 
 down on deck in Flemish coil. The boat-kegs were 
 freshly filled with drinking-water from the scuttle-butt, 
 and a canvas bag of hardtack tucked under the stern- 
 sheets for refreshment, in case the boats were a long time 
 off, as an all-night job often awaits a crew. 
 
 While this was being done, the whales had gone down, 
 and the captain called out to know the exact time of their 
 sounding. It now required good judgment not to over 
 run the school, for if the whales were too near the ship 
 when they came up they would be gallied, and take to 
 their heels at full speed. After a run of about two miles, 
 the ship was luffed to, with the main yards aback. Offi 
 cers and men now climbed into the rigging to help watch 
 for the coming whales. 
 
 Time passed slowly. It was nearly an hour since the 
 school went down. Suspense, and a touch of impatience, 
 could be seen in every face. It was becoming an anxious 
 moment, in fear lest the ship had runoff too far. Specula 
 tions of that kind were being discussed in low voices, by 
 one and another, when Captain Talbert's voice was heard 
 hailing the deck softly : 
 
 " There they are ! There they are ! A big school. 
 Every head gray as the rock o' Donda. Hoist and swing 
 the boats ! " 
 
 With whispering voices the orders were given. The 
 gripes were cast loose, and the cranes were swung from
 
 Lowering for Whales. 127 
 
 under the boats. The officers took their places in the 
 stern-sheets of their boats, and the boat-steerers in the 
 bows, while the men took their stations on the main rail 
 and the outside slide-boards, each man as near to his oar 
 as he could get. The ladies were seated at the taffrail, 
 near the mate's boat ; Miss Allston looking with pride 
 and pleasure on Raymond's preparations as he made 
 ready to tackle the great whales. 
 
 After a good deliberate look at the school, the captain 
 came down from aloft, explained to the officers the course 
 the whales were heading, and about how fast they were 
 going ; and then bade them lower away carefully, spread 
 out a quarter of a mile apart, and run off to leeward, under 
 sail ; and not to make use of oars or paddles. 
 
 Waiting by courtesy for the captain to kiss Mrs. Tal- 
 bert and the child, and to lower the first boat, the three 
 larboard boats dropped quietly into the water together. 
 Masts were stepped through the bow thwarts, and sails 
 set. Oars were got out and peaked, with a feather 
 ing edge forward, and in three minutes the four dancing 
 boats were heading for the whales, whose pearly white 
 spouts were seen wafting over the sea-tops before the 
 gentle morning breeze. 
 
 Raymond took his station out on the quarter, to the 
 right of the captain, who had the central position, to wind 
 ward of the school. Braybrook ran his boat out on the 
 lee bow, a quarter of a mile off, until the three boats were 
 ranged in a line. To the surprise of all, Uncle Joe took 
 position to windward, directly astern of the captain, which 
 would debar him from an equal chance for a whale. 
 
 No one but Mrs. Talbert knew whv the renowned old
 
 128 The Fleet wing: 
 
 whaleman should thus keep aloof from the pending attack 
 on the leviathans. The anxious, loving wife had said to 
 Mr. Bailey before he left the cabin that morning : 
 
 " Take good care of my husband to-day, will you, Mr. 
 Bailey ? " 
 
 " Bress yer sole, leddy, de Lawd am wid us terday ! 
 Trus' 'im to de Farder, missus, an' nuffin shall harm de 
 cap'n." And the old man's face beamed through and 
 through with the divine inspiration which possessed him. 
 
 " But if you will promise to keep near him, good old 
 Uncle J6e, I shall feel so much better about it. Won't 
 you promise me that ? " 
 
 " Yis'm, if yer feel dat way 'bout it ; dis chile wul lend 
 ar han' ter de gude Lawd, to help tek care ob de cap'n." 
 
 " Thank you ever so much, Mr. Bailey. And I will 
 pray God to hold you all in his keeping to-day." 
 
 " Dat's um, missus ! Dat's de p'int ter belay yer tacks 
 to." And the tears streamed down the old man's face, as 
 his heart went forth to the prayerful wife. The intuitive 
 young creature had foreseen the fierce spirit of emulation 
 and rivalry between the first and second mates, and well 
 she knew that both men would be more concerned about 
 their own whaling than that of others. 
 
 The boats sped on before the wind until they approached 
 within a quarter of a mile of the nearest whales; then 
 some, of the school began to turn flukes and go down. 
 Captain Talbert instantly rounded to : and at a signal 
 from him the other boats luffed to the wind, eased off 
 their sheets, and lay drifting, waiting for another rising of 
 the whales. 
 
 As the four boats lay there, rising and falling to the
 
 'Ike Whales Sounding. 129 
 
 gentle seas, the captain playfully answered the signals of 
 his wife and Miss Allston, who had mounted to the top of 
 the cabin, and, with their spyglasses in hand, were now 
 amusing themselves fluttering their handkerchiefs to the 
 boats. 
 
 Raymond did not deign to notice that one of the signals 
 was possibly meant for him ; but he went forward, and 
 carefully looked over his whaling gear, with a quiet word 
 of advice to Hoogley, the boat-steerer : bidding him draw 
 the running bowline of his short warp a little tighter; saw 
 that the box-line was coiled clear, the chock-pin well in ; 
 and bade Hoogley brace himself in the clumsy cleat, as 
 he would in the act of darting, to become familiar with 
 his foot-brace, behind, for either a right or a left-handed 
 dart ; asked to see this man, who was to be his chief reli 
 ance in many a tussle of life and death, grasp his irons 
 quickly, to accustom himself to seize them at just the right 
 point of balance, for instant use. 
 
 Mr. Braybrook, on the contrary, having his boat-steerer 
 of the last voyage, took no thought of the kind ; for 
 Morey was a careful, experienced man, and would do all 
 that the occasion required. So both Braybrook and 
 Morey got out their pipes, loaded and lit them, and lolled 
 comfortably down at their respective ends of the boat ; 
 prepared to pass away the hour pleasantly, while the 
 whales were down below, feeding in the blue pastures of 
 the sea. 
 
 At the end of fifty-five minutes, a single whale came up, 
 half a mile away to leeward ; and in an instant the two 
 mates were heading their boats off after him. But Cap 
 tain Talbert motioned them with his hand to heave to
 
 130 Tlic I'lcctwing. 
 
 again, and lie quiet until the whole body of whales came 
 up and had time to listen, and satisfy themselves that no 
 danger was near : for a whale has very acute hearing, and 
 is as easily startled as a deer. 
 
 It proved that Captain Talbert was right in his caution, 
 for soon after the full hour was ended the whole school 
 came up in two great bodies, some of which were close 
 under the lee of the captain and mate, not more than a 
 quarter of a mile off. Thus the school might have been 
 gallied had the over-eager officers kept on their course ; 
 for listening time must be given a whale after sounding. 
 
 At a signal from the captain the four boats swung off 
 before the wind, with flowing sheets, all heading for the 
 whales together. Fifty large whales, in two separate 
 bodies, were spread over a mile of blue sea. It was a 
 grand sight to see the mammoth creatures swimming side 
 by side, heading slowly off to leeward, wholly unconscious 
 of the dread whale-hunters now close upon their track. 
 
 At first the mate seemed to be a little the nearest to the 
 whales. But as the three boats sped cautiously along 
 and drew very near to the school, it proved that the 
 captain's boat was quite as near as Raymond's. When 
 these two leading boats approached within three spout- 
 ings of their respective whales, in the separate pods, Mr. 
 Antoine and John Hoogley were ordered to stand up and 
 take their irons. Both boat-steerers were seen deftly 
 balancing their keen weapons, bracing the right foot back 
 against the harponier thwart, coolly waiting for the time 
 to dart. 
 
 The whales came to the surface again quietly spouting 
 in unison with each other, sogging off before the wind
 
 Harpooning the Whales. 13 1 
 
 without a thought of danger. Numerous sea-birds were 
 hovering along over the great leviathans, as the whales 
 knew best how to follow in the currents of food-track. 
 Many blue-hided sharks were seen in the wake of the 
 whales, intent upon what the dyspeptic beasts might 
 cast out upon the sea as pieces of half-masticated 
 squid, big as a barrel, were not an unusual sight. 
 
 The crews were now ordered to take their oars in hand, 
 and be ready for action. Orders were given in hoarse 
 whispers, and every movement was made with care ; as a 
 boat's bottom is a sounding-board, and the least thump 
 of an oar would sound along the waves and startle the 
 prey. 
 
 It was a breathless moment for all in the two leading 
 boats, while waiting for yet one more spouting to bring 
 the whales within easy dart. The whales seemed to 
 linger a trifle longer than usual between their spoutings, 
 but then time lingers in such moments of suspense. Was 
 it possible that they had heard something, and would not 
 come to the surface again ? No. There they whiten ! 
 There they turn the blue sea to a pale g een above their 
 huge backs. There they thrust up their vast heads, 
 spouting as deliberately as ever, just as the boats double 
 round the starboard corner of their flukes for a right- 
 hand dart gliding quickly forward of the humps. Then 
 came the orders at the same instant, and both boat-steerers 
 let fly their irons together, driving the keen barbs deep 
 into the uprising bilge of the monsters. 
 
 Twenty whales let fly their mighty flukes at the prick 
 of the first harpoons, as if all had been struck together 
 so quickly can one whale communicate with another in
 
 132 The Flcctii'iiig. 
 
 a moment of fright. But while the forty-eight unharmed 
 whales went plunging into the lower depths, the two fast 
 ones continued thrashing the sea into monuments of foam, 
 half burying the boats in the descending spray. 
 
 After a few vigorous blows with his flukes, Captain 
 Talbert's whale rolled quickly over and cut out his 
 twenty-foot jaw, thrashing it from side to side, as he felt 
 vigorously about for a tender morsel, upon which to whet 
 his rage. Foiled by the alert boat which was sterned 
 quickly out of his reach, by jaw or tail, the enraged 
 creature 5wept round in a complete circle for his assailant, 
 then pitched and went down for a deep sound, running 
 out the line so fast that it set the oaken loggerhead to 
 smoking as if it were on fire. 
 
 As the school had disappeared on the instant, showing 
 no chance for the loose boats to assail them, Braybrook 
 and Bailey were expected to go to the assistance of the 
 fast boats. The second mate went to help the mate, 
 willing or otherwise, whatever his motive might be ; un 
 doubtedly meaning to show his junior in years and expe 
 rience the proper way to kill a sperm whale. 
 
 Mr. Bailey had rolled up his sail before the captain 
 struck, to be ready for instant service in case of a stoven 
 boat. He now pulled down to the starboard boat to 
 tender his line to the captain, if it should be needed. 
 And he was none too soon. The whale was making a 
 rapid, vertical sound, taking out the captain's line so 
 quickly, that his three hundred fathoms threatened to be 
 gone before Uncle Joe could reach the starboard boat. 
 
 Just in the nick of time the bow boat's line was thrown 
 to the captain who knotted it to his own, ten seconds
 
 TJic Sounding \VJiale. 133 
 
 before the eye-splice came humming round the logger 
 head, and with a whang went out through the chocks, 
 breaking the chock-pin in its haste. So the fleeing 
 whale had another three hundred fathoms of line to tug 
 at. Still downward the monster plunged until there were 
 but fifty fathoms of the bow-boat's line remaining in the 
 tub. 
 
 At this crisis Uncle Joe ordered every man into the 
 stern-sheets, to keep the bow from burying. Taking 
 control of the line himself, the old veteran served the 
 loggerhead with more turns, until the tense new line was 
 stretched to half its former size. The big Dutchman had 
 been kept on his own thwart to trim boat, and he was 
 now prompted to starboard, or port, as the strained 
 cockle-shell of a boat dipped toward the one gunwale or 
 the other. The line had now become taut as a fiddle- 
 string, vibrating with an occasional twang that shook the 
 boat, caused by the blows of the angry whale three 
 quarters of a mile down under the sea. 
 
 Captain Talbert stood near by in his boat, anxiously 
 watching every movement in the bow-boat ; frequently 
 inquiring what amount of line remained in the tub, but 
 leaving the management to Mr. Bailey, well knowing that 
 the experienced old whaleman would do the best that 
 could be done. 
 
 Owing to some more desperate lunges of the thrashing 
 whale far down, the bow of the fast boat now began to 
 surge under water, dipping up a barrel at a time. This 
 new movement of the whale compelled Uncle Joe to 
 frequently slack on his line, just enough to bring the bow 
 of the boat up to the surface again. In this way flake
 
 134 fh c Fleetwing. 
 
 after flake ran out of the line-tub, until the old man held 
 the eye-splice at the end of the line in his hand. It was 
 then that Uncle Joe showed the genious of the whaleman, 
 as he called on the captain for help : 
 
 " Golly, sah, one mo' dip under like dat ar an' we uns 
 am dun fo'. Now, cap'n, len' ar hand, an' we'll puzzle 
 dat ole 'parm whale." 
 
 " How can I help you, Mr. Bailey ? " 
 
 " Cum heah, head an' head wid us uns, sah. Butt de 
 nose ob yer boat 'gin my boat. Clove hitch yer short 
 wa|p on de line, low down. Den pile de boys all in de 
 starn-sheets, an' tek ar strain on de line. Queak, sah, 
 befo' we uns fill de boat, an' hab ter leggo de tarnal 
 critter." 
 
 Quick as a flash Captain Talbert caught the ingenuity 
 of the device, and did as he was requested. When the 
 plan was completed, and the two boats took an equal 
 strain on the line, Mr. Bailey's boat was nearly full of 
 water, and would have filled in a moment more. Hands 
 were now set to bailing, and the bow-boat was soon got 
 free, and took the chief strain again. 
 
 " What's he up to now, Mr. Bailey ? " asked the cap 
 tain, hearing some new tune twanged on the line. 
 
 " Dis chile link de ole critter am dancin' de hornpipe, 
 sah. Doan yer heah de line trum, trum, like Tom Crow's 
 banjo, up to- Bedford ? " 
 
 But it was not long before the fighting whale tired of 
 battling with the sea under such a stupendous pressure of 
 water ; and, after a brief time of quiet, something new 
 seemed to be going on below-stairs, and the captain 
 again hailed Uncle Joe :
 
 Spouting Blood. 135 
 
 "Well, what's the fellow doing down there now, Mr. 
 Bailey ? " 
 
 " Him cumin' up now, sah, ez any 'spectable whale 
 orter dun fo' dis time. De line trem'les dreffly ; \vid ar 
 buz, buz, like it am cuttin' frough de water down dar 
 awful queak. Git out de lance, cap'n, for de ole sog 
 wul soon cum up, an' he'll lay still ez ar de'd niggar." 
 
 Sure enough, the yet taut line was trembling visibly, 
 with a ceaseless, rhythmic, humming sound, very different 
 from the harsh twanging, vibrating noises of a sounding 
 whale. Soon the line began to slack, and it became evi 
 dent to all that the maddened whale had done his worst, 
 and was now rushing to the surface for breath at his top 
 most speed. Captain Talbert now cast off his short 
 warp, and left Uncle Joe to drag slowly in upon the long 
 length of line. Putting up two lances in the crotch, the 
 captain stood impatiently waiting the appearance of the 
 whale, that he might tackle him while in a state of ex 
 haustion. 
 
 At this time the other two boats were seen half a mile 
 off to leeward. Raymond's whale was near them spout 
 ing thick black blood, and the captors lay waiting the 
 death of their prey. The mate's whale had sounded out 
 but little line at the beginning of the contest. Suddenly 
 he turned, and came up quickly to the surface, ugly and 
 uneasy, and evidently spoiling for a fight. 
 
 Braybrook sprang ahead on his oars, with what seemed 
 to Raymond unnecessary haste in his manner and his 
 movements. He pulled up alongside the whale at top 
 speed, and fastened second boat ; evidently meaning to 
 get a chance to kill the whale before the mate could
 
 1 36 The Fleetwing. 
 
 haul in his line. But as Braybrook approached the en 
 raged creature the boat barely escaped being cut in two 
 by a sudden under cut of the jaw of the rolling whale, 
 who showed, by his wiggling hump and the angry roar in 
 his spout, that he was intent upon mischief. 
 
 Having missed his first blow at the waist-boat served 
 to make the whale all the more fractious. Thrusting his 
 vast head out of water until his eyes could scan the 
 surface, he caught sight of the boat, and again dashed 
 after her, bent upon grappling with his foe at close 
 quarters. 
 
 Not having time to turn his boat and flee, Braybrook 
 was compelled to receive the attack head on ; the crew 
 sterning with all their might to prevent being run over 
 by the oncoming monster. Braybrook stood in the bow, 
 lance in hand, ready to dart his keen weapon down the 
 throat of the whale, if he attempted to bite the boat. 
 The maddened beast dashed on after them, butting his 
 vast head against the bow, sending the frail cockle-shell 
 rods away, in the futile attempt to crush the boat. 
 
 While the furious beast was thus manoeuvring to stave 
 the waist-boat, the larboard boat's crew had hauled in 
 their line, and were now ready to take part in the fray. 
 None but a heroic soul could guess the source of Ray 
 mond's joy in that moment. The instant the line was in, 
 he felt himself master of the situation. It added zest to 
 his pleasure that he had a fighting whale to deal with, and 
 that Braybrook the owners' boasted whaleman had 
 found more than his match. With flashing eyes, Ray 
 mond caught up his lance, and stood ready for a dart, as 
 he shouted to his men with savage vehemence :
 
 Saved from Death. 137 
 
 "Hoogley, coil fast on your line. Men, face about, 
 and be ready to haul me on to that whale." 
 
 "Ay, ay, sir!" answered Buntline, Crawford, and 
 brave John Hoogley, as the latter finished coiling his 
 line, grappled his steering oar, and mounted upon the 
 clumsy cleats to get a better view of the scene of action. 
 A brave chorus of voices, coming from men as full of 
 desperation as their young mate himself. The two green 
 hands had sat quaking with fear, so appalled at the 
 thought of approaching such an infuriated monster, but 
 even they now imbibed courage from the unanimous as 
 sent of the experienced part of the crew. 
 
 " Are you ready, John ? " impatiently called Raymond. 
 
 " Yes, sir, the line is all in." And John was already in 
 position, waiting the mate's order. 
 
 " Then ship in your oars ; and haul line, every man of 
 you ! " shouted Raymond, seeing that what he did must be 
 done quickly, if he would save the waist-boat from de 
 struction ; for a boat cannot long endure such furious 
 onsets from a whale when in mad earnest. 
 
 " Steer straight in his wake, Hoogley, till we're close 
 aboard, for it will spoil our game if he sees us." 
 
 " Straight after him it is, sir." 
 
 " Near enough ! Now sheer round his flukes, if you 
 can ; but, John, go over them if we must, and do it 
 quickly, boy, before he strikes." 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir ! Haul, men ! haul line with a will. Do 
 you wanter see the waist-boat eat up by the whale ? " 
 
 The boat shot over the flukes, which John had not been 
 able to avoid, as the iron was not well forward, and glided 
 unseen close alongside of the rolling whale just as the
 
 138 The Fleetwing. 
 
 maddened creature flung up his jaw, and made a desper 
 ate lunge at the waist-boat. Down went Raymond's 
 lance, deep in between the two uplifted fins, piercing the 
 mad whale to the heart before he could fully deliver his 
 blow at the other boat. Braybrook was saved, and the 
 mate had killed his own whale. 
 
 This timely stab in the breast instantly checked the 
 whale's forward career, though his massive jaws were 
 brought together with a sharp clang which sent a shiver 
 through every frame. The whale's fins stiffened and 
 quivered, and a quick shudder ran through his writhing 
 body ; the lance-wound being just short of causing instant 
 death. 
 
 Rallying slowly, the death-stricken whale rolled upright 
 with a twinge of pain, and spouted black clotted blood, 
 as he languidly jogged off to leeward in the direction of 
 the retreating school. The right ventricle of his massive 
 heart had been pierced, as shown by the dark venous 
 blood. Such a lance-thrust into the left cavity would 
 have produced instant death. As it was, the whale's 
 strength weakened fast. The black, grumous life-current 
 gurgled painfully up from his snapping, gasping spout- 
 hole ; and only by herculean effort could the dying mon 
 ster get his breath, for the end of this gladiator of the sea 
 was near at hand. 
 
 At this interesting moment, Captain Talbert's whale 
 came leaping up on a half breach from his deep-sea 
 sounding, spouting with a convulsive gasp for breath while 
 yet suspended high in air; falling back into the sea with 
 a crash that uplifted the waters into a mountain of foam. 
 The whale was completely exhausted by his deep sound,
 
 The Moment of Peril. 139 
 
 and his angry tussle below ; and he now straightened 
 languidly out on the frothy sea, heedless of any danger 
 which might threaten him. The great sea-beast had re 
 mained down an hour and a quarter. 
 
 It was the work of but a few minutes for the starboard 
 boat's crew to spring ahead on their oars, and pull the 
 captain square up to the life of the motionless whale. A 
 single thrust of the long lance into the palpitating hollow 
 over the shoulder blade, pierced the lungs and brought 
 the claret, red and abundant ; for barrels and barrels were 
 jeited forth from this seemingly inexhaustible fountain. 
 It took the huge creature an hour and a quarter to die, 
 though he was spouting blood constantly to the last 
 moment. 
 
 During all this time the Fleetwing had been lying 
 aback just to windward of the weather boats, where the 
 ladies and the shipkeepers could overlook the whole 
 tragic scene. When the larboard boat's whale came leap 
 ing up from the sea, and with savage ferocity sought to 
 destroy the waist-boat, horror was depicted \\\ the faces of 
 all on board. The ladies were especially horrified at the 
 cunning intelligence shown by the enraged monster, as he 
 followed in the devious track of the boat while the crew 
 were struggling to escape. As they watched Braybrook 
 in the bow of his boat, standing with lance in hand, ready 
 to bravely resist the threatened attack, the women clung 
 to each other in attitudes of frozen terror, as they stood 
 awaiting the dread event. 
 
 But when the young mate rushed to the rescue, and 
 dashed so fearlessly alongside the mad whale, imperilling 
 his own life to save the waist-boat's crew from the ivory
 
 140 The Flccticing. 
 
 fangs seen flashing above their heads : then Mrs. Talbert 
 uttered a cry of horror, and hid her face in her hands till 
 the impending blow should fall ; fearing that not only the 
 boat's crew would be destroyed, but that Raymond him 
 self would be crushed by that suspended jaw. 
 
 Miss Allston, on the contrary, could not withdraw her 
 eyes from the appalling scene. Though a girl of greater 
 nerve, she seemed as terrified as her companion. Yet she 
 stood there transfixed as marble ; watching with her whole 
 soul in her eyes, as she prayed the Heavenly Father to 
 spare that one noble soul from such a dreadful death. 
 
 When she beheld Raymond's lance flashing for an 
 instant in the sun, then thrust by his strong arms down 
 into the vitals of the fighting monster ; and saw the whale 
 instantly shorn of his vast strength by the blow, with 
 clasped hands and sobbing voice, she exclaimed : 
 
 "Hes killscl him! he's killed him! Thank God for 
 his quick answer to my prayer." 
 
 " Asenith Allston ! who is killed ? Speak quick and 
 tell me," cried Mrs. Talbert, still shutting out the dreadful 
 scene from her own vision. 
 
 "Why, that awful whale : and it was Mr. Raymond who 
 killed the dreadful creature with his own hand. He has 
 saved the waist-boat from being crushed, for the whale 
 stopped the instant the lance went into him." 
 
 " Oh, 'Senith, let us thank God for such a mercy, be 
 stowed before our very eyes." And Mrs. Talbert again 
 ventured to scan the battlefield, though still full of appre 
 hension lest her husband might have something of the 
 kind to undergo. 
 
 To the partial eyes of Miss Allston, the act of heroism
 
 The Dying Monster. 141 
 
 she had witnessed was sufficient to glorify the young mate 
 to her, and enshrine him in her heart forever; believing, 
 as she did, that the desperate deed was undertaken wholly 
 to save the lives of the waist-boat's crew. 
 
 When Raymond's whale was seen spouting blood, a 
 moment after, a wild shout pealed out over the water 
 from the shipkeepers, the ladies joining in the shout and 
 hysterically waving their kerchiefs in token of delight. 
 And soon after, when Captain Talbert's whale flaunted 
 the red flag in his spout, the shouting voices again rose, 
 echoing up among the sails, and fluttered in broken notes 
 far down over the sea. 
 
 The mate's whale soon went into a " flurry," running 
 round and round in a small circle, impelled by a terrible 
 death-spasm, which gave him supernatural, strength for 
 the moment. For ten minutes the suffocating creature 
 continued to lash the waves with his flukes as he ran, 
 throwing his gigantic head out of water and dashing it 
 down upon the sea until an acre of blood-stained foam 
 covered the surface around. With a last desperate leap, 
 the dying monster flung himself nearly out of water, 
 writhing with agony as he hung in the air, and fell back 
 motionless and dead upon the water. It is a frightful scene 
 to look upon, and the boats flee from it as from an earth 
 quake, though there is neither intelligence nor malicious 
 intent in any act of the death-blinded whale when in a 
 " flurry." 
 
 The fluke-rope was secured to a hole cut in a corner of 
 the tail, then the mate lay quietly waiting for the ship to 
 come and take his prize alongside. Braybrook cut off his 
 line and pulled to the ship, as it was necessary to still
 
 142 The Fleetwing. 
 
 keep the Vessel to windward of the captain's whale till it 
 was dead, and Raymond would be compelled to idly wait 
 his turn, as the weather whale must be taken first. 
 
 At length, after a first flurry, the captain's whale died, 
 without going into the sublime death-agony of his com 
 panion whale. He had turned up so near to the ship 
 that by the time Uncle Joe had made fast his tail-rope, 
 Braybrook brought the Fleetwing prancing along to re 
 ceive him. A fluke-chain was quickly secured to the 
 "small" of the whale, and bitted to the sampson-post, 
 near the foremast. 
 
 The helm was then put up, the spanker brailed, the 
 after yards squared in, and the ship run off for the lee 
 ward whale, which was soon chained by another fluke- 
 chain alongside of his companion. They were large, fat 
 prizes, and it was thought by the best judges that the two 
 would stow down two hundred and forty barrels of rich 
 sperm oil, worth, at the least, ten thousand dollars.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 CUTTING AND BOILING THE WHALES. 
 
 A LL hands were turned off to dinner as soon as the 
 ** boats were hoisted up. When Raymond went into 
 the cabin, he found the captain and ladies seated at 
 table, and all eyes were turned upon him as the hero of the 
 day. Tears were in Mrs. Talbert's eyes when she thought 
 of the peril he had escaped. Miss Allston blushed pro 
 fusely, lest Raymond should detect how her young heart 
 beat at his coming. Captain Talbert could not help con 
 gratulating his pet officer on the success of the one deadly 
 lance he had given the savage beast, and that, too, just in 
 time to prevent the waist-boat's being stoven, adding a 
 judicious word of caution for future occasions : 
 
 " Ah, Charlie boy, it did my old heart a thousand times 
 more good to see you fix your ugly customer in that neat 
 way, than killing my own whale. But, young man, you 
 were much too risky, hauling 'longside of a fighting whale 
 without a man at the oars to back off with. I never 
 taught you such careless tricks in whaling." 
 
 
 
 " But, sir, Braybrook was in more danger than I was. 
 It looked then as if the whale would smash the waist- 
 boat before I could get my lance through his hide. So I 
 took the one only chance of the moment, and went on 
 lively as I could, and did the work quickly." 
 
 M3
 
 144 The Flcetwing. 
 
 " Ay, ay, and it was well done, my boy. But always 
 plan a way of retreat in case of need." 
 
 " Work of that kind, well done, don't require a retreat. 
 My plan worked so well I should like to try it again." 
 
 " We all saw it from the ship, and it frightened me ter 
 ribly," joined in Mrs. Talbert. " My heart came into my 
 throat till I couldn't breathe, when you ran the boat 
 under that dreadful jaw. But I know very well what took 
 you there in that reckless way." 
 
 " What was it ? " asked Raymond archly. 
 
 " In fear Braybrook might kill the whale before you." 
 And the captain and wife exchanged knowing glances. 
 
 " Oh, no ! " exclaimed Miss Allston, with a touch of 
 feeling in her tones, " it was to save the crew of the other 
 boat from being killed. I'm sure that was plain to see." 
 And the girl's eyes flashed with suppressed indignation 
 at the false imputation put upon Raymond's brave act. 
 
 " But, Asenith, you don't comprehend the fierce emula 
 tion between the two men," retorted Mrs. Talbert. 
 
 " All the more noble was the deed, then, if there really 
 is enmity between them," continued the spirited girl. 
 
 As the other officers came in and took their seats at 
 table, the subject was dropped. All were in high glee at 
 the good luck of the day, and the meal passed off cheerful 
 and chatty. 
 
 " Well, gentlemen," said Captain Talbert, " we've got a 
 nice job of cut and boil before us. I'm afraid one of 
 those big fellows wouldn't have been here but for Mr. 
 Bailey's nice management. I never saw that neat trick 
 of two boats tackling one line before. Thanks to you, 
 Uncle Joe, for that whale."
 
 Joe and the Lawd. 145 
 
 The old hero, too modest to be induced to enlarge 
 upon the theme, smiled grimly, and meekly bowed his 
 head. Nevertheless, he was very grateful for the captain's 
 commendation, crowned as it was by Mrs. Talbert's kind 
 glances, when she remembered how faithfully he had kept 
 his promise to her. The one great deer-like eye of the 
 old man glistened with obtrusive tears, and he piled in 
 the food, in spite of a suffocating feeling at the throat, as 
 if a school of grampuses were obstructing the passage. 
 
 He afterwards told Mrs. Talbert that he was completely 
 overcome for the moment : 
 
 " Ah, missus, de gudenis ob de Lawd am" suffin' mo' 
 dan dis child can b'ar. Gor A'mighty didn't furget dis 
 uns onct t'rough de tussle ob dat day. Dear leddy, when 
 dis yere ole brack brudder wuz tuggin' at de line, an de' 
 boat tried so dreffle hard ter spill us out, an' g'long down 
 arter dat whale, den dis nigger kep' axin' de Lawd : 
 ' Doan gwine leab us, Heabenly Farder. Lawdy ! Lawdy ! 
 stick ter us uns, like ar tick.' An', missus, de A'mighty 
 wuz rite dar, all de time ; 'cept when Misser Raymon' 
 haul'd up under de shadder ob Death, wid dat ole whale's 
 harrer on top uv him. Den, leddy, I 'spec de dear Lawd 
 lef us ar minute ; fur dat ole jaw shet down moughty 
 queak time ; an' down went de lance inter do sinful heart 
 ob dat ole 'parm whale. Bressed be de name ob de 
 Lawd ! fur he tuk care ob all us uns dat day." 
 
 At the close of the noon meal in the cabin, while the 
 officers were waiting for the crew to finish their dinner, 
 Captain Talbert took the ladies out amidships to see the 
 whales before they were dismembered by cutting. Ray 
 mond's whale was the outside one, and lay breast up,
 
 146 The Flcetwing. 
 
 with the right fin out of water, showing just where the 
 mate's deadly lance went in. It was a diminutive stab to 
 accomplish such wonders, being less than two inches 
 wide. It pierced the whale directly between the pectoral 
 fins, though about a foot aft from a line drawn between 
 the joints of the fins. It might well have amazed the 
 ladies that so small a wound could have killed the 
 monster so quickly, though their surprise was lessened 
 when told that the lance entered four feet into the body. 
 
 The color of the whales was similar to that of a maltese 
 cat ; being a dark greenish-gray on the back, lighter 
 on the sides, with the gray running almost into white on 
 the belly. The head of a Cachalot is blunt and square- 
 ended, shaped differently from that of any other whale. 
 The spout-hole is at the very front of the head, to the left 
 of the centre ; so far forward that the spout is jetted out 
 at an angle of forty-five degrees, and a little to the left, 
 withal ; so that the spout of a spermaceti is easily dis 
 tinguished from all other spouts. 
 
 The abdominal part of the body is round and bilging, 
 thence tapering gradually from the hump to the tail, but 
 quickly thinning on the sides of its after part. That part 
 of the body next the tail is called the "small," and is 
 made up of a massive bundle of sinews, some of which 
 are larger than a man's arm. The terminal end of the 
 'small" expands into two horizontal propellers, termed 
 flukes, which are hard as iron, yet springy as steel. 
 These flukes taper away into two points, the whole out 
 line showing most exquisite curves of beauty. 
 
 No one can but admire the elastic motion of the sinewy 
 " small," and graceful flukes, when observed in full
 
 Lopt ailing. 147 
 
 action, whether seen in the playful pastime of "turning 
 flukes," when about to sound; or amorously "loptailing" 
 with resounding blows on the sea, when ardently endeav 
 oring to call her far-away mate to the dalliance of love 
 as a human lover bellows " Meet me by moonlight " when 
 trying to entice his mistress by serenade. Or when seen 
 during those grand and terrible occasions when the flukes 
 are used as weapons of warfare in the whale's mad moods, 
 flashing, like the cimeter of Saladin, while seen through 
 fountains of lashed waters and falling foam. 
 
 The men were given an hour to tackle their food and 
 smoke the pipe of peace, before they were turned on to 
 cutting. Then the mate's cheery voice was heard mus 
 tering all hands aft to prepare for cutting in the whales. 
 
 Luckily the massive cutting pendants had been sent 
 aloft several days before ; yet there were many other 
 preparatory duties before the whales could be hove in. 
 The ponderous cutting tackles were to be rove in the four 
 huge blocks at the masthead, reeved from great ropes 
 
 three inches in diameter. Some men were at work hoist- 
 
 s 
 ing up the empty cask^from between-decks, and cleaning 
 
 out the blubber-room ready to receive the blubber. 
 
 Two stages were put over the side for the officers, 
 where they would stand to cut in the whales. The stage 
 forward of the gangway was for the second mate. The 
 larger one slung under the main chains was for the 
 captain and mate. The carpenter and his boy were busy 
 at the grindstone, on top of the cabin, putting a keen 
 edge to the cutting spades, and the long double-edge 
 boarding knives, used for making holes in the great 
 blanket-pieces, through which to toggle the tackle blocks.
 
 148 The Flcctiving. 
 
 The big shackles and the enormous iron blubber-hooks 
 were dragged into the waist, and the great oaken toggles 
 were laid handy for securing the cutting-blocks to the 
 blanket-pieces. 
 
 While all these duties were going on about the deck, 
 the inside fluke-chain was slacked aft until the eye of the 
 whale came abreast of the mate's staging, in position for 
 cutting off the head. With his half-round spade in hand, 
 Braybrook stood ready to cut a smooth round hole in the 
 thick blubber near the bunch of the eye, large enough to 
 receive the massive hook ; then with a straight-edge 
 spade he cut a heading in the blubber two feet beyond the 
 hole, that the hook might not tear out in hoisting. This 
 done, he called out : 
 
 " Overboard, and hook on ! " 
 
 This wet and laborious task falls to one of the four 
 boat-steerers, and the starboard boat's harponier always 
 takes the first "overboard." Tahiti John answered the 
 call, having previously prepared himself in the simple 
 garb of drawers, undershirt, and stockings ; coming with 
 his " monkey rope " attached to a broad canvas belt about 
 the waist, by which to steady him while standing on the 
 rolling whale, and to haul him on board when half 
 drowned by numerous duckings. 
 
 The nimble Kanaka sprang down on the whale's side, 
 braced his right foot in the scarf of the blubber, and 
 called for the lanyard. The hook had been shackled to the 
 lower block, and the tackle was now overhauled down 
 the- side ready for the " overboard " to hook on. With 
 the lanyard in hand, Tahiti hauled the great hook upon 
 the whale and secured it in the blubber. The tackle was
 
 The Whales Head. 149 
 
 then hauled taut, taken to the windlass and rounded in 
 sufficient to lift the whale a little, and steady him in the 
 swash of the seas. 
 
 The whale lay back to the ship, the best position for 
 hooking on, and for flencing off his blubber; but the 
 whole operation of "cutting in" was now necessarily 
 delayed by the difficult process of cutting off the head. 
 This task fell to the captain and mate. Captain 
 Talbert began by cutting a deep scarf down through 
 the oily bunch of the neck, working over in a line 
 between the eye and the fin, and following close along 
 on the inside of the crown bone ; taking care not to cut 
 into the case and let out the rich spermaceti. 
 
 While the captain was at work around the neck-bone, 
 Raymond commenced his work at the nib-end, severing 
 the huge junk from the upper jaw-bone, and working past 
 the eye to meet the captain's scarf at the crown-bone. 
 When these two scarfs were met, and the head was 
 thoroughly severed on the upper side, then the blanket 
 piece was hove up by the windlass, until the under side of 
 the whale rolled up, and he lay belly to the ship. Then 
 the windlass was stopped, and the officers in the m after 
 stage set to work to do for the right side of the head what 
 had previously been done for the left. 
 
 Before the head was severed from the body, a stout 
 head-chain was shackled to the nib-end and carried in 
 board at the quarter hawsepipe, and the huge junk was 
 left to swash about in the sea, until the whale was cut in. 
 This matter of cutting off a large whale's head is fairly 
 easy for an expert, in smooth water ; but with a wallowing 
 sea and a wiggling whale it becomes a most difficult task,
 
 150 The Flee living. 
 
 being impossible to make the successive spade-cuts follow * 
 the lead of the previous ones, for the long-handled 
 instrument will sheer here and there in some indirect way, 
 leaving numerous " slivers " of uncut blubber, which are 
 hard to find and sever under water. 
 
 Now the head was off, all was clear for unimpeded 
 action on the blubber, and the windlass was set a-going 
 with song and chorus, until the first tackle was hove up to 
 the masthead. " Two blocks ! " was called out by the 
 sailors, and the windlass was stopped, until the suspended 
 " piece " could be boarded. 
 
 The second tackle was then toggled to the blubber, 
 through an oval hole cut close down to the planksheer, 
 and hove taut at the windlass. The first blanket-piece 
 was cut off and lowered into the blubber-room, amid 
 three rousing cheers, from all hands, for the first "horse 
 piece " of the voyage. Then the windlass was set going 
 at a flip-flop motion, reeling off the blubber at a rapid 
 rate. By a continuation of this process, length after 
 length of the oily blanket-pieces was hove in and lowered 
 between-decks, until the whole vast mass of blubber was 
 flenced from the body, and the carcass was cut adrift and 
 left to float away; becoming food for a shoal of sharks, 
 and the countless birds seen hovering about and upon 
 the palatable looking meat. 
 
 The best part of the afternoon was gone before the 
 second whale was hooked on to, and it was midnight 
 before the blubber of the whale was fairly in. The two 
 junks were hauled forward and secured for the night 
 through the bow-chocks. All hands were then turned off 
 to supper ; after which a boat's crew watch was set, and 
 the other men turned in for the night.
 
 Bailing the Case. 1 5 1 
 
 At break of day, the hands were called out to breakfast. 
 The heads were hauled into the waist, and the case of the 
 first head the part containing the liquid oil was 
 separated from the junk. The latter was hooked to with 
 both tackles, and hove in bodily ; its vast weight careened 
 the ship to windward, bent the great mainmast, and set 
 the larboard shrouds taut as iron bars. The tackles were 
 hove nearly two blocks before the massive junk would 
 swing inboard. When lowered on deck, it was hauled aft 
 and secured to the lash-rail and ring bolts for the present. 
 The whole head weighed about twelve tons ; the junk 
 contained a little over thirty barrels of pure spermaceti of 
 a light straw-color, fragrant, and soft as velvet to the 
 touch. The case was then grappled with both tackles 
 and hove up to the level of the planksheer, hanging nose- 
 end down. A hole was cut in the top-end for bailing the 
 precious spermaceti. For this purpose a whip-tackle was 
 suspended from the mainyard and attached to the case- 
 bucket, by which to draw up the fluid oil, which smelt 
 fragrant as the breath of an infant. This first case 
 yielded fifteen barrels of oil, being the larger of the two : 
 though very large ones sometimes contain twenty-five 
 barrels. When this wonderful oil-well was exhausted by 
 the bailers, it was cut adrift from the tackles and fell with 
 a plunge into the sea, sinking like a rock into the un 
 known depths below. The walls of this curious oil 
 cavern were six inches thick, composed of what whalemen 
 call " white horse " ; an oilless substance, hard as gristle. 
 
 Strange to say, there is not a drop of red blood found 
 in this whole oleaginous substance of the head, which is 
 evidently a vast reservoir, used for vital recuperation
 
 152 The Fleetwing. 
 
 while the whale is hibernating miles down in the deep sea. 
 Neither are there any large arteries, veins, or blood 
 sinuses of any kind, though there are millions of minute 
 capillaries distributed through the junk and case, adapted 
 to feeding into the remote blood-vessels of the body upon 
 special occasions. 
 
 Thus this rich straw-colored spermaceti, which was 
 once used for anointing kings, fills a wonderful purpose 
 in the economy of circulation, as both the semi-fluid oil 
 of the junk and the liquid oil of the case are thoroughly 
 aerated, for it is found to have as vital warmth as those 
 parts of the body which abound with red globules. Phys 
 iologists know that the vital blood fluids can acquire 
 their caloric only from the oxygen of air or water ; and it 
 thus follows that this immense caloriduct of spermaceti is 
 a vast storehouse of aerated blood-food, which only re 
 quires hematin, the ferruginous coloring matter, to make 
 it similar to the best arterialized blood circulating in the 
 body, fathoms away from the head. 
 
 The trachea or windpipe of the sperm whale runs 
 through the case, extending twenty-five or thirty feet back 
 from the spout-hole, where it joins the bronchial tubes just 
 before they enter the lungs. This great breathing tube of 
 a whale is a foot in diameter, and out of it comes the 
 spout, a vapory mist-colored cloud ten feet high, which is 
 a foot thick at the outlet, or spiracle, and expands four or 
 five feet at its widest. The spout blows fifteen or twenty 
 feet along the surface before it dissipates. When by 
 chance the spout is blown across the boat and strikes the 
 face, it feels humid as fine spray, tastes a trifle saline, and 
 irritates the skin as if stung with a nettle.
 
 Starting the Try works. 153 
 
 The " black-skin," or external pellicle of a whale, is 
 thin as paper, bright, smooth, and elastic. This cuticle 
 covers about half an inch of black (or other colored) 
 curdy substance, which is deposited in radial fibres, like 
 those of a mushroom, and contains the pigment or color 
 ing matter. Beneath this intermediate, cushion-like sub 
 stance is the true skin, and the blubber; upon which is 
 found a fine close fur about a quarter of an inch long. 
 The flesh of all the whale species has the appearance, 
 color, and taste of coarse-fibred beef. 
 
 Whales bring forth their young like land mammals, 
 having but one at a birth. Their milk is white, thick, and 
 nutritious ; they suckle the calves by means of two ab 
 dominal mammai, or teats, located near the source of 
 birth. They are of gregarious habits, roaming from sea 
 to sea, in large schools of from fifty to six hundred; ex 
 cept the old males, who wander alone in solitary grandeur, 
 having been driven from the school, over which they once 
 presided as Paterfamilias, by more successful combatants ; 
 for they are pugnacious and quarrelsome in the family as 
 buffalo bulls. 
 
 The tryworks were first started on the " head matter," 
 as the spermaceti only requires scalding to keep it sweet 
 during the voyage. The cover had been taken from the 
 massive trypots early in the day, and two boys kept scrub 
 bing for hours with sand and brush, until the great kettles, 
 of five hundred gallons capacity, were made to shine. 
 The fires were kept up from a cask of whale-scraps, which 
 some other ship had left over from a previous voyage, and 
 most of the afternoon had been occupied scalding the 
 eighty-five barrels of spermaceti coming from ihe two 
 heads,
 
 1 54 The Fleetwing. 
 
 The blubber-room men were busy cutting " horse- 
 pieces," having previously cut every particle of body-fat, 
 or lean, from the blubber. A great tub lashed to the 
 main hatch was kept full of these pieces, cut to the size 
 required for the mincing machine, which sliced the horse- 
 pieces into thin leaves, a quarter of an inch thick, from 
 which the oil is easily simmered in the hot pots. 
 
 After supper, "boiling watches" were set; which differ 
 from the ordinary sea-watch, being six hours long. The 
 tryworks were glibly running on the body blubber, the 
 men keeping the fires up from fresh scraps of their own 
 making, casting a lurid glow that could be seen miles 
 away. 
 
 During the evening, the ladies came out for brief exer 
 cise, and a phantom scene met their eyes in the fire- 
 lighted darkness. The oil-works were in full blast, being 
 driven at their utmost, and a weird wild picture gradually 
 broke upon their vision through the night gloom. The 
 mainsail was furled, which left the forward view unob 
 structed from the top of the cabin. Black smoke and 
 lurid flame shot up with a roaring noise from the back 
 arches, reaching nearly up to the mainstay. The ship's 
 deck, and the black sea around, were lighted by the fitful 
 glare when the flame occasionally burst out free from the 
 encumbering smoke, to be instantly hidden again ; thus 
 imparting a strange and grotesque appearance to the busy 
 deck-watch,' as they emerged for an instant from out the 
 hadean blackness. 
 
 While the fires were slacked down, just before skim 
 ming off a hot pot, the boat-steerers could be dimly seen 
 wielding the stir-poles, while turning the simmering blub-
 
 A Weird Night Scene. 155 
 
 her; their swaying figures looking like ill-omened spirits 
 presiding over the seething caldrons with some unearthly 
 design. When the pots were replenished with fresh blub 
 ber, and the men poked the fires and applied new scraps, 
 a clear flame would belch forth from the arches and light 
 up the ship until one could see to read at the taffrail by 
 the intensified glare. 
 
 The ringing noise of the cooper's bung-starter, coming 
 from under the black smoke which enshrouded th>e cooler, 
 was given back in several musical echoes from the cav- 
 erned sails above, and it often startled the soundest 
 sleeper below in his berth. Only the sharpest eyes could 
 distinguish the cask, the man, or the shining copper 
 cooler, through the illuminated blackness of the smoke- 
 cloud from whence the furious din emerged. 
 
 Again the cabin group were startled by "Away 
 cask ! " bellowed vociferously by the strong lungs of old 
 " Bungs," as he hammers in the pine bung to a full hogs 
 head of the hot oil ; a call that served to newly awaken 
 the whole pandemonium of the scene. Black objects 
 which silhouette like men, emerged from behind casks, 
 the windlass-bitts, and from out the cook's galley, where 
 they had skulked away during an unemployed moment, 
 to plunge into the noisy smoke-cloud over the cooler, and 
 come forth in a mass, rolling away a cask of hot oil, 
 which is headed up along the weather bulwarks, and 
 lashed to the rail. 
 
 Then a fresh cask must be got ready and tested for 
 the cooler, which involves the greatest noise of all ; for 
 three sets of coopers and helpers attack the cask with 
 four-pound hammers and iron drivers, and they belabor
 
 156 The Fleetwing. 
 
 the innocent receptacle with blows enough to maul an 
 elephant. This done, a pint of brine is put in at the 
 bunghole, followed by a pint of hot oil from the pot. 
 The bung is clapped in quickly and tightened. The cask 
 is tumbled and shaken about, making a high pressure of 
 steam within, which fails not to point out every bad joint 
 or hidden worm-hole by a furious hiss of steam. " What a 
 waste of precious oil ! " cries the penurious observer. 
 Not so, for the brine evaporates in steam when the bung 
 is withdrawn, and the oil remains unharmed within the 
 cask. 
 
 It was curious to watch the swaying, zig-zag motions of 
 the hand-mincer when exposed to the full glare, on the 
 front side of the tryworks, while the arch doors were 
 open ; his broad, bright mincing-knife attracted the glitter 
 as he slashed into the " horse-pieces," with a right and 
 left stroke, cutting the blubber into the thinnest possible 
 slices, ready for the pot.
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 MAKING A PORT AT THE AZORES. 
 
 A WEEK had passed since the oil was stowed down, 
 * and the ship had been tidied up as if no such event 
 had happened. As there was no further appearance of 
 whales, the ship was to be kept off for Flores on the fol 
 lowing day, where, if the weather favored, the boats 
 would land to procure fruit and fresh provisions, after 
 which the ship would be kept away for Fayal. 
 
 When sail was shortened for the night, and a boat's 
 crew watch had been set, Raymond was invited to a whist 
 party in the after cabin. As usual, of late, Captain and 
 Mrs. Talbert were matched against Miss Allston and 
 the mate, though until quite recently the order of playing 
 had been otherwise, for Mrs. Talbert liked best to play 
 with Raymond. 
 
 After a severely contested rubber, which fortune had 
 conferred upon the younger partners, the captain got 
 down his chart and shaped the course for the morning, 
 and Raymond went to his state-room to write up his log. 
 As the evening was warm and pleasant, the mate subse 
 quently stole out into the starlight for an hour's reverie on 
 deck before turning in. 
 
 Seating himself on the cushioned seat by the taffrail, 
 with his back against the round-house, he gave up his 
 
 '57
 
 158 The Fleetwing. 
 
 thoughts to home-scenes, and called up the sweet, sad- 
 faced girl he had left behind, dwelling long upon the 
 tender appeal from her tearful eyes while she clung so 
 lovingly about his neck, pleading that he would not leave 
 her. How long he had been thus absorbed he knew not, 
 when aroused by a soft hand- touch upon his shoulder, 
 and a sympathetic voice intruding upon his delicious 
 reverie. 
 
 He turned, and saw it was the lady passenger, and 
 reluctantly asked her to a seat by his side. As there was 
 no one at the helm, they found themselves alone in the 
 starlit solitude. 
 
 " I heard you humming one of Mamie's pretty songs ; 
 and the night seemed so beautiful from my window that I 
 ventured out to look awhile upon the stars, which you 
 have made so interesting by tracing out the constellations 
 for me. But I fear, Mr. Raymond, that I have broken in 
 upon your pleasant home-thoughts, and, if you wish, I will 
 go directly away." 
 
 The girl laid her hand gently upon Raymond's arm as 
 she spoke, as if to impress him with her sympathy and 
 her sense of the sanctity of a lover's reverie. 
 
 " Never mind ; I really didn't know what town I was 
 abiding in just then. But I have long years before me 
 in which to think everything threadbare." 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Raymond, I have been thinking how much a 
 man is to be envied for his freedom to choose from the 
 multitude, making choice of the one he most can love. 
 How different it is with a girl ! " 
 
 " Really, Miss Allston, I should have placed that boot 
 on the other foot. I had supposed that a well favored
 
 TJic Homesick Girl. 159 
 
 girl had only to bide her time, and choose from her 
 multitude of admirers." 
 
 "Pray remember that our State has seventy-five thou 
 sand less of one kind than the other in pairing off ; so 
 that many a girl never has a really acceptable offer of 
 marriage. But this is not what I came out to talk about. 
 I hope you have been having some pleasant thoughts." 
 
 " Some pleasant, and some awfully sad ones." 
 
 " Let me hope you were not wishing yourself back 
 home, as I have been doing to-night, after what I heard 
 to-day." 
 
 "What could you have heard, except from a spirit, 
 that you should wish yourself back ? " 
 
 " Mr. Braybrook said in my hearing to-day that Mr. 
 Richards was of no account ; ' a fellow given to roistering 
 life,' whatever that may mean. If that is the case, it 
 were better if I were dead." 
 
 And again her little hand touched lightly upon Ray 
 mond's arm, and her voice trembled with emotion. Her 
 tone and her touch fired the noble instincts of the man, 
 and he sprang up, and stood before the grieved girl, ready 
 to battle in her cause, as he answered, with a touch of 
 vehemence in his voice : 
 
 " I don't believe a word of it ; and you must not 
 harbor such a thought, whatever its source. I think 
 George Richards is a worthy man ; and none but a very 
 Satan could speak ill of him. Tell me quickly, does 
 Braybrook know of your present relation to Mr. Rich 
 ards ? " The mate's sailor-heart was fired by the girl's 
 pitiable situation. 
 
 " No, not that I know of ; and let me beg of you, Mr.
 
 160 The Fleetwing. 
 
 Raymond, that all our talks may be in confidence. I 
 could not bear to have the second mate know about my 
 affairs ; the man is so sarcastic and hateful in his remarks 
 about everbody ! " 
 
 " He shall learn to bridle his tongue in your affairs. 
 But then, if he does not know your relations, he might 
 have meant no harm." 
 
 " What makes that man so cynical ? He snaps up 
 everybody he speaks to." 
 
 " He is embittered by baffled ambition and hard usage 
 in the past. From that view of his case I have had much 
 forbearance for the man, and have half believed that I 
 might come to like him yet. Does he ever address his 
 conversation to you ? " 
 
 " Yes, but I have always repelled him, either by silence 
 or retort ; for I cannot bear him ! " 
 
 " You must not do that. He is not a person whom you 
 could choose for a friend ; but it would be most unpleas 
 ant to think of such a man as your enemy." 
 
 " Perhaps you are right ; but I am mortally afraid of 
 him now. He speaks evil of every one. After risking 
 your life, as you did, to save him from that dreadful 
 whale, he should esteem you highly ; and yet I have 
 heard him speak lightly of your brave aet. He even said 
 to Mrs. Talbert that he should have done the same thing 
 had you been in his place." 
 
 " I think he would. The man hasn't a cowardly fibre 
 in his body. You all make too much of that job. Bray- 
 brook is too manly to purposely hurt your feelings ; but it 
 is dangerous to goad such a man by personal incivilities. 
 I will sound him, and learn if there is any truth in his
 
 Tfie Land of Flowers. 161 
 
 slanders. Braybrook's shore life in port would lead him 
 to see more of a man's evil side than I know of. But 
 from what I have seen I believe your affianced to be an 
 upright man ; and 1 think you are a brave girl to go so 
 far away to meet him." 
 
 " But just think ! it is years since I have seen him ! 
 and what should I do if he is found unworthy of all the 
 trouble I am taking ? Oh, Mr. Raymond, you will probe 
 this matter for me ! And remember that I cannot bear 
 to have my position made known to the second mate." 
 
 " Depend upon me, Miss Allston, I will act as carefully 
 as you can wish. But there goes four bells ! Time we 
 were in our berths." 
 
 Raymond took the girl by the hand, and led her around 
 to the front of the cabin. As they entered the vestibule, 
 the grateful girl clung tightly to the guiding hand one 
 precious moment before parting for the night ; and Ray 
 mond could not do less than return the gentle pressure, in 
 his honest endeavor to assure the tearful creature of his 
 sympathy. 
 
 All hands were called at daybreak ; and Raymond 
 came out and made sail. The ship was kept away on a 
 southeast course for Flores. She ran down past Corvo 
 about noon, while the officers were taking the sun for 
 meridian latitude. Late in the afternoon they doubled 
 round the northeast point of Flores, ran in under the lee 
 of the land, and lay by off Santa Cruz until morning. 
 
 Flores is the land of flowers, as its name signifies : a 
 picturesque island rising three thousand feet above the 
 sea, and, when seen at a distance, looks blue as the bluest 
 of all oceans which washes its shores. The island is bold
 
 1 62 Tlic Fleetiving. 
 
 to approach for the largest ships, has a rock-bound shore, 
 and no well sheltered harbor. It lies in a genial climate 
 through most of the year, though the winter winds are 
 strong and chill : thus the climatic changes are variable, 
 the extremes of heat and cold ranging from 45 to 85, 
 impressing the stranger more sensibly because of the con 
 stant humidity, which is so great that house-paper cannot 
 be made to adhere to the walls, and veneering becomes 
 detached from furniture. 
 
 In the middle distance, the island shows a smooth un 
 broken outline, sloping upward from the south to the 
 dome-like mountain at the north ; but when nearing the 
 land, the shores are found cleft into many deep ravines 
 and beautiful valleys, watered by streams along which are 
 seen numerous white-washed farm-houses, about which 
 every foot of land is under some sort of cultivation. In 
 the sheltered nooks adjacent to the small bays, houses are 
 clustered in villages, adorned with pretty gardens of fruits 
 and flowers, and embowered among forest trees, though 
 there are but few trees of large growth on any of the 
 islands. These villages acquire an air of pastoral peace 
 and repose, very enticing to the wave-rocked mariner. 
 
 During the evening the ladies came from the cabin for 
 an hour's walk with the captain and mate. Miss Allston 
 gladly paired off with the latter, and seemed in much 
 better spirits than during the previous night. The half- 
 grown moon hung in the southwest, playfully dodging 
 among the occasional fleecy clouds that sailed lazily 
 across the sky. While the moon shone undimmed, her 
 light had the effect to make the smaller cloudlets look 
 like flocks of slow-flying swans, on a pilgrimage to the
 
 T/ic Azores. 163 
 
 moon ; while the large dense cumuli cast black and dis 
 mal shadows when they passed over the orb, creeping 
 mysteriously over the silent land like groups of hooded 
 monks marching in prayerful procession, and invaded the 
 unruffled water like some stealthy bandit of the sea. 
 
 It was a night to prompt home-thoughts to the wan 
 derer, and plunge him into pleasant reveries of the far-off 
 loved ones, except when paired with a prattling woman, 
 who would be apt to force him into agreeable gossip upon 
 local topics, as in the present case, when Raymond's 
 companion was bent upon knowing something of the 
 geography and remote history of those mid-ocean isl 
 ands. 
 
 " Please tell me, Mr. Raymond, aren't we near the 
 coast of Europe or Africa?" asked the pleasing girl, in 
 her sweet liquid tones, as she tightened the grip of her 
 pretty fingers upon her companion's arm, when they 
 walked away from the taffrail ; where they had lingered 
 to sniff the perfume from the shore. 
 
 " Portugal is the nearest mainland, and that is eight 
 hundred miles distant," replied Raymond absently ; while 
 wondering just how much such expressive hand-grips were 
 meant to disclose. 
 
 " Then how came these islands way out here in the 
 middle of the ocean ? " 
 
 "A very pertinent question, Miss Allston. We are over 
 a vast volcanic ocean-plateau, which is steadily rising up 
 in the middle of the north Atlantic, and which extends 
 from the Tropic of Cancer to 50 north latitude ; the only 
 apex of the plateau culminating in the Azores." 
 
 " How deep is the ocean over this plateau ? "
 
 164 The Fleetwiiig. 
 
 " The average depth is about two thousand feet, and it 
 is surrounded by a channel of fifteen thousand feet ; 
 separating it from the Madeira, Canary, and Cape Verd 
 Islands." 
 
 Mrs. Talbert now drew her husband across the deck, 
 that she too might listen to the conversation, as she 
 looked upon Raymond as a sort of encyclopedia in all 
 maritime matters. 
 
 "Who gave the islands the name Azores ? " 
 
 " That was derived from the countless hawks found 
 here. Acor is Portuguese for hawk, the English of which 
 is Azores. Did you not see the numerous hawks and 
 buzzards as we approached the shore ? " 
 
 " Yes, I remember how they swarmed about the head 
 land we rounded. But what brings them here ? " contin 
 ued Miss Allston, not relishing Mrs. Talbert's intrusion 
 upon her tete-a-tete. 
 
 "The hakws come to prey upon the millions of smaller 
 birds which are yearly wind-blown from the coast. Birds 
 are so numerous and destructive among the islands, that 
 at St. Michael's there is a reward paid yearly for killing 
 four hundred and twenty thousand birds ; mostly black 
 birds, redbreasts and canaries." 
 
 " How many islands are there ? " 
 
 " Nine islands, in three groups ; which are administered 
 by a governor and two deputies, appointed by Portugal." 
 
 " Have they always belonged to Portugal ? " inquired 
 Mrs. Talbert. 
 
 " No, they once belonged to the Moors. They were 
 subsequently known as the 'Flemish Isles,' and were 
 once settled by that people."
 
 The Baby Island. 165 
 
 " Oh, my ! were they ? Do tell us all about their long, 
 long ago history," exclaimed both ladies in varying 
 phrases, having scented an unexpected romance. 
 
 " The Azores are generally supposed to have been the 
 Atalanta Islands, which were subjects of romance and 
 song in remote antiquity. They were said to have been 
 successfully colonized at that time, but subsequently dis 
 appeared by sinking back into the sea whence they had 
 emerged." 
 
 " Is there any foundation for such a theory as islands 
 disappearing in that way ? " 
 
 " Oh ! yes ; some of the Azores have amused themselves 
 in that way during the present century, which serves to 
 give color to the Atalanta romance. In the year 1811, a 
 new island came up three hundred feet out of the sea 
 near St. Michael, and was submerged after a few months' 
 existence above board. The new island was called 
 'Sabina,' after an American naval ship, whose captain 
 witnessed the birth of the baby island, and stood sponsor 
 to the volcanic progeny. 
 
 "The Azores, in their present state, were unknown to 
 the Greeks or Romans. They were first charted by 
 Arabian navigators during the twelfth century. The 
 Arabs called them the ' Nine Isles,' or the ' Western 
 Canaries.' Old Carthagenian coins are still found at 
 Corvo, and used to be current at Flores, evidence that 
 the islands were once occupied by that people. 
 
 " Don Henry was the first Portuguese king to colonize 
 the Azores, which was in 1432. Half a century later, 
 Alphonso V. gave the islands to his aunt, the Duchess of 
 Burgundy, who sent out a strong colony of Flemish
 
 1 66 77/r l : lcctiving. 
 
 artisans and soldiers to hold rule in her name; hence 
 they continued to be known as the ' Flemish Isles ' until 
 1580. Spain got possession of them at that time and 
 of Portugal as well and held them until 1640; the 
 Spanish fleets making great use of them for recruiting 
 ports, as their East Indiamen could just fetch the 
 Azores when standing through the northeast trades, before 
 they tacked east, heading for Madrid or Lisbon. 
 
 " Because of their commercial value at that time, the 
 English naval fleets, under the piratical captains of 
 Elizabeth's time such as Hawkins and Drake came 
 here to waylay the Spanish Indiamen ; and many a hard- 
 fought naval battle took place in and about the island 
 ports." 
 
 Four bells struck, taking the cabin group by surprise, 
 so pleasantly had the hours passed while listening to 
 Raymond's instructive talk. Much to the regret of Miss 
 Allston, Mrs. Talbert sprang up and announced that it 
 was time to retire. The ladies went to bed with the 
 promise of landing at Santa Cruz in the morning. 
 
 At dawn, while preparations were being made for going 
 ashore with three boats, the mast-heads-men shouted 
 vociferously about a breach seen far away in the south. 
 Captain Talbert came out and ordered the ship kept 
 away in chase, running dead before the wind. Though 
 there was a seven-knot breeze from the northwest, yet when 
 the whale was next seen breaching, he seemed to be a 
 trifle farther off than before. 
 
 After a three hours' run the whale disappeared, and 
 was seen no more ; though studding-sails were set, and 
 the ship's speed increased, running on a southeast course
 
 The Peak of Pico. 167 
 
 during the whole day. At night the ship was ninety 
 miles away from Flores, and she was kept on for Fayal, 
 then about sixty miles distant. 
 
 At daylight the Fleetvving was close in off Camprida 
 Point, the west cape of Fayal, and the course was shaped 
 close along the south shore of the well cultivated island, 
 which rose 3300 feet before them. When the ladies 
 came out, the peak of Pico was seen towering 7600 feet 
 before them, about thirty miles away. 
 
 The thrifty land along which the fleet ship was sailing 
 was everywhere laid out in grain fields, vineyards, and 
 gardens. Though vegetation is exceedingly fruitful, and 
 rich in color, showing a great variety of fruit-bearing 
 shrubs, luxuriant grasses, and fragrant flowers, which 
 burdened the air about the ship with perfume, yet there 
 were few full-grown trees to be seen. Orange, lemon, 
 apricot, grape, and banana were the common fruit seen 
 growing everywhere. Fishermen were catching mullet, 
 tunny, and bonita, as the ship passed their boats. 
 
 " Where is the port ? " asked Miss Allston, after she 
 had stood spellbound for half an hour, first gazing with 
 reverence upon Pico's lordly peak, gloriff&B by the golden 
 glint of the rising sun behind it; then turning to watch 
 the fast varying scene, as the ship swept past the adjacent 
 shore ; a bewitching panorama for an ocean wanderer to 
 look upon. " Where is the port ? " she repeated, having 
 been too much absorbed to notice the captain's reply to 
 her first question. The mate was bending cables, and 
 getting anchors off the bows. 
 
 " Horta is twenty miles around on the east side of the 
 island," replied the captain.
 
 1 68 The Fleetwing. 
 
 " Is Horta the chief town of the group ? " continued the 
 inquisitive creature. 
 
 " No ; Angra, on the island of Terceira, is the capital, 
 where the governor resides." 
 
 "What island is this?" 
 
 " Fayal." 
 
 " What gave it that name ? " 
 
 " It was named from a common shrub, called 'faya.'" 
 
 " What curious things can we get at Horta, as presents 
 for friends ? " 
 
 The people are excellent basket-makers. But what you 
 ladies will most prize is the Fayal lace, as the women 
 make skilful use of fibrous threads from the agave for 
 that purpose. They also knit fanciful open-work stock 
 ings in the valley of Flemengos, which place still shows 
 traces of the Flemish settlers of four hundred years 
 ago. You will notice, when you land, that the original 
 Portuguese are greatly mixed with Flemish and Moorish 
 blood." 
 
 At nine o'clock the ship ran into the bay of Horta. 
 The anchor was dropped, the sails furled, and every pre 
 paration made -for towing the sperm oil alongside of the 
 New Bedford vessel anchored near by, waiting to freight 
 home the catch of all out-bound ships which put into 
 Horta. But first the captain must go ashore and "enter" 
 the ship at the custom-house, and obtain a " permit " for 
 trans-shipment, without landing the oil. He would also 
 ship a few good oarsmen at the consular office, and would 
 leave his list of recruits with the consul who made an 
 aside business of furnishing all ship-chandler stores, from 
 poor wine to good water ; gaunt, lean pigs with the legs of
 
 Jack " Selling Short" 169 
 
 a giraffe; and, from pure necessity, fat fowls and excel 
 lent potatoes. 
 
 Before the ship was fairly snugged at her anchor, the 
 health officer came aboard, inquiring for a "clean bill of 
 health." The moment this official left, a dozen little bum- 
 boats rushed alongside, eager to peddle out their luscious 
 fruits, and palatable "jackass cheeses." These traders 
 were followed by another sort, bringing pretty-colored 
 baskets, birds, and many other novelties ; taught by a 
 ready-witted experience what sailors could be most easily 
 tempted to purchase, their stock varying from squalling 
 parrots, to cocoanuts ingeniously filled with rum, which, 
 oddly enough, entitled its purchaser to a broken nose, or 
 a black eye, before morning. 
 
 When just out from home, Jack's financial condition 
 is what Wall Street terms " dead broke." Yet the noble 
 fellow is not above assuming the Wall Street methods of 
 " selling short." So he trades off his last plug of tobacco, 
 his only jack-knife, and, if he is not provided with a spare 
 shirt, he does not hesitate to strip to his underwear and 
 gallantly dispose of the only shirt from his back, resorting 
 to his banker, the slop-chest, the day after leaving port, 
 ready to mortgage his next year's wages for his one day's 
 trading-fun in port. 
 
 Several whalers were seen in the offing, tacking back 
 and forth between Fayal and Pico, lying off and on for 
 their captains, who were ashore at Horta, shipping men 
 and buying recruits. Large native barges were frequently 
 seen going out to the ships, loaded with provisions, and 
 carrying the new Portuguese sailors, who sat looking rue 
 fully back to their native land. The boats of the captains
 
 170 The Fleetwing. 
 
 soon followed the barges, and ere night, one by one, the 
 whalers took in their recruits and sped away southward, 
 once more refreshed for their long voyage. 
 
 The sperm oil was safely shipped during the day, by 
 securing beckets to the casks, dropping them overboard, 
 and towing the rafted casks to the freight-ship near at 
 hand. The captain and ladies spent the night ashore, 
 stopping with Dabney, the American consul. 
 
 Early on the following day, a water-boat came along 
 side to replenish the ship's empty casks and scuttle-butt. 
 Then came a barge, bringing pigs and fowl, potatoes, and 
 other vegetables, sufficient to fill the pens and coops, to 
 gether with fruit enough to adorn the tops and backstays for 
 weeks to come, not forgetting a couple of large milch 
 goats, white and clean-looking animals, adding a welcome 
 luxury to the cabin table. 
 
 Late in the afternoon the cabin people came off, bring 
 ing a young doctor with them, who wished to reach St. 
 Michael's. Raymond received orders to get the ship 
 under-weigh and put to sea ; and the men at once manned 
 the windlass, and were set to loosing the sails. The ladies 
 had enjoyed their run ashore, and had many pleasant 
 things to tell of the quaint people they met, and the 
 strange sights they had seen. 
 
 While the Fleetwing was taking her anchor, the barque 
 Albion, Captain Norman, came round the point and 
 anchored in the bay. Two of the whaler's larboard boats 
 were badly stoven, and one was wholly missing. 
 
 Seeing the Fleetwing preparing to leave port, Captain 
 Norman hastily lowered his -starboard boat and came on 
 board, and at once begged Captain Talbert to sell him
 
 The Demon U hale. 171 
 
 one of his seven new boats. This the captain declined to 
 do, especially as there were two new whale-boats lying in 
 Dabney's yard for sale. . 
 
 The Albion had been fast to a fighting whale out on the 
 Flores ground the same day the Fleetwing left there, re 
 sulting in several men being killed and wounded. The 
 whale had stoven three boats, and, night coming on, he 
 was gladly given up. He left with two lines towing after 
 him, and when last seen was heading off towards Flores. 
 The captains agreed that the breaching whale which 
 enticed the Fleetwing away from Flores, might be the 
 same fellow, wrought to frenzy by the goading irons in his 
 side. 
 
 This startling news sent a thrill of horror through the 
 the crew of the Fleetwing, for the men from the Albion 
 entered into formidable details of the whale fight. They 
 related that the mate's boat had been stoven by an up-cut 
 of the jaw, which broke the keel and one gunwale, and 
 wholly demolished one side of the boat. The second 
 mate's boat received a down-stroke of the flukes, which left 
 her in precisely the condition of the mate's boat. The 
 bow boat was so completely demolished that the pieces 
 were not picked up. The whale breached out fifty feet 
 above the boat, and fell over upon the crew, killing four 
 men outright, and wounding the third mate and bowman 
 by breaking the legs of both. 
 
 Captain Norman believed he had encountered the de 
 mon whale, Mocha Dick. He described the gigantic 
 creature as having three narrow white bands down his 
 sid- j , where a huge devil-fish had clawed him from the 
 bunch of his neck down beaft his starboard fin, As a
 
 172 TJic Flee twing. 
 
 further mark, this demon whale had an angular piece 
 bitten out of his larboard fluke, precisely the shape of a 
 bite from the bjll of a large octopus, or devil-fish, such as 
 sperm whales encounter on the bottom of the deep sea. 
 The officers and crew were evidently thoroughly demor 
 alized by the ugly whale, and some of them would never 
 get over it. 
 
 As the ship stood out of the harbor, Captain Norman 
 said good-by, manned his boat, and pulled ashore at Horta, 
 doubly saddened by his ill-luck after meeting the Fleet- 
 wing. The sun was just tinting the peak of Pico with his 
 good-night beams as the ship broke ground from the rocky 
 bottom of Horta, and stood southward to clear the Pico 
 shore, on her way to St. Michael's, which lay east south 
 east, one hundred ?>nd sixty miles distant, about which 
 the Fleetwing would cruise a week, looking for sperm 
 whales around the land during the coming full moon.
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 AMONG A SCHOOL OF COWS AND CALVES. 
 
 T^HE morning after leaving Fayal found the Fleetwing 
 about half way across to St. Michael. It was a bright, 
 cloudless day, the sea not much ruffled by the five-knot 
 breeze then blowing. The water was blue as indigo, and, 
 with the air so clear, a spout would show white as milk 
 anywhere in the ken of the eye. 
 
 As the sun rose, tinting the royals with his first ray, Mr. 
 Bailey ordered the mast-heads manned, himself waiting for 
 the mate to appear before he took his trick aloft. Hoogley 
 sprang into the fore-rigging, and Tom Crawford mounted 
 leisurely up the main shrouds, both men climbing aloft 
 until they reached their high perch in the sky. 
 
 Hoogley stepped into the topgallant cross-trees, and 
 hailed the deck to have the fore-royal lowered, sweeping 
 his keen eyes about, on both beams, while the halyards 
 were slacked away. But as the royal yard came down 
 upon the lifts even before the braces were hauled taut 
 he wheeled forward to look ahead of the ship, and 
 at once loudened in stentorian voice : 
 
 " There she blows ! blows blo-o-ows ! " 
 
 " What do you see there, John ? " hailed the mate, run 
 ning into the waist, his eyes full of soapsuds from the 
 ablution he was just then undergoing.
 
 1 74 The Fleetiving. 
 
 " A school of small whales, sir, right ahead, and about 
 two miles off." 
 
 " How are they heading ? " 
 
 " A trifle off from where we head, sir." 
 
 And as old Tom had also been bellowing about them. 
 
 O 
 
 in a voice louder than old Stentor himself, every soul fore 
 and aft had been aroused, and the men were seen tumbling 
 up half dressed from the fore-scuttle and the booby-hatch 
 some coming with a pipe in one hand and a shoe in the 
 other, having wakened with a doubt in the mind as to 
 which article was the most important in a sudden emer 
 gency. 
 
 Hastily wiping his eyes, and tossing his towel to the 
 cabin-boy, Raymond caught up the spyglass and ran aloft, 
 hoping to get a look at the whales before they went down. 
 A long, sweeping look with the glass, in which time he 
 had covered more than a hundred whales in its field, 
 satisfied the mate that they were a body of still whales, 
 and had not been disturbed by the ship, as he had feared. 
 Hailing the deck, he shouted : 
 
 " On deck, there ! Call out all hands, and make ready 
 the boats. Cook, steward, and steerage-boy, serve your 
 breakfast at once." 
 
 " What sized whales are they, Mr. Raymond ? " called 
 the captain, who was slipping into his roundabout, as he 
 hastened along to the maintack. 
 
 "Cows and calves, sir. A big school, spread over all 
 creation, heading about a point off. from our course." 
 
 " Haul aback when you think we are near enough." 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir ! We had better luff one point, and keep 
 on about a mile farther."
 
 A School of Whales. 175 
 
 " All right. Helm, there ! Luff a point, and keep her 
 steady to her course." 
 
 " Luff a point, sir ! " answered old Ben. 
 
 A shipkeeper was put to the wheel, and another sent 
 aloft to relieve Crawford. Hoogley was sent to his break 
 fast, and all those belonging to the boats. When the last 
 of the school had turned flukes, Raymond gave up the 
 lookout to the cooper, and went down from aloft. Before 
 going in to his breakfast, he saw to hauling up the main 
 sail, and ordered the main yards swung aback. 
 
 When the captain and officers came out, the four boats 
 were hoisted and swung, and the ship lay drifting, waiting 
 for the whales to come up. The ladies and Dr. Greeville 
 sat at table to keep company with Raymond while he ate ; 
 all three boring the hungry man with questions about the 
 location, and the kind of whales he had seen. 
 
 The doctor, a young Harvard graduate, somewhat over 
 worked by his Alma Mater, took occasion to ask the mate 
 to take him for one of his crew, asserting that he could 
 pull a good stroke oar. Raymond had not yet found 
 time to form a favorable opinion of the too exquisite 
 young dude, and so put him off for the present ; more 
 intent upon loading up with flapjacks, fried bananas, and 
 coffee enlivened with goat's milk. 
 
 Mrs. Talbert and Miss Allston amused themselves 
 piling up the most palatable dishes about Raymond's 
 plate, and urging him with persuasive words to partake of 
 each. This occupatioB and pleasantry were suddenly 
 brought to an end by a shout from the mast-head : 
 
 " Blows, blows, blows ! The school is up, sir, about a 
 mile off, three points out on the lee bow."
 
 176 The Flcctwing. 
 
 " Stand by the boats ! " shouted the captain, adding to 
 the mate, who came rushing from the cabin with his 
 mouth full of soft tack : " Don't put paddles or oars into 
 the water until we have tried them with sails alone. 
 Lower away, and range along in line with the starboard 
 boat." 
 
 Once in the water with oars peaked and sails set, the 
 boats ran down within an eighth of a mile of the whales 
 before the school went down. For nearly half an hour 
 the four dancing boats lay in a long line, tossing on the 
 spuming crests of the seas ; their sheets eased off, and 
 their sails gently fluttering in the breeze. 
 
 The officers stood balancing themselves upon the stern- 
 sheets, and the four boat-steerers were mounted on the 
 clumsy cleats, supported by the boat's warp against the 
 uneasy rise and fall of the bow. The men were ordered 
 to keep watch, each along the line of his own oar, and 
 officers and crews were alike eager to catch sight of the 
 coming whales. School whales being considered, even by 
 the timid ones, as a sort of boy's play, compared with the 
 dreadful encounters when hunting the monstrous bulls. 
 
 Suddenly the whole school came up, the nearest whales 
 being about a quarter of a mile away. They were seen in 
 every direction over all the great prairie-land of the sea, 
 until every billow seemed alive with the gray heads of 
 sperm whales, whose mist-white spouts shot upward and 
 drifted a-lee, like vapory ghosts creeping along the hollow 
 trough of the seas. 
 
 The whales were gathered in clusters and pods, of five 
 and ten ; and in larger groups of fifty. The motherly 
 cows and nursling calves slowly wallowed through the
 
 The \Vhalc Charmer. 177 
 
 azure sea ; the sunlight flashing from their shining backs, 
 like the far-reaching glitter of a thousand mirrors. Thus 
 herded together in countless numbers, they were swayed 
 here and there on a devious course by a few chosen lead 
 ers, like the banded buffalo of the western plain. By 
 what magical power of ruling one or more leaders can 
 sway such a vast assemblage of leviathans none can tell. 
 
 On seeing the whales, the boats all kept away before 
 the wind together. At first Raymond and Braybrook 
 were nearest to the school. Presently a pod of large 
 cows straggled behind the school, directly in front of Mr. 
 Bailey ; while the whales near to the waist-boat now 
 forged quickly ahead out of the reach of Braybrook, as if 
 they were frightened. Uncle Joe saw his chance, eased 
 off his sheet and kept away for a large fat cow, the most 
 tempting prize of the twenty whales before him. 
 
 Cape Verd Jose stood in the bow counting his beads, 
 kissing his cross, and mentally calling upon one of his 
 island saints. His boat approached the whale with the 
 utmost caution, none speaking above a whisper, and when 
 they were three spouts away, Uncle Joe began to admon 
 ish his black barbarian how to conduct himself : 
 
 " Stan' by dere, yo' big niggar, an' tuck yer iron in yer 
 flippers. Brace yer brack leg inter de clumsy cleat an' 
 git redcly ; but doan yer dart till yer ole fader teld yer. 
 Trus' in St. Antonio, ef yer wan'ter ; but doan yer furgit 
 dat Joe Bailey is pehind yer." 
 
 Uncle Joe's face now became illuminated with a weird, 
 strange delight as he approached the whale. His one 
 soft eye was fixed immovably upon his prey ; his thick 
 lips moved rapidly in mute pantomimic prayer, while his
 
 1 78 The Wcctwing. 
 
 whole being was centred, as by strong fascination, upon 
 the one dark object before him. The only sound heard 
 above the audible heart-beats in the boat was a low gut 
 tural clucking, made deep down in Bailey's throat, some 
 thing like the cluck of a setting hen. Such was the as 
 pect of the long, gaunt face of the man while in the act of 
 charming a whale, when once he could get within fascinat 
 ing distance of him. Slowly and steadily the doomed 
 whale straggled behind her companions, and would soon 
 be within reach of the irons of the fateful old whale- 
 hunter. 
 
 The boat was steered noiselessly along in the whale's 
 wake until very near to her : then, with a small motion of 
 his oar, Uncle Joe kept away over the corner of the flukes, 
 shot ahead along the small, luffed in forward of the hump 
 of the half-slumbering cow ; and then came the word : 
 
 " Tuck in de irons dar, Jose ! an' lemme see ef dar's 
 eny good niggar blood in yer bones." 
 
 Instantly the two keen barbs were plunged fair into the 
 life of the whale, and the whole universe seemed flashing 
 with the fins and flukes of departing whales. The school 
 was gone in a twinkling. Jose had been taken square up 
 to the life, and he had done his work well. Henceforth 
 the black Portuguese of the bow-boat was held in high 
 esteem by Uncle Joe, whose great experience enabled him 
 to appreciate a good job of this kind. 
 
 The whale had been so shocked by the two irons in her 
 lungs that she neither sounded nor sought to escape by 
 following the retreating school ; but lay motionless, spout 
 ing away her life-blood on the azure sea. 
 
 When the boats were approaching the school, Raymond
 
 Fast Boats. 179 
 
 saw that he was a trifle nearer than Uncle Joe ; and with 
 a view to striking two whales, he adroitly eased off his 
 sheet so that the two boat-steerers could dart at the same 
 instant. His effort was well timed, though Jose's iron 
 struck first, which caused Hoogley to dart at some disad 
 vantage, for his whale kicked before the second iron could 
 be got in. 
 
 It did not take long for Raymond's whale to recover 
 from her surprise. Aroused to self-preservation, she be 
 came frantic with maternal instinct to save the young calf 
 at her side. Though distracted with pain and confused 
 by fear, the brave cow threw her left fin over the baby 
 whale, and plunged below, rushing on after the retreating 
 herd. 
 
 When the school came up, the fast whale was seen in 
 their midst with her calf on her back. She had suc 
 ceeded in attracting the sympathy of the whole tumultuous 
 mass of panic-stricken leviathans, who now sought to aid 
 their distressed companion, each after her own method. 
 
 It had now become a moment of peculiar peril for the 
 fast boat and her crew. Dragged by the frantic effort of 
 the wounded cow among a great snarl of excited whales, 
 all rushing helter-skelter in different directions, in search 
 of the object of their solicitude, both maddened and 
 frightened by the piteous appeals of the mother-whale, it 
 seemed impossible to escape such a many-headed danger. 
 
 The boat was menaced by the constant uprising of new 
 comers from out the hidden depths, which often emerged 
 in dangerous proximity ahead, alongside, or beneath the 
 boat. Some came rushing to the rescue with their great 
 heads beating furiously upon the sea as they ran. Some
 
 i8o The Flcetii'iug. 
 
 thrust their heads out twenty feet above the boat, glaring 
 fiercely about for some object to assail. Some hysterical 
 mother-cows leaped wholly out of the water, falling crash 
 ing back upon whatever lay beneath, in aimless endeavor 
 to show their zeal for the suffering cow, and protect their 
 own calves, which are sometimes killed by the falling 
 mother. 
 
 It was a crucial test for the best human courage. A 
 trial such as bravery built upon false assumption cannot 
 withstand. But to the constitutionally brave, the tempes- 
 tudus bustle of such appalling danger becomes the source 
 of wildest rapture. Raymond possessed one of those 
 peculiar temperaments which cools as danger thickens, 
 and becomes most calm in the thickest of the fight. To 
 him it seemed an opportunity to win the final whaling 
 triumph of his life ; the novelty and variety of dangers 
 simply appealed to his ingenuity to defeat them. 
 
 Instead of slacking line and trying to escape, when he 
 found himself among such a tumult of panic-stricken 
 beasts, Raymond stripped to his shirt-sleeves, got out his 
 two lances, and prepared for slaughter. With lance in 
 hand, he called to his boat-steerer, and spoke a word of 
 cheer to his men : 
 
 " Now, John, here's the chance to win our spurs. Are 
 you ready ? " 
 
 "All ready, sir!" and Hoogley's eyes flashed with 
 delight, as he grappled his steering oar and waited for 
 orders. 
 
 " Tom, stand by to bow me on. Buntline, and the rest 
 of you, take your oars and be ready. Keep your ears 
 open, and work lively ; for there must be no mistake in 
 the stroke of an oar."
 
 Stern for your Lives ! IT 
 
 " All right, sir ! " answered brave old Tom ; which was 
 echoed by stolid but fearless Ben. 
 
 " Haul line, Tom ! Hoogley, sheer the boat alongside 
 of that big cow lying athwart our hawse." 
 
 And the line was gathered quickly in, while Hoogley 
 put his whole strength against the steering oar to swing 
 the boat hard a-port. With his leg braced in the clumsy 
 cleat, Raymond gathered himself for a dart ; when up 
 breached a whale close ahead of the boat, rising thirty 
 feet above them, with the line caught on her fin ; threaten 
 ing to fall across the bow if the boat was not stopped on 
 the instant. 
 
 " Slack line, Tom ! Stern all, Ben ! Stern for your lives, 
 boys ! " Tom and the mate both sprang instinctively to 
 the forward oars, to get sternway. 
 
 Down came the whale across the two larboard oars ; her 
 head falling just clear of the bow, partly owing to the 
 timely sweep of Hoogley's oar, which just swerved the 
 head of the boat clear of the falling whale, and saved the 
 lives of Raymond and Crawford. 
 
 Though a fountain of falling water nearly filled the 
 boat, Raymond saw his opportunity, caught up his lance, 
 and set it square down into the life of the breaching brute 
 as she rose to spout, close under the head of his. boat. A 
 rich red blood belched forth, ere the lance could be with 
 drawn. The other cow, which he had previously tried for, 
 now lay just beyond, side by side with the dying whale ; 
 in went the lance into her side, darted across the back of 
 the near whale, and the pair of dying cows jogged slowly 
 out of the school together, their gory spouts reddening 
 the foamy sea where the breaching whale had fallen.
 
 1 82 The Flectwing. 
 
 A new division of oars had to be made from the three- 
 oar side ; then again the boat was hauled ahead by the 
 line. The snarl of leaping, rolling whales now became 
 thicker than ever about the fast boat. Some lay with 
 their heads thrust out over the backs of others, tossing 
 and squirming their lithe bodies about like eels. 
 
 Just ahead of the boat were two large cows, with small 
 calves at their sides. They were lying on each side of 
 the line, which thrashed up and down between them 
 whenever the boat rose on a sea. These whales were 
 nearly a boat's length apart ; room enough for passing ; 
 but as the calves were on the off side of the cows, both 
 whales would strike on the side toward the boat, in fear 
 of harming their young. The probability of a stoven 
 boat could be avoided by going outside of this pair. But 
 as danger was not an element of much weight in Ray 
 mond's calculations, it never occurred to him to be satis 
 fied with one whale, wholly exempt from danger, and his 
 choice was made for two or none ! 
 
 " Be quick with your oars, there, Buntline. Overboard 
 with the broken ones, and ship out the harponier for a 
 tub-oar." 
 
 " All ready with the oars, sir," answered Ben. 
 
 " Haul ahead, Tom ! Take your oar, Hoogley." 
 
 " Inside or outside of them uns, sir?" asked the boat- 
 steerer. 
 
 " What, John ; don't ask foolish questions. 'Tween 
 'em, of course, and give me a set at them both. Steer for 
 the starboard one first; and then, my boy, lively is the 
 word, for the other. Hold the bow steady while I lance 
 'em, and I'll answer for the kicking."
 
 Brave Hoogley. 183 
 
 "Ay, ay, sir!" and brave Hoogley entered into the 
 spirit of the thing with a chuckle of delight. Buntline 
 rapped the tub-oarsman over the head, for gawking round 
 at the whales; muttering between his teeth: "Mind yer 
 oar, greenhorn ; the mate'll boss the for'ard job, widout 
 yer help." 
 
 The boat ran noiselessly in between the whales, and 
 down went the lance with good result into the right-hand 
 one, and up went the flukes of both whales. But Tom 
 held the boat too far forward for the stern to be reached, 
 though the steering oar was broken into three pieces by 
 the ferocious thrashing of the port whale's tail. The port 
 whale caught her calf under her fin, and pitched to go 
 down ; but with a long dart Raymond " pitch-poled " 
 his lance into the retreating cow, with doubtful result, as 
 she was well under water. In about two minutes the calf 
 came up, soon followed by the mother whale, who had 
 become too sick to attend to her baby, for she was 
 spouting thick blood. 
 
 A wild shout broke from the crew, joined by even the 
 timid tub oarsman, who had already learned to fear Ben's 
 big hand more than the kick of a whale. Brave Hoogley 
 lay in a half-faint, slumped down in the stern-sheets. The 
 loom of the broken steering-oar had struck him in the 
 chest, and knocked the breath from his body. Slacking 
 the line out sufficiently to clear the boat from the whales, 
 Raymond went aft to examine the boat-steerer. As there 
 were no bones broken, only a big, black bruise, a few 
 minute doses of arnica were administered to overcome 
 the nerve-shock, and John was bid to keep quiet. 
 
 Tom Crawford was sent aft to rig out the midship oar
 
 1 84 The Fleetwing. 
 
 to steer by, and Raymond took little Bob Cross, the cabin- 
 boy, forward to bow the line, as there was now no further 
 use for a stroke oar. Only a tub and midship oar could 
 be manned, all others being broken. The whole school 
 now went down, including the fast whale. Sounding and 
 running, they kept down nearly half an hour, which gave 
 the whales time to overcome their panic. This was de 
 termined by quickening their speed to a brisk run, which 
 could not have occurred without straightening out the 
 snarl. 
 
 About this time Captain Talbert pulled up and fastened 
 to one of the first two whales seen spouting blood, throw 
 ing a drug-iron into the other, with a waif attached, in 
 case the loose whale should straggle away before she died. 
 Braybrook secured the third whale, which was heading 
 directly away from the others. Uncle Joe, whose whale 
 had " turned up " and lay with a flag-staff in her side, now 
 took to his oars and pulled down and fastened to Ray 
 mond's fourth whale. 
 
 When the fast whale came up, the whole school had 
 become quite orderly. The whales had broken up into 
 three separate pods. Six small cows with calves were stili 
 attached to the mate's whale, having greater maternal 
 sympathy for her than the older dams, which had con 
 cluded to look out for themselves, and take care of their 
 own babies, and let their wounded neighbor shift for 
 herself an almost human conclusion. 
 
 The school was now racing away to windward, and 
 passed close astern of the ship, so near that the ladies 
 hailed Raymond to ask where Hoogley was. Tom pointed 
 down under his legs, where the boat-steerer's pale face
 
 The Drugged Whale. 185 
 
 was seen with a ghastly grin on i.is lips, while Raymond 
 answered : 
 
 '* John is taking a watch below, as we now stand watch- 
 and-watch aboard of this craft." 
 
 A shudder crept through the feminine frames, as the 
 women witnessed the blood-stained condition of the mate 
 and his crew, with the added fear that perhaps the brave 
 Malay was lying there maimed for life. 
 
 About a third of the line had been sounded out. 
 
 The men had been hauling lustily while the boat was 
 spinning on after the school, and were still grappled to 
 the line, gathering it in hand over hand, in fear the whales 
 would sound again. The boat approached close upon the 
 hindmost whales, the fast whale having dashed ahead 
 among the very foremost of the herd. This promised 
 another chance for the mate to ply his lance, while the 
 boat passed through the hind tier of cows, all of which 
 had calves snuggled close up to their " smalls," with the 
 flukes of the young ones lapped against the mother- 
 whales. 
 
 As the school was running fast, the mate got out a drug- 
 iron, hoping to hamper one of the loose whales so she 
 would slack astern, and perhaps be caught by one of the 
 other boats. The boat slid alongside of a fat young cow, 
 big with calf, which was making laborious work, keeping 
 along with the rest. A good lance was thrown, and 
 brought blood ; then the drug-iron was flung into her as 
 she shot quickly ahead. This had the effect to speed up 
 the whole school, all but the drugged whale, which soon 
 straggled astern and was secured by the waist-boat. 
 
 As there were no other whales in reach of the boat,
 
 1 86 Tlie Flectiving. 
 
 Raymond hauled ahead to kill the fast whale. Before he 
 could reach her, a young cow came up, and the two 
 quickened their speed, running side by side, each, Laving 
 a small calf riding "pig-back," clinging fast to the 
 " small." 
 
 With lance in hand, the mate approached the loose 
 whale, greatly elated at this unexpected luck. But the 
 timid creature became frightened, settled under water, 
 and disappeared. Supposing she had gone for good, 
 Raymond hauled on and lanced the fast whale, which 
 immediately checked her speed. The little calf dropped 
 off from his perch, and for a time kept close alongside 
 of the boat. Tom patted the pretty creature on his 
 back, and humorous old Ben put his hat on the baby's 
 head. 
 
 Suddenly the loose cow rose near the boat, probably 
 attracted by some piteous signal from the calf, which 
 manifested considerable distress for its dying mother, 
 which paid no attention to her almost orphaned babe. 
 Instantly Raymond caught up his lance from the crotch, 
 and with a cry of delight thrust it into the breast of the 
 rolling cow, as she turned fin out at the head of his boat. 
 A swift shudder ran through her, showing she had received 
 her death ; and she died with no other motion but a 
 quiver of the upraised fin, and a spasmodic curling up of 
 the corners of the flukes. This was Raymond's seventh 
 whale. Six of his captives were still spouting blood to 
 leeward, though the first two were at that moment thrash 
 ing about in their flurry. The fast whale ran on half a 
 mile to windward, and then in a spasm of distress rolled 
 up with both fins out. The boat was hauled up quickly,
 
 The Two Orphans. 187 
 
 and a lance put down between her fins, which killed her 
 in a few minutes. 
 
 A hole was cut in the edge of the spout-hole, a tow- 
 rope attached, sail set upon the boat, and the dead whale 
 was towed down to the other whale half a mile to leeward. 
 The moaning calf was sometimes running with the boat, 
 and at other times nestling against the side of his dead 
 mother. 
 
 The lantern keg was got out, the head extracted, and 
 all hands fell to upon the hardtack, ravenous as bears. 
 Even Hoogley roused up and showed an interest in the 
 occasion, by soaking a biscuit in the sea and nibbling 
 painfully at it ; for arms, shoulders, and jaws were made 
 stiff and lame from his hurt. 
 
 Tears being discovered on old Ben's corrugated cheeks, 
 wiggling in and out among the rough furrows, with other 
 tears grouped in mournful companionship on the end of 
 his red nose, Raymond sought to elicit the source of the 
 old veteran's grief : 
 
 " What's up with you, Ben ? " 
 
 " Please, sir, I wus jus' thinkin', me an' this little un 
 am both orphans togedder," and the weeping old salt 
 stroked the back of the baby whale, with a guttural, 
 gurgling noise in his throat, which was meant for a sob ; 
 but, by mistake, sounded like water gurgling from a bung- 
 hole. Nevertheless, it was a genuine grief, the comical 
 upheaval of a tender heart, now fifty years an orphan. 
 
 And brave Ben Buntline laid his frosted head on the 
 gunwale and wept like a child. His senile grief was 
 contagious, for Tom patted his loved shipmate on the 
 back, and bade him not make a fool of himself ; but Tom's
 
 1 88 The Flcctwing. 
 
 voice also choked, and his eyes grew red, and he found it 
 best to mind his own business, and not disturb the two 
 mourners the orphaned whale and orphaned man and 
 Tom went back to eating hardtack; and the toddy 
 blossoms on his huge nose bloomed out redder than ever. 
 
 When the boat reached the leeward cow, she too was 
 taken in tow ; and the sail was trimmed so as to lay for 
 the ship. The Fleetwing was over a mile off, just then, 
 taking the last of the six dead whales alongside. In a 
 little while Braybrook and Bailey were seen pulling to 
 windward to help tow the larboard boat's whales to the 
 ship. 
 
 After an hour's towing, the eight whales were all fluke- 
 chained alongside, and the hands were turned off to 
 dinner. The ladies could hardly be induced to go in to 
 their meal, having become so interested in the two 
 orphaned whales, which kept nosing round among the 
 dead cows, seeking to find one whale yet in the quick. 
 The noble-hearted Braybrook had lanced and killed the 
 tiny calf which followed one of his whales ; but, perhaps, 
 like poor Ben, he could not bear to be reminded of his 
 own orphanage. 
 
 The heads of all these whales were cut square off at the 
 neck-joint, and hove in whole, jaw and all, which made much 
 quicker work in cutting them in. A good two days were 
 occupied before the eight heads were bailed and cut up, 
 and the empty cases pitched overboard. Every Jack was 
 allowed a half dozen teeth to carve or carry home to his 
 friends ; and all were given pieces of the jaws for making 
 white-bone canes; while to the ladies and the doctor it 
 was a scene of great novelty, watching the officers dis-
 
 The Royal Anointing. 189 
 
 seating the whales' heads. A tubful of the odorous 
 spermaceti was taken into the lower cabin for the child 
 and ladies to bathe in an old-time royal anointing, 
 which only required the simple addition of crowning to 
 make queens of them all.
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE PERFIDIOUS ALBION. 
 
 THROUGH the best of lookouts had been kept while 
 boiling on the whales, and the Fleetwing had trav 
 ersed the whole ground over and over, sailing a hundred 
 miles each way, yet not the spout of a whale had been 
 seen since the departure of the school. 
 
 The whales of the last catch were turning out well ; 
 they varied from twenty-five to forty barrels, making an 
 average of thirty-five barrels each. This made the Fleet- 
 wing's whole catch since sailing amount to five hundred 
 and twenty barrels ; a showing rarely equalled so early in 
 a ship's voyage. 
 
 Captain Talbert had decided to go back into Horta and 
 ship his last catch by the home-bound vessel, if he could 
 reach port before she sailed, and had given orders to head 
 round towards Fayal early in the morning. 
 
 The Albion had come in sight during the afternoon. 
 Captain Norman ran down to speak the Fleetwing just 
 before dark, and came aboard and spent the evening. 
 He had secured a new lot of boats at Fayal, and his offi 
 cers had regained their spirits, and were now eager to 
 tackle another whale. Considerable surprise was ex 
 pressed when they spoke the Fleetwing and their captain 
 hailed with the usual technism : 
 
 190
 
 The Gam. 191 
 
 " Hope to see you very well, Captain Talbert ? " 
 
 " Very well, I thank you. How is Captain Norman ? " 
 
 "A little more hopeful than when we last met. Got 
 any more big whales lately ? " he asked, with a jolly laugh 
 at his own futile joke ; without a thought that the Fleet- 
 wing had taken whales since leaving port. 
 
 " No large whales. But we have taken eight fat cows 
 since seeing you," was answered with a genuine effort not 
 to appear elated. 
 
 " The devil you have ! Where in thunder did you find 
 'em ? " 
 
 " Right about here. Come aboard, and we'll tell you 
 all about it." 
 
 " Thank you. I'll come, if you will give me a scrap for 
 luck." 
 
 It is not a pleasant event when an unlucky whaler 
 meets a lucky one. Birds of a feather lake a deal more 
 comfort in condoling together. Every effort was made to 
 cheer up Captain Norman's drooping spirits during the 
 evening, and with apparent success, until he asked Tal 
 bert to " mate " with the Albion while they kept corn- 
 pan}'. This request was refused, as Captain Talbert was 
 a little superstitious about tampering with his present 
 good fortune by joining chances with such an unlucky 
 ship. Norman showed a little petulance at this denial, 
 and soon asked to have his boat manned, and went 
 aboard of his own ship. To soften the matter, Mrs. Tal 
 bert asked Captain Norman to take supper with them the 
 next day at six, and he accepted. 
 
 During the following day, the two ships cruised towards 
 Fayal, keeping about five miles apart. Late in the after-
 
 192 The Fleetwing. 
 
 noon, the Albion began to close up with the Fleetwing, to 
 be in position for the captain to avail himself of his invita 
 tion to tea. The vessels had approached within two miles 
 of each other when a spout was " raised " from the mast 
 heads of both ships at the same time. 
 
 The spout proved to be that of a large sperm whale, 
 about two miles off, directly ahead of the Albion, which 
 was the lee ship, and would have had no chance at the 
 whale but for this unlucky invitation to tea. As it was, 
 the two ships had an equal chance, and it would have 
 been best to have " mated," as half a whale is better than 
 none. 
 
 To increase his chance, Captain Talbert ordered all sail 
 put upon the ship ; the topgallant-sails and royals having 
 been furled in courtesy to Captain Norman, whose vessel 
 could not otherwise have kept up with his invitation to 
 tea. Owing to her superior sailing, the Fleetwing's boats 
 were in position to lower first, and they peaked their oars, 
 and sailed carefully down towards the whale. Captain 
 Talbert remained on board to direct his three boats from 
 the masthead. 
 
 The Albion's boats were soon lowered, 'and, with 
 marked discourtesy, took to their oars, as well as sails, at 
 the risk of gallying the whale. Raymond had been de 
 layed, in lowering, by a kink in his boat-tackle getting 
 jammed in the davit-head ; which mishap gave Braybrook 
 the lead, and he got a good start ahead of the Albion's 
 boats, and felt sure of his prize. 
 
 Captain Norman's boat was the leading one from his 
 ship, and by the aid of oars he came bowling down to 
 Braybrook, compelling the latter to also take oars to pre-
 
 TJic Perfidious Albioii. 193 
 
 vent Norman's boat going past him. Braybrook was mad 
 all through, and with many an oath against his competitor, 
 urged the crew to desperate work at the oars. Thus the 
 two boats approached the whale, Braybrook keeping the 
 lead ; and though Norman saw that he could by no possi 
 bility gain the chance, he persisted in keeping up the 
 race. When within two spoutings, the whale heard the 
 rattle of rowlocks, wheeled suddenly about with his eye 
 fair upon the boats, gave a knowing wiggle with his hump, 
 and, without any apparent effort, sank like a stone, and 
 was gone in an instant. Not even the masthead lookouts 
 saw anything more of him. Braybrook lay hove up a 
 while, but Norman pulled back to his ship. 
 
 Captain Talbert had seen the whole affair from the mast 
 head, and was very indignant about it. He soon made 
 a signal of recall for the boats, and stood close clown past 
 the Albion to pick them up. When the boats were hoisted, 
 the yards were braced forward, and the Fleetwing sped 
 away from the perfidious Albion, which was soon left in 
 the distance astern, and henceforth she was spoken of as 
 the "dog in the manger." Braybrook was tuned up to a 
 very high key by being thus robbed of his first fair chance 
 for a whale. 
 
 The ship kept on for several hours after dark, and then 
 tacked back towards St. Michael, endeavoring to reach 
 well up to windward of their unpleasant companion. A 
 gallied whale usually works to windward, and Captain 
 Talbert desired to spend another day looking for him, 
 before going into Horta.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE FIGHT WITH A DEMON WHALE. 
 
 F)Y taking advantage of a slant of wind during the 
 *-* night, in the morning the ship was fifty miles to wind 
 ward of her position on the previous day. About nine 
 o'clock a spout was raised which proved to be a large, 
 lone whale, and was thought to be the whale they were in 
 search of. The ship ran off to get good run of him, for 
 the whale's movements were found so erratic that the 
 captain concluded to stay aloft and look after him, and 
 sent down the three larboard boats. The whale never 
 came up where he was looked for, but opposite to where 
 he headed when he went down. Uncle Joe declared that 
 he was crippled, as none but a wounded whale ever used 
 such cunning manoeuvres. 
 
 Having approached near enough for lowering, the three 
 larboard boats went down, and were soon going full tilt off 
 to leeward, under sail. The boats were well separated, 
 with the larboard boat in the middle and ahead. As 
 Raymond had got a good start, and had the wind on his 
 quarter, the boat's best point of sailing, he steadily 
 increased his lead. 
 
 Dr. Greeville was in the boat. Having reminded the 
 mate of his promise to that effect, the young Esculapius 
 was permitted to take the tub-oarsman's place. He was 
 
 194
 
 Tlic Dread Discovery. 19$ 
 
 in high glee at the thought of a whale-hunt under the 
 guidance of such a fiery young Hotspur as Charlie 
 Raymond was said to be. The young medico was a 
 little over-boastful of the valorous deeds he intended 
 to accomplish. The pretty little dude looked upon a 
 real whale-fight as something a trifle more dangerous 
 than pig-killing. He was seriously intent upon a real 
 thrilling affair to relate to his fellow-alumni at Cambridge 
 upon his return. 
 
 When the boats were lowered, the whale was about a mile 
 off. They gained slowly upon him, though the breeze was 
 fresh, and the men were ranged along the weather gun 
 wale, causing the boat to go very fast. Raymond was in 
 the best of spirits, as the fleet craft leaped from sea to 
 sea, and he realized that he had the whole field to himself. 
 Hoogley was in his place, for the first time since he re 
 covered from the blow on his chest. He stood on the 
 bow thwart, supporting himself by the mast, which bent 
 and creaked in the strong wind. The brave fellow seemed 
 mettlesome as ever, as he stood watching every move 
 ment of the whale. 
 
 When the boat approached within an eighth of a mile 
 of the whale, the mate suddenly mounted upon the foot- 
 cleats, and looked long and closely at the monster before 
 him. Mysterious glances were exchanged between the 
 mate and boat-steerer, which evidently had an ominous 
 meaning. Raymond had discovered that he was in chase 
 of a fast whale. There was no reason why this one fact 
 should be kept from the men ; but there was reason why 
 he should not make known the other startling fact he hnd 
 discovered, of three broad, white stripes down the starboard
 
 196 Tlic Flectwing. 
 
 side of the whale. This determined that they had the 
 fighting monster of the Albion before them. 
 
 From that moment there was a delirium of excitement 
 seen in the young mate's eyes, which could not fail to 
 soon be imparted to the crew. Raymond was one to 
 make himself felt at all times among his men ; and upon 
 any such special occasion as this when his own soul 
 was ablaze with valorous impulses he could not fail to 
 impress his crew with his own fearless purposes. 
 
 The mate realized the demoralizing effect that his 
 discovery would have upon the crew, and meant that they 
 should not know that he was about to attack a fighting 
 whale perhaps Mocha Dick, the terror of all whalemen, 
 the whale which Captain Norman believed had stoven his 
 boats and killed his men. 
 
 Eagerly the men now watched the mate's every move 
 ment, every glance. Brighter and brighter his gray eyes 
 gleamed, growing luminous with a strange inward light ; 
 flashing at times with a terrible energy, as if he were nerv 
 ing himself to grapple with his prey. 
 
 The mate's eyes were at first directed far off on the sea. 
 Gradually his glances dropped more and more, until at 
 length his gaze was directed low down in a line with the 
 bow of the boat. By this token the crew knew that they 
 were steadily nearing the whale, and were almost upon 
 him. This knowledge made the heart-beats of the men 
 grow louder and louder. Yet, unaccountably to them, the 
 mate now grew more calm and stern and severe. His 
 lips curved into an expression as savage as Braybrook's. 
 His voice sank to a hoarse whisper, as he begged the 
 men not to move a muscle, or stir a peg, lest the whale 
 should hear the rustle of feet.
 
 Almost On! 197 
 
 He bade Tom and Doctor be ready to slip into their 
 places and grapple their oars, to pull ahead, and perhaps 
 to stern a trifle ; the last said with an effort to make light 
 of that part of the evolution. Not a man was allowed to 
 turn his head forward to look at the whale. Crawford 
 and Buntline well knew that this precaution was not 
 meant for them, only for the two greenhorns. Old Ben 
 watched the doctor like a surly mastiff, growling audibly 
 if the young fellow but moved his head, ready to slap him 
 if he stole but a glimpse of the forbidden beast. 
 
 They soon drew near enough to hear the spout of the 
 still unconscious whale, and began to catch a sniff of that 
 never-to-be-forgotten odor of the leviathan a pleasant 
 mixture of sea-weed and fish-smell a fine tonic for 
 quaking hearts. 
 
 The mate now stepped down on to the stern-sheets, and 
 gave the closest attention to his steering oar. His lips 
 were tightly compressed, so tight that they were bloodless 
 and ashy pale. The blue pupils of his gray eyes were 
 dilated to -the utmost like the enamored eyes of a lover 
 but there the parity ends, for their expression was 
 most savage and furious ; that of one stealing with deadly 
 intent upon his victim. His orders were spoken low and 
 briefly : 
 
 "Get to your places all of you. Are you ready, John ?" 
 
 " Ready, sir ! " answered the big-hearted boat-steerer, in 
 the tones of a kindred spirit. 
 
 " Put your irons in well forward, boy ; you know why." 
 The two brave souls exchanged glances, which expressed 
 whole volumes to such men. 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir ! "
 
 198 Ike Fleetwing. 
 
 " Doctor, keep your eyes on me. Buntline, chuck him 
 overboard on the instant if he looks forward." There 
 was not a whit of softening in the mate's tone or expres 
 sion as he gave this murderous order. A cramped oar at 
 such times is a matter of life or death. 
 
 " I'll do't, sir ; and Doc wul think ar bigger whale 
 than swallered Jonah has got 'im," said Ben, with a 
 comical leer in his eye. 
 
 " Ease your sheet, Bob ! Stand by to tauten it when I 
 luff. And let go by the run when I tell you." 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir ! " 
 
 " Take your oars in hand, all but Bob." 
 
 The boat spun through the water like a frolicsome 
 porpoise, when the sheet was slacked. A nice ear could 
 now hear the gurgling swash of the sea on the whale's 
 back. The boat shot over the starboard corner of the 
 flukes, at the risk of being sent skyward. Then, at the 
 given word, Bob drew his sheet flat aft, and the mate 
 lifted his steering oar from the water, causing the boat to 
 come leaping into the wind, doubling round the great 
 hump, and reaching well forward on the whale. 
 
 " Now ! John, take him as he rises. Let fly the sheet ! 
 Bob, take your oar. In with the other iron ! Well done ! 
 -Hold the boat! Stern all. Roll up the sail. Peak 
 the oars and wet the line." 
 
 Up went the great flukes, cutting and slashing through 
 the air; crashing down on the foamy sea, and flashing 
 in the sunlight above the boat, drenching the crew to 
 the skin. During a full minute the men cowered and 
 held their breath while they sterned ; listening as for 
 the footsteps of Death, while they watched for the
 
 Fast to a Figliter. 199 
 
 crash of cedar, and waited for the sensation of a broken 
 head. 
 
 At length the earthquake ceased to reverberate on the 
 water and the thunderbolts ended above their heads. 
 The whale went down with the noisy rush of a maelstrom, 
 leaving six panting, breathless men sitting in water above 
 the thwarts. The whale sounded quickly, switching out 
 the line with a jerk and a twang, which made the boat 
 sway and tremble ; dipping her bow under the sea as if 
 she were wrestling with a giant. The refreshing odor of 
 whale was replaced by the smell of smoke from the logger 
 head, which was burned in black spiral bands by the 
 swiftly surging line. 
 
 After taking out a hundred fathoms of line the whale 
 ceased sounding, wheeled to windward, and ran at top 
 speed just under the surface. Faster and faster the en 
 raged beast tore along, cleaving the combing seas through 
 a milky way of foam ; running until there curved up a 
 thin sheet of glassy water from the bows, high above the 
 bowman's head, a foam-crested curtain which extended 
 back to the bow thwart. The effect of the sunlight on 
 this azure screen was to spangle the boat and her crew 
 with all the hues of the rainbow. 
 
 In front of the sharp bow there jetted a sun-gilded bur- 
 wave, feathered out at the top with floating bubbles and 
 drops of flashing spoondrift, iridescent as diamonds, a 
 picture of graceful curves and blended colors never to be 
 forgotten. 
 
 Over the busy waters of all the wide world nothing 
 could be more beautiful, more magnificent, than that fly 
 ing boat with her water-wings gemmed with prismatic
 
 2OO Tlie Flcctwing. 
 
 hues, and the creamy bunvave reaching far forward of the 
 prow, like the milk-white neck of a swan. So swiftly 
 were the blue seas cleft by the stem that the waters 
 hissed and seethed where the sharp bow passed, as if 
 riven with a hot iron. 
 
 At length the oars had to be shipped in and the men 
 gathered aft, sufficient to lighten the bow and lift it above 
 the flying spume of the inrolling waves. Looking and 
 wondering, the excited crew watched to trim the boat as 
 she careened quickly from side to side, and clipped and 
 rose when meeting the unequal seas. 
 
 The stern look on the mate's face had softened into an 
 aspect of keen satisfaction and pride. With folded arms 
 he stood balancing in the middle of the boat, communing 
 with himself; a picture of vigorous manhood, made glo 
 rious by the strength and courage required to meet the 
 deadly combat which he knew awaited him. Whatever 
 his thoughts, they mantled his mobile features with a 
 triumphant smile, as one who contemplates the end of 
 a well won victory. 
 
 Hoogley, too, seemed to enjoy the swift dash through 
 the sparkling brine ; his black, Malay eyes gleamed like 
 a vulture's, as he girded his loins for the coming battle 
 with the fiendish whale. John was proud of the confi 
 dence the mate reposed in him, and ready to face any 
 form of danger if his young officer was there to lend a 
 guiding hand. 
 
 As yet not one of the crew mistrusted that they were 
 fast to the Albion's fighting whale, which had stoven her 
 boats and killed so many men. Old Tom took occasion 
 to show his appreciation of the novel scene :
 
 Nan tucket Sleigh-Ride. 20 1 
 
 "Well, greenhorns, what duz yer think o' ther life uv ar 
 jolly whaleman ? This am what yer may call ar ' Nan- 
 tucket sleigh-ride.' See the snow fly! Hear the bells 
 ring ! " 
 
 "Ay, ay," said old Ben, who echoed every sentiment of 
 Tom's. " Who wouldn't be ar bully whaler an' ride arter 
 sich ar team ; speedin' up ar mile ar minute ; an' no mile 
 stones ter tumble up the road, wid yer p'ints o' ther com 
 pass painted on um." 
 
 Nevertheless, there were' two young hearts beating as 
 they had never beaten before. They had not yet gotten 
 over the shock of the first onset, where they were sub 
 jected to a free bath, without the choice of whether it 
 should be hot or cold. They both sat terrified and spell 
 bound, requiring harsh orders to insure their attention to 
 trimming boat : especially the dandy little Esculapius, who 
 wished himself anywhere else but in that boat. Neither 
 of these pretty young boobies was a natural craven ; but 
 they had taken an oar in the wrong boat, and became dis 
 mayed at the too great familiarity of Death, when he was 
 seen whisking about on the tail of an ugly whale. 
 
 The speed of the boat now slackened, and the line 
 began to trend more to the surface. The mate at once 
 took his position in the bow and prepared for action. 
 
 " There he slacks line. There he comes up, boys. Go 
 to your thwarts, ship out your oars, and clap on and haul 
 line." 
 
 Such were the brisk orders of the mate as he took his 
 position, unhooked two lances and placed them in the 
 crotch, ready for use. The whale had been running half 
 an hour, taking the boat four miles to windward of the
 
 2O2 Tlic Flectwing. 
 
 ship, when he turned and ran three miles back to leeward, 
 slowing up near where the boats were pulling up to meet 
 him. 
 
 Raymond hoped that the brisk run and deep sound of 
 the brute would induce him to lie quiet long enough for 
 them to lance him. The whale came up nearest the waist- 
 boat, and Braybrook prepared to take him head and head, 
 as he came slowly down before the wind. Twice the 
 great beast turned cautiously to the right or left, and 
 rolled up his fierce red eyes to the surface to get a look 
 at the fast boat, which was then fifty fathoms astern in his 
 wake. He did not appear to see the loose boat which 
 was directly ahead of him. Braybrook pulled up and lay 
 waiting for the whale to approach ; and when very near, 
 he sheered off the boat and pulled past the head, seeking 
 a good square dart at his life. 
 
 The monster was just then thrusting his head up to 
 spout. Morey drew back, iron in hand, ready to dart the 
 instant the whale's body emerged above water; when the 
 startled beast discovered the boat abreast of his eye. 
 The quiet spout he had begun to eject was suddenly 
 snorted out like the blast of a trumpet. Rolling quickly 
 over on his side, he made a swift under-cut with his jaw, 
 and severed the boat amiclship; cutting big Antonio's 
 body in two. Braybrook, and the stroke and tub oars 
 men were sent flying in their, half of the boat fifty feet 
 out ahead : while Morey's half of the wreck filled and lay 
 awash near the whale's eye. 
 
 The bow half of the boat now attracted the whale's 
 attention. With an angry movement he flung up his head 
 and crashed it down on the wreck, leaving nought but
 
 The Stoven Boat. 203 
 
 floating splinters. Morey and Pico, the bow oarsman, 
 were seen swimming away toward the bow-boat, which 
 had pulled up to rescue Braybrook and the survivors of 
 his crew. The whale pitched and went down about fifty 
 fathoms, and lay sulking for half an hour. Mr. Bailey 
 then sought to pick up the dead body, but it sank before 
 he could reach it. Gathering up the oars, paddles, whale 
 craft and floating line, the bow-boat pulled away for the 
 ship with the remains of the waist-boat. 
 
 This was indeed a sad event to mar the Fleetwing's 
 prospective victory. When the larboard boat fastened to 
 the whale, Braybrook gnashed his teeth with rage. It 
 made the iron enter his very soul to think of its being 
 Raymond's ninth whale, and not one could yet be counted 
 to the waist-boat. With such ungenerous feelings, Bray 
 brook took the suicidal risk of a head-and-head encounter 
 in hot haste to place his boat where Morey could kill the 
 whale of his young rival, and detract somewhat from his 
 glory. 
 
 All whalemen know the recklessness of meeting a 
 lighting whale by the head, unless both boat and whale 
 are meeting at great speed. The jaw is a cachalot's chief 
 defence, and he becomes very efficient in its use. No 
 one knew this better than Braybrook, and his taking such 
 risk to gratify revenge showed the ferocious courage of 
 the man. 
 
 The whale came up breaching, flinging his vast length 
 nearly out of water; displaying the Albion's two lines 
 as well as the Fleetwing's dangling from his body while 
 lie poised in air. Breaching with starboard side to wind 
 ward, he plainly showed the three white strifes of Norman's
 
 2C4 The Fleetwing. 
 
 demon whale to the boat's crew, as well as to all on 
 board the ship which lay near by taking in the wrecked 
 crew. A feeling of horror ran through the heart of every 
 beholder. Crawford was the first to break the news to 
 his shipmates : 
 
 " Duz yer see thet ere, sir ? By the howly Pater ! thet's 
 Mocha Dick, what we uns hev hooked to," and the startled 
 veteran looked to his young officer for further clew to his 
 discourse. 
 
 " Well, what of it ? " cried the mate, testily, with a 
 touch of severity in his tone, never before used to his 
 brave old shipmate. " Why, Tom, did you and I ever 
 hook to a whale that we couldn't master ? " 
 
 " Durned ar bit uv it, sir. An' if yer sez ther word, we 
 ur.s wul jist scalp ther case off uv this un too." 
 
 " Spoken like a man, Tom. I knew that you and Ben 
 would lend a hand at any little job of this kind. Ha, 
 Buntline?" 
 
 " True ez ther gospel, sir. You must 'member thet it 
 wuz we uns what taught yer ter tackle enything waggin' 
 ar fin or ar fluke," and Ben bristled up like a turkey 
 gobbler, to show his zeal. 
 
 " Face forward, then, all of you, and haul line." 
 
 Tom, Ben, and Bob obeyed the order cheerfully, and 
 sent the boat spinning over the sea after the whale, which 
 was jogging slowly off to leeward. The Doctor sat 
 irresolute and dazed, his white face fixed on the ship, 
 something as a dying man takes his last look at the sun. 
 But a violent slap on the back from old Ben was sufficient 
 to induce the young medico to wheel about and make a 
 dumb show of hauling line.
 
 Spiliri fur ar Fight. 205 
 
 Something ominous about the whale's action led the 
 mate to watch him closely while the line was being 
 gathered in. The green hands were not enough ex 
 perienced in angling for such monsters to read the ill 
 omens, but they came to a better knowledge of such I 
 things before the fight was over. 
 
 Even the scared little M. D. noticed that the mate 
 peeled to his shirt and rolled up his sleeves, intent 
 upon some savage job of butchery ; and that he stopped 
 to button his pea-jacket round the harponier thwart, and 
 nodded to Hoogley to secure everything under the stern- 
 sheets, as a man becomes very careful of his watch when 
 about to be drowned. The mate's doings could not but 
 seem portentous even to the knowing ones. Further 
 observations were interrupted by Raymond's orders for 
 for active work : 
 
 " Haul line lively, men ! John, coil away carefully ; no 
 kinks in your line, for there's fun ahead." 
 
 " Ay, sir," said Tom, " ther cretur snorts like ar mad 
 bull at er Lima bull-fight, an' snaps his spout-holes like 
 ar jib-sheet in ar squall." 
 
 " Him is spilin 1 fur ar fight, an' he's big 'nough ter 
 show ar good tussle," said old Ben. 
 
 "Well, my lads," replied the mate, "we must fix him 
 at once, before he coaxes himself into a squabble." 
 
 " Thet's so, sir," joined in Hoogley. " His old gray head 
 is scarred by many a battle. He's a deep feller, too, 
 Mr. Raymo.nd, an' wants ar long lance to tickle his 
 gizzard." 
 
 " You're right, John. And we must get well for'ard for 
 that work well up to the bunch of his neck, for a square
 
 206 The Flcetwing. 
 
 set. Haul, men ; haul like thunder ! " The mate grexv 
 impatient to come to blows. 
 
 Nearer and nearer the boat approached the suspicious 
 whale, until his angry spoutings quickened the heart-beats 
 of the crew, and visions of fighting whales and stoven boats 
 crowded tumultuously upon the memory of all. Seeing 
 that the heart-barometer of his men was falling, Ray 
 mond's voice grew sharp and stern in giving orders, which 
 served to withdraw their attention from the appalling 
 danger they were about to encouter. 
 
 " Avast hauling ! Now, boys, face round to your oars, 
 all but Tom. Crawford, my lad, you and I can master 
 this chap, any day." 
 
 " Count on we uns, sir, ez long ez there's ar plank ter 
 float on," replied the brawny fellow. 
 
 " Hoogley, take your oar and sheer us well clear of his 
 flukes. There's shoal water over the suspicious things, 
 and we must give them a little leeway." 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir ! " 
 
 When all was ready, Raymond lifted the line from the 
 chock and passed it to Crawford, who took it to the bow 
 cleat on the port side, ready to haul upon. 
 
 " Now, Tom, buckle to your work ! " And Crawford's 
 strong arms sent the boat ahead with a bound, making a 
 wide curve round the flukes, which were cunningly sweep 
 ing from side to side, feeling about for his coming foe. 
 As the boat rounded the hump and shot forward, Ray 
 mond poised his lance ready for a plunge into the mon 
 ster. 
 
 But the watchful whale caught sight of the bow, which 
 had made too wide a circuit, and he shot ahead, jetting
 
 under the Sea. 2O/ 
 
 forth his spout with the tearing noise of escaping steam. 
 Plunging under water, he took out fifty fathoms of line, 
 and the mate thought he was gone for a while ; but he 
 wheeled about on the back track, and came breaching out 
 directly for the boat. 
 
 The mighty creature leaped so high out of water that, 
 for an instant, complete suspension took place before the 
 vast bulk came tumbling back to the sea. While the 
 dark mass hung between the boat and the sun, it hurtled 
 down the blackest shadow ever cast by Death. 
 
 Seeing that the line had slackened, Raymond fortu 
 nately gave orders to stern before the whale appeared. 
 When he breached, Raymond and Tom sprang to their 
 oars, though both confessed that they expected to be 
 crushed into a shapeless mass. 
 
 But it was Hoogley who saved the lives of all. With 
 some quick, strong sweeps of his steering-oar, aided by 
 Tom's lusty back strokes, John swung the boat round par 
 allel with the falling whale, which came crashing down on 
 the blades of the trailing oars, just clear of the gunwale. 
 Up went a whole ocean of water, seething and roaring into 
 a mountain of foam. Then down came the uplifted foun 
 tain, filling the boat till she was sunk wholly under the 
 sea, coming up with her gunwales just awash. 
 
 Every soul was dashed to the bottom of the boat by the 
 tons of falling water. Bob and the Doctor so fully be 
 lieved themselves crushed to pulp by the whale that they 
 made no effort for rescue. But the avalanche subsided, 
 and the God-given sun looked down upon six water-soaked 
 wretches, two of whom were so palsied with fright that 
 they still lay face down in the water.
 
 208 The Fleetwing. 
 
 Buntline caught up one of the half-drowned boys and 
 Hoogley the other, each holding up his limp specimen to 
 the sun by the nape of the neck, as a cat lifts her kittens. 
 The boys soon disgorged their inward cargo of water, 
 though the deckload soaked into their clothes was not so 
 easily got rid of. While all were puffing and blowing like 
 porpoises, the mate was the first to speak : 
 
 " Steady, my lads. Steady the boat, and keep her up 
 right. Bail like devils, for there's more fun coming. 
 Overboard with a buoy on the quarter, Hoogley. I'll put 
 one on the port side." 
 
 "Oh, Mr. Raymond! please don't take us near that 
 whale again," called out the demoralized M. D., recover 
 ing his puny voice after vomiting up a pailful of brine. 
 This appeal brought forth a roar of laughter from the 
 four saline souls, and the mate shouted with cheery 
 voice : 
 
 " Bail quick, all of you. Why, lads, there's some glory 
 in tackling a turbulent fellow of this kind. Doctor, take 
 your hat and bail out the boat, you blue monkey ! We'll 
 clip the chap's parvagum, and hold a post-mortem on him 
 yet." This was said while the officers were securing the 
 two sealskin buoys to the gunwales, to prevent the water 
 logged boat rolling over. 
 
 The whale had settled under water after his lofty tum 
 ble, and lay projecting another attack. He came up a 
 little way from the boat before she was half bailed out, 
 but, instead of resuming the offensive, started briskly off 
 to leeward. He was in a watchful, surly mood, judging 
 from his spiteful way of spouting, the nervous wiggle of 
 his hump, and his cautious method of running on a devi-
 
 The Nervous Beast. 209 
 
 ous course first, a-starboard and then a-port at which 
 times he would roll up his fierce black eyes to the sur 
 face, glaring about like a couchant tiger, ready to spring 
 upon the first comer. 
 
 The moment the boat was free from water, the men 
 were put to the line, without giving time to wring out 
 their wet clothes ; for the captain and third mate were 
 coming up fast under oars and sail, meaning to take a 
 hand in killing the whale. 
 
 After the boat had hauled up close in the rear of the 
 whale, Raymond held up his hand to stop hauling; and 
 still he did not bid the men take their oars as before. 
 He was contemplating some desperate deed, and taking 
 his own time to do it. With an imperious motion he 
 waved for the loose boats to keep back out of the way, 
 and not disturb the whale. The captain took the hint, 
 peaked his oars and followed on under easy sail. Proba 
 bly Hoogley caught the mate's plan from previous re 
 marks, and what he now said in low tones : 
 
 " Let the nervous beast quiet down a bit, and forget 
 we are here. The boats are at hand to pick us up if we 
 need 'em. So, John, we'll use no oars this time, but go 
 straight to the mark. Hug him close ' wood and black- 
 skin ' and give me a set before he can see us." 
 
 Raymond's manner was always stern and severe when 
 about a whale. But now the muscles of his neck were 
 corded, his veins beaded, and the expression of his face 
 was made almost savage by the terrible energy revealed 
 in his eyes. Turning to the boat-steerer, he asked in a 
 whisper : 
 
 " Are you ready for a dash ? "
 
 2IO The Fleetwing. 
 
 "All ready, sir," was Hoogley's quiet reply; though 
 John was as tigerish at such times as the mate, and loved 
 danger as well. 
 
 "Then ship in the oars, and grapple the line, every 
 soul of you." Raymond caught up his lance and braced 
 himself to use it. " Now, John, lay off just enough to 
 clear his small, but not an inch to spare. Haul, the rest 
 of you, like devils ! Haul, I tell you, till the iron-pole 
 hangs at the head of the boat!" . 
 
 There was a ring of triumph in the mate's words, that im 
 parted something of his own dauntless courage to the most 
 timid in the boat. It was the language of a. man willing 
 to peril his own life in a brave act, and who demanded a 
 show of courage in others. 
 
 Caught upon the top of a rising sea, the boat ran 
 quickly over the flukes though the corners were curled 
 up nervously on both sides of the boat as she passed 
 slipped along the small, past the hump, and the next 
 moment the iron-pole was hanging at the chocks ; then 
 down went the long keen lance into the life of the mon 
 ster. 
 
 Raymond stood transfixed with joy as he saw the blood 
 belching forth from the spiracle of the mighty cachalot. 
 A yell of delight came from the boats near at hand. 
 And a lustier, louder shout came from the distant ship, 
 in which a falsetto of feminine voices was faintly dis 
 tinguished. 
 
 Not a sound had the savage beast heard as the swift 
 boat approached. Not until he felt the chill imparted by 
 the cold steel piercing his lung and entering his heart, 
 did he know that his foe was upon him. The whale's
 
 The Dying Monster.' 2 1 1 
 
 fins quivered and stiffened at a right angle, stopping his 
 headway on the instant. A swift tremor ran through 
 him ; its muscular contraction bending the lance into 
 several waving curves ; an unfailing evidence that the 
 heart was reached. 
 
 Rallying for a last courageous attempt to defend him 
 self, he thrust out his vast head till his bloodshotten eyes 
 came to the surface. When he caught sight of the boat, 
 something of his old strength returned for the moment. 
 Flinging his jaw wide-open, the whale made a swift cut 
 just at the head of the boat, thrashing down upon the sea 
 in futile attempt to crush the murderous hand that had 
 dealt him the blow. 
 
 The whale's rolling movement lifted the bow out of 
 water, and compelled Raymond to slack line, and stern 
 briskly away, to escape the great harrow flashing above 
 his head. Failing to reach the boat, the dying monster 
 " milled" round and round in a small circle, feeling for 
 the boat with his flukes, and biting snappishly at the 
 passing shadow of an albatross, which scented the blood, 
 and swooped down very near to feed upon the clots as 
 they fell. 
 
 It was the whale's last effort to show fight. He headed 
 slowly off to leeward with a red flag in his spout, and in 
 about half an hour rolled up dead. 
 
 Mr. Bailey pulled up, and, at the mate's request, cut a 
 hole for the fluke-rope, and took charge of the dead whale. 
 Raymond pulled aboard, that himself and crew might get 
 out of their wet clothes as soon as possible. The nervous 
 strain had taxed them all to the utmost, and they looked 
 worn and haggard, and felt tired and hungry.
 
 212 The Fleetwing. 
 
 After the whale was chained alongside, the two lines 
 belonging to the Albion were hooked to, hauled aboard, 
 and coiled on the bottoms of the spare boats over 
 head. Her four irons were also cut out, to verify the 
 fact that the prize was really Captain Norman's demon 
 whale. 
 
 Tears were in Mrs. Talbert's eyes when she greeted 
 Raymond at table, as she exclaimed : 
 
 " Oh, you reckless man ! I hope that you took time to 
 thank God, soon as you changed your wet clothes, for sav 
 ing yourself and crew from that awful creature." 
 
 " I never let wet clothes prevent my attending to that 
 duty on the spot. I returned thanks while I was punch 
 ing my lance into the life of that old beast," replied Ray 
 mond, reverently. 
 
 " After all," said the captain, " it's worth while to get a 
 ducking now and then, to learn how much people think of 
 us. When the whale breached, your boat disappeared for 
 a time under the falling water; and, thinking you were 
 crushed, I hailed the deck to say that you were all killed. 
 The wail that went up from the female community was 
 pretty near worth dying for." 
 
 " Of course it was an awful shock to us," chimed in 
 both ladies. 
 
 " Yes," continued the captain, " but when I saw the 
 boat was afloat, and hurried down to go and pick up the 
 crew, the ladies were wringing their hands and making a 
 big uproar, and were not willing to believe you were alive 
 in a stoven boat. I'll certainly try Mr. Raymond's plan 
 some time, to get an estimate of my value in this com 
 munity."
 
 Roast Pig for the Hero. 2 1 3 
 
 " No, Daniel, I guess you don't need to do that at pres 
 ent," pleaded Mrs. Talbert. 
 
 "~ I should think, after Mr. Braybrook's accident, you 
 might have let that terrible creature alone," said Miss 
 Allston, whose flushed face and sparkling eyes implied 
 that she had withdrawn from the rank of mourners, and 
 was now prepared to erect a triumphal arch to commemor 
 ate the final glorious deed. 
 
 " A whaleman doesn't give up the game because of a 
 stoven boat," replied the mate ; at the same time tucking 
 in a juicy piece of roast pig, which Mrs. Talbert had 
 ordered cooked in his honor the instant she saw the whale 
 spouting blood. 
 
 " How did the Doctor behave on this first occasion ? " 
 asked Braybrook, always intent upon some malicious 
 topic, and heartily sick of hearing so much praise in his 
 young rival's favor. 
 
 " I have a faint recollection that Doctor was a little 
 absent-minded at times, probably thinking of the post 
 mortem he would make on the whale," said the mate, will 
 ing to spare the young medico, who looked greatly 
 abashed and crest-fallen at the turn of the conversation. 
 
 So the dinner hour passed. A feast of reason, as well 
 as roast pig and plum duff, for all but Braybrook, whose 
 heart was cankered to the core by continuation of his ill 
 luck.
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF " TIMOR TOM." 
 
 TT was several days before Braybrook got over his wrathy 
 mood. He had lost his pet boat, built for him at extra 
 expense ; one of the owner's many perquisites which in 
 duced him to ship as second officer in the Fleetwing. 
 The new boat was expected to outpull all others ; and 
 those interested were greatly piqued when they found that 
 the captain had ordered one built for the mate, which 
 proved the fastest boat on board. 
 
 Braybrook's sad mishap awakened a general sympathy, 
 which did much toward mollifying his ire. Captain Tal- 
 bert gave him the choice of three new boats overhead ; 
 and Braybrook's selection proved good ; for, on trial, the 
 new boat was found to outpull the old one. This happy 
 hit served to bring the turbulent officer into something 
 approaching good humor again. 
 
 By judicious care in all their professional duties, Ray 
 mond avoided everything which might jar the temper of 
 his surly subordinate ; well knowing that no word of con 
 solation would be received from him, as the suspicious 
 nature of the man would lead him to deem it insincere. 
 
 After dinner, an hour's nooning was given the men; 
 then all hands were called to cut in the whale. Bray- 
 
 214
 
 TJie Ancient Harpoons. 215 
 
 trook and the ship-keepers had previously got everything 
 ready fen hooking on, when it was seen that the whale 
 was spouting blood. Here was a much larger head to 
 deal with than they had had before. The " case " would 
 bail nearly twenty barrels. 
 
 When the blanket-pieces began to be flenced off from 
 the middle and after parts of the body, Braybrook's cut 
 ting spade occasionally struck against the shanks of old 
 irons found buried in the blubber. Six of these ancient 
 iron shanks were saved others slipped through into the 
 body which went to show that many another ship's 
 boats had been fast and stove n in past years. 
 
 A harpoon thus left in a whale rusts off just beneath 
 the outer surface of the blubber. The wound heals -up, 
 leaving a hard white cicatrice large as the hand, to show 
 where the barb entered. The shank of the iron is rusted 
 off by the corroding effect of sea-water, -vhich eats the 
 iron down to a long tapering point, while all parts fairly 
 within the blubber are preserved intact forever. 
 
 The extracted harpoons were not all marked, but the 
 names of four ships, with dates, were found cut on the 
 heads of a like number of irons. And, strange to say, 
 the name of the old ship Herald was found among the 
 marked irons, a vessel to which Captain Talbert belonged 
 at the time twenty years before. And another, the 
 Sea Lion, in which Uncle Joe had steered a boat forty 
 years before ; though not at the time corresponding to the 
 date on her iron. 
 
 The date found on the Herald's iron was 1827. This 
 date corresponded with the captain's recollection of a 
 whale fight in the Indian Ocean at that time. The
 
 2 1 6 The Fleetwing. 
 
 Herald had been cruising with good success off Timor 
 Island. At length, late one afternoon, they raised a big 
 whale which spouted seventy times, and everybody was 
 elated with the promise of catching a very large whale. 
 
 The mate's boat approached the whale carefully, and 
 fastened. The third mate pulled up to strike him, and 
 was knocked to pieces in an instant, and had three men 
 killed. The second mate picked up the living ones of the 
 wrecked crew and pulled to the ship. The captain 
 lowered to help the mate, got stoven and had his leg 
 broken. This compelled the mate to cut loose, and save 
 the captain and his crew. Though the whale hung round 
 till dark, chewing the stoven boats to pieces, no further 
 effort was made to take him. Having no spare boats, the 
 ship put away for Batavia, where the captain's leg was 
 attended to, and new boats procured. 
 
 It was considered, at the time of their accident, that they 
 had hooked to the famous Timor Tom. Two months 
 after, an English ship fastened to the same whale, off 
 Bally; had two boats stoven and some men killed, and 
 gave up the chase. This ship subsequently met the 
 Herald, and, upon hearing her story, declared that they 
 recognized the Herald's iron-pole, and the position of the 
 harpoon just under the hump. 
 
 The English ship's name Lord Nelson did not 
 correspond with anyof the names found on the irons of 
 Raymond's whale ; her iron was probably one of those 
 which had worked through into the body. Of the two 
 harpoons not marked, one was of French make, and the 
 other was believed to be a Dutch iron, such as the Bremer- 
 haven ships used at that time.
 
 Anchored at Horta. 2 1 7 
 
 Uncle Joe declared that the Fleetwing's whale was not 
 Mocha Dick. He described the head of the real demon 
 whale as being all white, and immensely larger than this 
 Timor Tom's. It was cause for great rejoicing, their 
 having rid the ocean of such a murderous monster as this, 
 and Raymond could not but feel well satisfied with his 
 share of the capture. 
 
 When the boiling was completed, the ship was headed 
 toward Fayal under full press of sail. The whale had 
 turned out one hundred and thirty-seven barrels of oil. 
 This made their full catch amount to six hundred and 
 fifty-seven barrels. On the following day, the ship ran 
 into Horta and dropped anchor near the freightship, 
 which, fortunately, had not yet made up her cargo. 
 
 It was a source of annoyance to all to find the Albion 
 in port, as no one of the Fleetwing's people wished ever 
 to see her again. She had taken a sixty-barrel bull, and 
 ran into port to ship the oil home. Her boats had got 
 fast to two whales ; one boat got smashed and lost the 
 whale, and Captain Norman was now in quest of another 
 boat. 
 
 The Fleetwing ran down across the Albion's stern, and 
 Captain Talbert hailed as he passed ; finding Norman 
 was on shore, he asked the mate to send a boat to the 
 Fleetwing to get the two lines and the irons taken from 
 Timor Tom ; not wishing to retain anything belonging 
 to such an unlucky ship ; and at heart having a good deal 
 of sympathy for such an unfortunate set of people. 
 
 The oil-casks were becketed by the coopers while the 
 captain was ashore at the custom-house, getting a trans 
 shipping permit, When this was obtained, the oil was
 
 218 Tlic Fleetwing. 
 
 briskly rafted, and towed to the home-bound vessel. A 
 mail-bag with home letters was taken to the consul's ; 
 then the Fleetwing lifted her anchor and put to sea. 
 
 When fairly clear of Pico, they steered southeast for 
 another thorough look about the St. Michael ground, 
 where they had been so successful. 
 
 Day after day the ship cruised over the blue reaches of 
 sea where they had found whales so plentiful, without 
 further success. At the end of ten days the ship was 
 steered for St. Michael, to land Dr. Greeville, and give 
 the men a day's liberty before they stretched out into 
 the Atlantic. Late one afternoon they ran the ship in 
 and anchored in the open roadstead off Ponta Delgada, 
 which is the chief port of St. Michael, and has about 
 fifteen thousand inhabitants ; the harbor being too shal 
 low for the Fleetwing to enter. 
 
 After the ship had been made snug, the cabin people 
 gathered about the taffrail, to watch the lighthouse and 
 the glittering lights along the shore, and plan for an 
 early visit to Ponta on the coming day. The doctor was 
 to leave them for the purpose of trying the hot sulphur 
 springs of Furnas, which are remedial for palsy, rheuma 
 tism, and scrofula ; and, possibly, with a hope that the 
 beautiful island, with its rare fruits and fabulous springs, 
 might take pallor from his face, and the tremor from his 
 nerves, caused by nerve-shock during his dreadful en 
 counter with "T. T." as Timor Tom had come to be 
 abbreviated in the presence of the nervous young medico. 
 
 As usual, Miss Allston importuned the mate to tell 
 them something about the island before they landed ; 
 as nothing suited her better than to induce the young
 
 Visit St. Michael. 219 
 
 officer to talk upon almost any subject, when they were 
 thrown together. 
 
 " Come, Mr. Raymond, here is a pause in the clatter of 
 tongues. Please tell us something about St. Michael." 
 
 " Yes, do tell us all you can think of about what we are 
 to see to-morrow," added Mrs. Talbert. 
 
 " I don't think I am half as well posted in the matter 
 as Dr. Greeville," replied Raymond, willing to give the 
 languid young fellow opportunity to entertain Miss All- 
 ston, for whom and to whom he had expressed abundant 
 admiration. 
 
 " Oh, sir, I am only posted on the thermal qualities of 
 the Caldeiras, and the medicinal effect of the sulphur 
 baths ; both of which I desire to test as a constitutional 
 neurotic. You will find me as interested as the ladies in 
 whatever you have to relate." 
 
 " Well, then, here goes. San Miguel, or, as the Eng 
 lish call it, St. Michael, is the largest and most im 
 portant of the Azores, and has a population of 105,000, 
 mostly Portuguese, but with many English, negroes, and 
 Moors. 
 
 " Its highest peak, which we saw far to the east, is 
 three thousand five hundred and seventy feet above sea- 
 level, and connects with a central ridge that runs the 
 whole length of the island. There are several truncated 
 craters along this ridge, one of which contains a rum 
 bling lake of boiling mud, that sometimes is cast up in 
 roaring fountains, but rarely overflows the crater edge. 
 Some of the extinct craters are filled with lakes of clear 
 drinkable water, from which streams flow down to the 
 sea.
 
 22O The Fleetwing. 
 
 " Hot sulphur springs abound in the valley of Furnas. 
 There are also numerous boiling fountains, called Caldei- 
 ras ; some of which throw up water twelve feet high, so 
 hot that most of it vanishes in vapor. There is a variety 
 of mineral qualities found in these hot springs, yet sul 
 phur predominates in most of them. Strange to say, 
 cold springs are often found side by side with the hot 
 ones. The doctor can tell you more about their thera 
 peutic qualities than I can ; though I once convinced 
 myself that the cold baths are less apt to scald you than 
 the hot ones as one of the latter once came near cook 
 ing me to a turn. 
 
 " While Flores and Corvo never experience earthquake 
 shocks, this island has been visited by many violent vol 
 canic convulsions. To mention one of many: in 1522, 
 Villa Franca, a town farther to the east, then the capital 
 of the island, was wholly buried, and its six thousand 
 inhabitants were destroyed. 
 
 " We shall find birds here in countless numbers, 
 though the government yearly pays for the destruction of 
 hundreds of thousands, as they are very destructive to 
 fruits and grain-fields. Many of these birds are blown 
 from the African coast during storms. Among the native 
 game birds is the finely flavored woodcock, and the de 
 licious red partridge, which we will test at dinner to 
 morrow. Rabbits are plentiful, but not well nourished ; 
 so that cats are more apt to be served, being deemed 
 good enough for a heretic foreigner. 
 
 "A superior quality of oranges and grapes is grown 
 here. They are raised from trees and vines planted in 
 artificial furrows blasted and chiselled in the soft volcanic
 
 Ashore at Ponta. 22 1 
 
 rock. This peculiar lava-soil imparts great luxuriance to 
 all kinds of vegetation. But the crude methods of pul 
 verizing the rock are so laborious that no great amount 
 of these rare products is exported ; these fruits are 
 mostly consumed by the numerous invalids resident here, 
 coming from Lisbon and England. 
 
 " Now, ladies, I must be excused, for it is time I should 
 write -up my log." The mate bowed himself out of 
 all further talk for that night, his secret motive being 
 that he had a letter to write to his darling Mamie, which 
 could be mailed in the English steamer the next day, 
 the last opportunity, perhaps, for a long time to send to 
 home friends. 
 
 As the larboard watch had the first day's liberty, the 
 captain and mate both accompanied the ladies ashore at 
 Ponta Delgada. Raymond was to be their only escort 
 about town, as the captain would be occupied entering 
 his ship at the custom-house, purchasing recruits to last 
 round Cape Horn, and shipping a seaman at the consulate 
 to take the place of dead Antonio. 
 
 There were several notable churches which the ladies 
 wished to visit. Some ancient and moss-grown with the 
 attrition of centuries ; others modern and interesting, of 
 real architectural beauty. The streets of the town are 
 regular, broad, and straight. Most of the houses are built 
 of stone, made dazzling to the eye by whitewash. Quaint 
 one-ox vehicles were perambulating about the streets, 
 having massive, wooden, spokeless wheels, which claimed 
 the privilege of all greaseless go-carts, to creak and groan 
 to their hearts' content. 
 
 The party dined at the principal hotel, having previously
 
 222 The Fleetiving. 
 
 ordered a game dinner for mid-afternoon, and would have 
 enjoyed their palatable meal but for the everlasting 
 stench of garlic in the stews eaten by others around them. 
 The markets of the place were well stocked with a good 
 variety of fruits, so that the dessert added much to the 
 gustatory pleasure of their dinner. 
 
 Sailors from the Fleetwing were frequently seen gal 
 loping about the town in high glee. Some of the noble 
 Jacks, having become slightly elevated from drinking the 
 vile arrack of the place, had been tricked into riding lean, 
 lank horses, which required a Portuguese lad to go behind 
 with a sharp stick to spur the tottering beast, lest he fall 
 by the wayside. 
 
 With greater show of sagacity, some of the agile horse 
 boys ran ahead of their equine skeletons, dangling a tuft 
 of grass, a turnip, or a cabbage, from a stick, coaxing the 
 hungry beasts to follow by the oft-repeated promise of a 
 sumptuous meal if the limping animal survived the jour 
 ney. It often required considerable diplomacy to induce 
 these inebriate sailors to believe that they were really riding 
 upon the most spirited steeds of the place. At such times 
 an additional glass of arrack was found a good expendi 
 ture to convince a drunken sailor of the beauty and speed 
 of his horse. 
 
 There were a few well mounted Jacks sailors with 
 copper-lined rum-lockers, such as Crawford and Buntline, 
 who, having first choice from the collective livery of the 
 town, secured passable animals. These gallant tars, not 
 having imbibed sufficient arrack to blot out the lubber 
 point of the compass, managed to steer their own craft, 
 and tend their own jib-sheets. The only danger of total
 
 Jack on Horseback. 223 
 
 wreck was presented at the outskirts of the town, where 
 these worthies were compelled to tack, or wear ship, for 
 the purpose of occasionally coining to anchor at the grog 
 shops. And as even horses are found to be the fleetest 
 when homeward bound, woe to the razor-backed hogs, or 
 tethered goats, which then got athwart their hawse while 
 under full sail, and running with free sheets down some of 
 the water-side streets of the town. 
 
 Several of the Portuguese from the Fleetwing were 
 natives of Ponta. These took it upon themselves to feast 
 their Yankee shipmates bountifully. Even old Tom, who 
 had thrashed two of their number the first night out from 
 home, was now sumptuously entertained, and toasted in 
 many a bumper as the hero of the forecastle ; thus even 
 a rude, illiterate sailor makes just distinction between a 
 bully, who fights for the love of it, and a big-fisted bruiser 
 who breaks your head because of your little error in 
 drawing a knife or stealing his grub. 
 
 A bushel of the lava-raised oranges was given to Tom 
 when he went aboard, and the pretty wife of his Portuguese 
 host kissed the old hero with an amount of zeal and grace 
 which showed her appreciation of the man who had pre 
 vented her drunken husband from murdering his ship 
 mates. Thus one cannot quite decide whether the 
 oranges were given as a peace-offering, or as a token of 
 Tom's even-handed justice when knocking down a Portu 
 guese or ruling over other little broils in his autocratic 
 kingdom. 
 
 Late in the afternoon, Captain Talbert joined the party, 
 ready to go aboard. Raymond signalled the ship for a 
 boat, and about an hour before sunset the merry group
 
 224 The Fteetwing. 
 
 were pulled on board, tired, but well satisfied with their 
 day's pastime. While rowing to the ship, Miss Allston ex 
 pressed admiration for the exquisite robin's-egg blue of the 
 water, and importuned Raymond for an explanation of 
 the phenomenon. 
 
 " Please tell me, what is the cause of this wonderful 
 blueness of the sea ? " 
 
 " It is not well determined. But the current theory, 
 that it is derived from the fine particles of river-silt 
 brought down by the Mississippi, and dispersed over the 
 ocean by the Gulf Stream, especially about the Bermu 
 das and Azores, is not well substantiated." 
 
 "Oh, that's a good r.eason, I'm sure. Now tell me 
 what makes those discolored streaks upon most of the 
 cliffs along the shore. I have noticed them at Flores, 
 Fayal, and Pico." 
 
 " Well done ! You have now suggested a grave matter 
 for future generations to consider. Contrary to what is 
 taking place along the western Atlantic shores, these mid- 
 ocean islands are steadily emerging from the sea, lifted 
 up from their base by the constant upheaval of the great 
 plateau beneath. The Bermudas and Bahamas are being 
 slowly submerged ; the former have already sunk two thou 
 sand feet, as proved by the coral bottom found at more 
 than that depth, while it will not grow in water more than 
 one hundred and fifty feet deep." 
 
 " Dear me ! " and the ladies looked alarmed at the 
 distant probability of their American home tumbling into 
 the sea. 
 
 So they chatted about trivial and serious things which 
 attracted the girl's attention. She was forever seeking
 
 A Maidens Methods. 22$ 
 
 some plausible pretext to fix her rapt, admiring gaze upon 
 her companion when they were together. This prattling 
 habit of Asenith's was not objectionable to Raymond, 
 though he was of a brooding, reflecting nature. The 
 amiable fellow had acquired a semi-consciousness that the 
 bright, beautiful girl had gradually endeared herself to 
 him, but not in the way she thought and hoped to. The 
 romantic sailor liked to have Miss Allston impersonate 
 his loved Mary Tudor ; and he would talk to the present 
 girl as he could have talked to the dear absent one had 
 she been there. 
 
 But this was a view, which his girl companion never had 
 taken of their delightful chit-chats. That which in the 
 beginning was but a flitting thought, light as gossamer, in 
 the girl's mind, a sweet feminine morsel, such as all 
 maidens indulge in for a moment's pastime, had lured 
 Miss Allston so often, and been harbored by her so long, 
 that her embryo conception of a sailor lover had now 
 become a full-fledged aspiration winged for any ethereal 
 Might acquired by accepted lovers. 
 
 Thrown as Miss Allston had been into daily contact 
 with a man of such strong personality, the hourly growth 
 of her affection for Raymond had stolen almost impercept 
 ibly upon her, viewless as the meridian noon steals upon 
 the new-born day. True, the girl made exceptional 
 advances on the occasions of Raymond's display of hero 
 ism in whale-killing, occasions which lured the girl's affec 
 tion wholly beyond recall. 
 
 Late in the evening, after writing up his log, the mate 
 came on deck, and found Braybrook sitting on the mid 
 ship rail, smoking ; he was reclining at his ease against
 
 226 TJie Fleetwing. 
 
 the main-swifter, and Raymond might well suppose he was 
 in his usual snappish mood. The mate compelled himself 
 to speak the usual " Good evening " courtesy, and was 
 surprised to find something unusually social in the tone of 
 Braybrook's greeting. This induced Raymond to tarry 
 in his walk, and half reluctantly take a seat on the rail 
 beside his subordinate. 
 
 The quick intuitions of the mate were not ill grounded. 
 As truthful as the polarity -of a compass is the human 
 voice when its tones awaken compassion in the heart of 
 another. Without wasting a moment in prelusive talk, 
 Braybrook at once came to the mooted point, his bitter 
 enmity toward his young rival. To Raymond's ques 
 tion : 
 
 " Going ashore to-morrow, I suppose, Mr. Braybrook ? " 
 " Yes, sir, I'm going ashore. But whether I ever come 
 aboard again, remains with you " ; said with a tremor of 
 sadness in his voice, almost like the sob of a person 
 weighed down with sorrow. 
 
 Raymond's sympathy was awakened at once, as by the 
 cry of a drowning man : 
 
 " Why, Braybrook ! What do you mean ? " 
 " I mean, sir, that I find myself a useless appendage 
 aboard of this ship. Every soul in the cabin looks upon 
 me with suspicion ; and the ladies never address their 
 conversation to me. You hold me to my duty with a 
 curb-bit, as a Spaniard bridles his mule. I was shipped 
 here for a purpose, but I'm not equal to the task put upon 
 me ; you all see that ; and I had better step down and out 
 of this craft. And if you say the word, sir, I'll do it ! " 
 And the tears broke loose from this fierce man's eye, as
 
 * The Rival Mates. 227 
 
 from a grieved woman's. It smote Raymond to the heart ; 
 and he laid his soul bare to his hated rival : 
 
 " Oh, Braybrook, don't say that. There's no man more 
 needed here than you always excepting Captain Tal- 
 bert. There is no one but yourself to blame for your 
 social position. You seized upon your present hateful 
 isolation the hour you came aboard, and you have clung 
 to it as if you preferred to keep us all aloof. Now tell me 
 what's in your mind, and you sha'n't regret it." 
 
 " Do you know what the owners shipped me to do 
 here ? " 
 
 " Yes, they shipped you because you are a good whale 
 man, and a prime officer," replied Raymond, willing to 
 let his crushed rival believe that was the extent of his 
 knowledge. 
 
 " That isn't the way I put it. The damned hypocrites 
 lured me into this ship to do the whaling, they said, 
 ' Joe Bailey and me.' The lying hounds confessed you 
 were a good officer, but hadn't much experience with 
 whales ; when the fact is neither Joe Bailey nor I either 
 can hold a candle to you the best day we ever saw"; 
 and the angry officer pounded the rail with his huge fist, 
 to demonstrate how he would pummel the dissembling 
 agent if he had him in hand. 
 
 "Oh, that isn't so, Braybrook. I have simply had a 
 spirt of good luck, and yours must follow ; have no fear 
 of that." 
 
 " Luck be hanged ! I've seen something of whale-killing 
 in my twenty years' experience ; and never before saw a 
 boat-header willing to ship in his oars and grapple a 
 fighting whale with teeth and nails as a tiger tackles a
 
 228 The Flectwing. 
 
 bullock. I tell you, sir, mine is a kind of luck that 
 shames me more than I can bear. It will consign me to 
 a second mate's berth to the end of my days." There was 
 almost a sob in the arrogant voice of the rough, stern man. 
 
 " Tell me squarely, Braybrook, what I can do to make 
 you feel better about this matter? " 
 
 " Do, sir ! Damn it, you can give me a chance to hook 
 to a whale, and lighten this load of disgrace. Twenty 
 years a spouter ! and still heading the waist-boat, is hard 
 for a man of my mettle to bear." 
 
 " Certainly ! I will give you a chance to lead the 
 whaling a few times ; and I will keep back, that you may 
 kill your own whale. But please don't ask to kill my 
 whales, for I mean to kill my own whenever I can." 
 
 " No fear of your not killing your own, if you run 
 amuck with 'em as you did with the last. I, for one, 
 won't put my head where you do, if I never kill a 
 whale." 
 
 " Well, Braybrook, shake hands and let us be friends. 
 You have hated me from the moment we met, without just 
 cause, and it has not worked well. Now let us begin 
 anew. Promise to come straight to me with any difficulty 
 which may arise between us, and I will right the wrong 
 for you, at whatever cost." 
 
 " I'll do it. God bless you, Charlie Raymond ! I saw 
 you were the better man, when we met ; but it has been 
 durned hard to confess it, as you have seen." 
 
 And the two brave men clasped hands with a long, 
 strong grip. Their very hearts were in the words they 
 uttered when they promised to be rivals no more. 
 
 On the following day, the recruits were got off, and the
 
 Weighing Anchor. 229 
 
 empty water-casks replenished, while Braybrook and his 
 men were ashore. Late in the afternoon the starboard 
 watch came aboard ; and before dark the ship was under- 
 weigh, heading south for the " Steen Ground," a resort 
 for sperm whales which is about nine hundred miles from 
 the Azores.
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 DISCLOSING SOME SECRETS OF THE SEA. 
 
 TT was a pleasant evening without. Ever)' drawing sail 
 1 was set, and the ship was loitering along over the 
 tranquil sea, going hand in hand with a breeze as indolent 
 as herself. 
 
 Within the cabin there was a cheerful scene of home- 
 life at sea, in keeping with the quiet night without. The 
 swinging lamps were lighted, and swayed lazily to and fro 
 in concert with the slow, easy roll of the vessel as she felt 
 the gentle beam-swell rolling in from the east. This 
 monotonous motion of the swaying lampligTit made an 
 incessant glitter, which flashed from every coigne and 
 facet of glassware and metallic implement about the 
 saloon. 
 
 The child lay sleeping in her bed, rocked back and 
 forth to the gentle motion of the undulating sea. Her 
 little face was rosy, flushed with excitement from the 
 wild romp she had been indulged in before she knelt at 
 her mother's knee to say her prayer. It was a sweet 
 picture of innocence and purity and peace, accented by 
 the dimpled hand and few flaxen curls seen hanging over 
 the berth-board. 
 
 The ladies sat cosily sewing at the centre-table, chatting 
 in low, confidential tones with each other as they busily 
 
 230
 
 Checkmate. 231 
 
 plied their needles. Miss Allston had been reading aloud, 
 until the officers came in from the evening walk, when 
 she laid aside her book and took up her needlework. 
 The ladies had previously been indulged in their usual 
 rubber of whist during the dog-watch, and made no 
 further claim upon the gentlemen when they entered the 
 saloon for amusements, as well as duties, soon drop into 
 a fixed routine on shipboard. 
 
 Captain Talbert and his favorite young officer sat on 
 the port side of the centre-table, deeply occupied with 
 their usual game of chess. It was the rubber game, and 
 the wrinkled face of the kindly old man was aglow with 
 excitement, as he studied out the projected move, with the 
 queen's knight, which he thought would hamper the play 
 of the mate. The captain had inadvertently touched his 
 knight, as if about to play, but withdrew his hand for 
 further reflection ; thus giving Raymond a coigne of van 
 tage over his loved old skipper. At length, when the long- 
 pondered move was made, the mate instantly responded, 
 and called checkmate ! with a pardonable tone of triumph, 
 considering the captain's prolonged study of his move. 
 
 " Ah, boy, you are always a little too much for the ' old 
 man.' But I don't just see how you found that check 
 mate so quick." 
 
 " Why, sir, you got to fumbling your knight long before 
 you moved him, so I looked out a move to match yours." 
 
 " The deuce I did ! Well, I didn't know it." 
 
 Lifting his eyes to the telltale, to notice the ship's 
 course, the captain reached up to the chart-box and took 
 down a chart of the North Atlantic; and speaking his 
 thoughts aloud, the two officers began to discuss the prob-
 
 232 The Fleetwing. 
 
 abilities of seeing whales on the " Steen Ground," which 
 the ship was slowly approaching. 
 
 " She still holds up to her south-southeast course," said 
 the captain ; and he unrolled and spread out his chart on 
 the table, and took up his dividers and parallel rule to 
 pick off the estimated distance made since the afternoon 
 reckoning. " If the wind holds, another day's run like 
 this will take us to the edge of Captain Steen's ground." 
 
 " Yes, I see it will," replied the mate, as he held open 
 his side of the chart, and noted the display of whales' 
 flukes pictured here and there over the ground, where 
 whales had been seen on previous voyages. " But, cap 
 tain, you are entering the ground a hundred miles to 
 the eastward of every sign of whales, as indicated on the 
 chart!" And he put his finger on the numerous pencil 
 sketches of flukes more to the westward of the projected 
 track. 
 
 " Very true, my son ; but the whales we saw last voyage, 
 and before, were all coming from the east, as you will 
 remember." And he drew out his old log-book to verify 
 his statement. " So I have purposely held my luff this 
 time, meaning to cruise over the ground thoroughly, work 
 ing off to the westward." 
 
 " Have you ever cruised as far east as this before ? " 
 
 " No," replied the captain, curtly, showing an inclina 
 tion to cut off further discussion of this point ; which 
 served to whet Raymond's curiosity all the more. 
 
 " Don't you think, sir, that whales are apt to confine 
 themselves to narrow limits, when following an eddy 
 along ocean currents ? " 
 
 " Yes, that's what I have always taught you."
 
 "Second-Sight" 233 
 
 " Then why should you expect to find whales a hundred 
 miles away from their usual haunts ? " 
 
 " Young man, you are pushing me into about as tight a 
 corner as you usually make for me in chess ; and perhaps 
 I might as well confide in you, first as last, that I am fol 
 lowing out Mr. Bailey's directions in this matter." 
 
 " Indeed, sir ! " said Raymond, with surprise, and a 
 sense of shame for the acknowledged credulity of his old 
 captain. " Does he expect to find Mocha Dick in the 
 Atlantic Ocean ? " 
 
 " No, not that I know of ; " said with a little confusion 
 at the dilemma he was caught in. 
 
 " And do you really mean to shape your courses during 
 the voyage by Uncle Joe's superstitious notions ? " 
 
 "Yes. I know from Captain Seabry himself that he 
 made his last big voyage by following Joe Bailey's direc 
 tions. And here is a letter from Captain Brown, of New 
 London, which tells the same story." 
 
 " I am surprised to hear that, captain; I've never seen 
 any good evidence of 'second-sight' before." And the 
 mate's face flushed with a thrill of awe, at the thought of 
 such a weird power being entrusted to any human being. 
 
 "The whales we have already taken were got by cruis 
 ing where Uncle Joe advised, which is sufficient to confirm 
 all I have ever heard about his wonderful power. But we 
 had best keep this matter to ourselves for the present." 
 
 " Yes, you are right in that, sir. What a howl Bray- 
 brook would set up if he knew of this state of things. He 
 is now cruelly sarcastic about Uncle Joe's piety, which to 
 me is a beautiful element to have aboard." 
 
 " Don't you think Mr. Bailey is a dear old man ? " que-
 
 234 The Fleetiving. 
 
 ried Mrs. Talbert, joining in the conversation, as the cap 
 tain rolled up his chart and put it away. 
 
 " Oh, yes. I like the old veteran very much ; but I 
 should never have thought of deviating from the ship's 
 course by his dictation." 
 
 The conversation was here broken up by a cry of: 
 
 " Sail O.! " which resounded through the ship from the 
 watch without. The captain and mate took their hats to 
 go on deck and view the stranger. This induced the two 
 ladies to catch up some flimsy sort of headgear, and ex 
 press a wish to look at the strange sail. Mrs. Talbert 
 took the arm of her husband, and they passed out into 
 the apparent gloom of the night, coming as they did from 
 the strong light within. Raymond could do no less than 
 offer his arm to the lady passenger. 
 
 The visible eagerness with which the impulsive girl 
 took the proffered arm startled the over-modest fellow, 
 though his reflections did not take on any very alarming 
 symptoms. As near as could be guessed the problem he 
 set himself to solve was this : " Why, here is this beauti 
 ful girl going out to meet her far-away lover, and she fas 
 tens to me, upon every trifling occasion, as a 'handy 
 billy ' grapples to a main-tack. Dear me ! I hope my 
 Mamie won't allow herself to flirt this way with every fel 
 low who offers her a grappling-iron. But then, I guess 
 it's a legitimate way which girls have of amusing them 
 selves behind the scenes and between the acts." 
 
 On the other hand, the girl's pertinent thoughts would 
 have surprised the mate more than her acts : " Ah, me ! 
 don't I wish my gentleman at the Islands were half as 
 nice as this noble young mate. Would that he were
 
 The Ship Minerva. 235 
 
 really and truly my lover, instead of being so taken up 
 with that silly-minded Bedford girl." But what she said 
 was : 
 
 " Goodness ! Isn't it pokerish out here ? " vigorously 
 accentuating her mimic fears of the darkness by snug 
 gling closer than ever to the side of her escort ; impart 
 ing a strange and subtle thrill to the young mate, which 
 he could not easily mistake for an attack of dumb ague. 
 
 When the group from the cabin became accustomed to 
 the darkness without, they found it was clear starlight 
 and the sail was plainly visible out under the lee bow. 
 The Fleetwing was fast overhauling the stranger, which 
 wa soon near enough for Braybrook to make out that 
 she was a whaler. 
 
 After a while the people of the vessel ahead also dis 
 covered that the fleet ship on their track was a whaler, 
 and an order was immediately given to brail up the main 
 sail, and back the mainyards ; which was meant for a 
 hint that she wished to speak with her brother spouter. 
 The stranger proved to be the ship Minerva, Captain 
 Oric Small, an intimate friend of Captain Talbert. 
 
 When this was known, the quarter boat of the Fleet- 
 wing was lowered and brought to the gangway, and the 
 manropes shipped into the monkey-rail, ready for the 
 captain. He soon appeared from the cabin, slipped 
 over the side into the boat, and was pulled alongside of 
 the Minerva, for an hour's gam. Captain Small was 
 an old cruiser on the " Steen Ground," and was capable 
 of giving good advice as to the habits of whales there 
 about. 
 
 Mrs. Talbert, who had watched her husband till the
 
 236 The Fleet iv ing. 
 
 boat disappeared, was soon compelled to go into the 
 cabin at the call of her child, who was awakened by 
 the noise made when lowering the boat, from motives of 
 courtesy, Raymond asked Miss Allston if she wished to 
 go in, saying that he should stay out till the boat re 
 turned, to which she replied : 
 
 " No, indeed ! It is so much pleasanter out here in the 
 starlight than in the close cabin," emphasizing her words 
 by clinging closer than ever to his arm. 
 
 Together they walked on the cabin deck, watching the 
 shadowy outline of the Minerva's masts and sails, seen 
 rising up out of the blacker image of the invisible hull. 
 The stranger ship answered the purpose of the sprightly 
 girl to ask a hundred pertinent questions about the ves 
 sel ; and answered as a plausible excuse for her keeping 
 company with the retiring sailor whom she admired more 
 than she knew. 
 
 Adroitly the diplomatic girl guided the conversation 
 until she drew on the ever-present subject of Raymond's 
 love for Mary Tudor; that she might proffer her sympa 
 thy for the hundredth time, dilating upon the cruelty of 
 such a separation. The girl was observing enough to 
 see that, as yet, this was the only bond between them 
 sufficient to make her company seem better than her ab 
 sence to the lover-like Raymond, who loved best to brood 
 alone in the evening gloom. 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Raymond ! tell me, don't you expect to get a 
 letter from Mamie by the Minerva ? " The shy little 
 minx could well have answered her own question. 
 
 " No, this ship sailed a month before we did," and an 
 audible sigh disclosed how welcome such a happy event 
 as the arrival of a letter would be.
 
 The Odic Force. 237 
 
 Asenith responded sympathetically with an answering 
 sigh, as she continued : 
 
 " I am so sorry for you. It would be such a pleasure 
 for you to receive a nice letter from your absent girl," and 
 the artful creature watched to feel the delicious tremors 
 run through his frame, and listened to the thumps of his 
 great heart, resounding against her arm like the boom 
 of artillery ; so aroused was he by the joyful thoughts 
 which the artful girl had awakened in his bosom. 
 
 So they walked and talked in the starlight, the fond 
 girl clinging to the officer's arm, prattling in such sympa 
 thetic strains as only a really lovable woman can do. 
 There is an innate disposition in all women to thus sound 
 among the shallow depths of other hearts around them ; 
 but when a keen-witted girl like Miss Allston obtains the 
 plummet by which to sound such an unexplored heart as 
 Raymond's it becomes an exquisite pleasure to measure 
 the depths by her subtle touches and womanly arts. 
 Thus she continued suggesting thoughts about his darling, 
 and touched Raymond's fancy till it glowed like the star 
 light which flecked the sea with blobs of dancing light. 
 
 Only a woman could disclose what special chords of 
 pleasure were aroused in Miss Allston's heart, while thus 
 deftly touching Raymond's receptive heart-strings, for she 
 not only imparted an exquisite thrill to him, but herself 
 received one in part and in kind as delicious as she gave. 
 
 Strange as it may seem to a looker-on, so preoccupied 
 was Raymond with his love for another woman that he 
 was wholly unconscious of influencing the affections of 
 this girl. It was his personal magnetism acting without 
 either his wish or direction. He was one of those possess-
 
 238 The Fleet wing. 
 
 ing the odic force in whose hands the hazel rod would 
 not fail to detect the hidden stream. The steady glance 
 of his eye could stir the heart of a receptive woman, as 
 Luna sways the ocean tides. The lightest touch of his 
 hand could impart a glow to his girl companion, and rock 
 her whole being with mysterious melody. 
 
 Raymond's company was pleasurable to all who inti 
 mutely approached him ; though he impressed the more 
 negative of his companions most powerfully. A positive 
 person like Braybrook, as we have seen, would at first 
 feel repelled by contact with such a psychologic person. 
 A conscious shock of mental antagonism took place at 
 their meeting, and for weeks afterwards they silently and 
 unobtrusively fought out a mental battle, until the brutal, 
 animal courage of Braybrook gave way, and he confessed 
 in blunt, plain words his inferiority to his young superior. 
 Once upon that footing, they became the best of friends ; 
 and Raymond's example in saving the life of his secret 
 foe, would subsequently have been gladly reciprocated by 
 the equally courageous Braybrook. 
 
 Captain Talbert stayed so late aboard the Minerva that 
 Raymond insisted upon Miss Allston's retiring. 
 
 Reluctantly, the self-willed girl obeyed, though she 
 spent a long wakeful hour in her berth, wondering why 
 her matrimonial project to the Islands daily grew more 
 and more distastful, since she had come to know Raymond 
 so well. 
 
 When at length the captain came on board, the yards 
 were braced forward, and sail was shortened so that the 
 two vessels might keep together through the night. Cap 
 tain Small proposed working off to the west as soon as he
 
 The Two Ships. 239 
 
 struck the whale-ground, and wished the Fleetwing to 
 keep him company. The Minerva had been kept thus 
 far to the eastward on account of the baffling winds ; but 
 Small did not look to find whales thereabout, and could 
 not be induced to cruise there by all Captain Talbert's 
 argument, who, of course, would not disclose his own 
 secret reason.
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 WHALING ON THE " STEEN GROUND." 
 
 '""THE morning after the gam was bright and cloudless. 
 A At daylight all sail was crowded upon the Minerva, 
 so that the two ships could keep along together ; and as 
 the breeze freshened with the rising sun, the vessels 
 made good way on their south southeast course. The 
 mast-heads were double-manned ; a seaman sat perched on 
 the main royal yard, and an officer and boat-steerer were 
 standing in the fore topgallant cross-trees, leaning across 
 the royal yard, the sail being furled. 
 
 Braybrook was aloft forward, busily sweeping the whole 
 curve of the horizon with his glass, showing an alert, 
 nervous tension in his every movement ; for a general 
 impression pervaded the ship that whales would certainly 
 be seen during the day. This feeling had been greatly 
 increased by the ship's passing through a fresh whale 
 "glip" just after making sail, where the odor of sperm 
 whale was too fresh to be mistaken for that of any other 
 cetacea. Just where this whale feeling came from none 
 could tell, except that the usual whale-talk on the meet 
 ing of two whalers might have been at the bottom of it all. 
 
 The Minerva, by carrying sail during the night, had 
 kept abreast of the Fleetwing, and had purposely worked 
 off five miles to leeward to increase the chance of both 
 
 240
 
 TJic " Sfecn Ground." 241 
 
 ships seeing whales in the morning. Small had declined 
 to "mate" with Captain Talbert the term used when 
 ships throw their chances together while keeping com 
 pany, possibly thinking that his great familiarity with the 
 *' Steen Ground " should outweigh the Fleetwing's superi 
 ority in whalemen. Besides, the captain of the Minerva 
 was not willing to cruise so far to the eastward of his usual 
 whale-ground, not knowing Talbert's secret reason for so 
 doing. 
 
 Captain Talbert came out earlier than usual, as the 
 scent of whale-glip had permeated the cabin, and was to 
 him like the sniff of a hare to the hound. Joining the 
 mate in his brisk walk, together they paced the quarter 
 deck, looking with sharp, eager glances over the sea at 
 every turn of their limited walk between the cabin and 
 mainmast. There was an appearance of something un 
 usual " in the wind," in their look and movement, for 
 occasionally the two would extend their walk into the 
 waist the domain of the boat-steerers and look ear 
 nestly down into the water, as if looking for some change 
 in the aquatic aspect before them. Suddenly, as the two 
 officers came briskly up to the larboard gangway for the 
 twentieth time, they both exclaimed with eager, joyous 
 voices : 
 
 " Here we are ! Water green as a leek." 
 After scanning the changed appearance a moment, and 
 looking astern for the blue element which they had just 
 emerged from, the captain, as if to give vent to the ner 
 vous tension he was in, stepped quickly to the main-tack, 
 where he could see the forward lookouts, and bellowed at 
 the top of his voice :
 
 242 The I'lc 
 
 "Aloft, there! Here we are, right among .'em ! Now 
 peel your eyes an' look sharp everywhere ! " 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir ! " answered Braybrook, with a ring of the 
 same joyous timbre in his voice ; " there's not a thing in 
 sight big as a Mother Carey's chicken." 
 
 The previous blue color of the sea was gone, as by a 
 touch of magic. Imperceptibly the ship had glided into 
 a bright pale-green, having a greasy glint of bronze on its 
 surface. The snow-white crest that recently capped the 
 dark azure waves, had now given place to a sickly yellow 
 foam on the green billows. It was as though the bright 
 morning sun now mixed his tawny beams more freely with 
 the one water than he had previously done with the 
 other. 
 
 The ship had run upon the famous " Steen Ground," a 
 comparatively shoal place on the extreme southern end of 
 the mid-ocean plateau which gives rise to the Azores. 
 Around the southern edge of this shoal sweeps the 
 great African branch of the Gulf Stream, flowing west 
 ward from the Canary Islands, and continuing west to the 
 north shore of Cuba, where it rejoins the parent stream, 
 though much reduced in temperature. There is an ocean 
 channel 15,000 feet deep around three sides of this vast 
 mid-Allantic plateau, and sperm whales frequent the inner 
 curves of the warm current where it laps about the two 
 shoal places at the extremities of the plateau. 
 
 The Minerva was five miles off, having dropped back 
 upon the quarter of the Fleetwing. It was not long before 
 she struck the green water, when up went her helm, her 
 yards were squared in, and the ship was kept off due 
 west, evidently making an attempt to follow along the
 
 Cruising. 243 
 
 green water edge of the shoal. There is a well understood 
 theory among whalemen that sperm whales have a liking 
 for the eddies found along the rim of shoals, and running 
 counter to ocean currents. 
 
 The movement of the companion ship served to bring 
 up the discussion of the night before, and the captain and 
 mate openly talked over the matter afresh, not speaking 
 of Uncle Joe's agency, however, and in a few hours it 
 was known throughout the ship that the Fleetwing was to 
 cruise far to the east of the usual whale-ground. This 
 caused a flutter of dissent among the knowing ones, at 
 the head of which was Braybrook, who believed that 
 Small's greater experience should have been considered. 
 
 To end further discussion, Uncle Joe was called into 
 the cabin and asked to further expound his views. The 
 old veteran could not promise that whales would be seen 
 that day, but he was very positive that this was the place 
 to seek them. He asserted that the Minerva would not 
 find whales to the west, as all undisturbed bodies of 
 whales were always seen coming from the eastward and 
 must pass the Fleetwing before the Minerva or other 
 western ships could encounter them. This was good 
 enough logic for even Raymond's doubting mind ; so the 
 ship was kept on to the south till nearly night, when she 
 ran into blue water at the southern edge of the shoal, and 
 was tacked about to the northeast, toward the northern 
 edge again. 
 
 At sunset sail was shortened to double-reefed topsails, 
 spanker, and jib; and boat's-crew watches were set. 
 There were light showers during the night, but at daylight 
 all was clear and breezy as on the previous day. All
 
 244 The FIcctwing. 
 
 hands were called out early, and sail was fully made be 
 fore the sun emerged from the sea. The ship was headed 
 north, running two points free, that she might cover as 
 much ground as possible. The mast-heads were double- 
 manned. Uncle Joe took his trick aloft at the fore, show 
 ing a little more " spring-halt " in his legs than usual, as 
 he mounted slowly and laboriously up the fore shrouds, to 
 the usual perch on the topgallant cross-trees. 
 
 The increased exaggeration in the old man's walk was 
 deemed hopeful evidence of his rising enthusiasm about 
 whales ; thus his comical gait was closely observed and 
 reported whenever there was a question among the crew 
 of seeing whales, and their hopes rose or fell in exact ac 
 cordance with the kinks discovered in Joe Bailey's loco- 
 motors. 
 
 It must be remembered that in addition to the usual 
 bow-leggedness of a sailor, which is an outward athwart- 
 ships curve, Uncle Joe's legs were gifted with a variety of 
 other kinks. His fore-and-aft angular crooks at hips and 
 knees, and sharp turn-up of the feet, served to conspicu 
 ously elongate his heels ; making the old gent's long lank 
 perambulators three-jointed, like a gony's wing. These 
 manifold kinks were beautifully adapted to diminish the 
 sprawl and abbreviate the length of the old man's -legs, 
 after the open-and-shut fashion peculiar to a clothes- 
 horse. 
 
 While Raymond was telling Braybrook and the boat- 
 steerers, who were gathered about the fife-rail at the main 
 mast, about his wonderful dream of whaling during the 
 morning watch, out bobbed Captain Talbert from the 
 cabin, rubbing his eyes and exclaiming :
 
 The Whale Craze. 24$ 
 
 " Oh, the whale that I have dreamed about during the 
 night ! " 
 
 Then came the details of the two whaling scenes which 
 had transpired in the " Land o' Nod " ; followed by criti 
 cal questionings as to which tack the ship was on, and 
 what direction the dream-whales were coming from. Sin 
 gularly enough, both dreamers agreed that the ship was on 
 the southern tack, and the whales were heading down 
 before the wind, which was at the east. This being the 
 case, sailing to the north seemed to be running away from 
 dreamland, where the whales had been seen. Neverthe 
 less, the captain determined to keep on to the northern 
 edge of the shoal before he tacked south, in opposition to 
 the united wisdom of the main-hatch conclave. 
 
 Eight bells struck, and Mr. Bailey came down to break 
 fast. Before he w.as fairly seated at table, the captain 
 eagerly assailed him with the question : 
 
 " Where are the whales, Uncle Joe ? " 
 
 " Mussy sakes, sah ! no hurry 'bout dem yare whales. 
 Dey's gittin' fat, jes fast ez dey can. Dis chile's bones 
 am chuck full ob 'parm whales dis mornin'. No 'stake 
 'bout dar cumin' bumby, sah." 
 
 " What sort o' feeling is it with whales in your bones ? " 
 asked the second mate, seeking to get a dig at the old 
 veteran, as usual. 
 
 " Why, doan yer kno', sah ? Suffin like rumatiz, ped- 
 dlin' roun' frough yer carcass. Den sumtime it's like bein' 
 dreffle hungry ; so yo' wanter hab plum duff fur dinner." 
 
 " Is that so ? Oh, I have that plum duff feeling mighty 
 often," retorted Braybrook, with a sense of having got the 
 worst of it, from the general laugh at his expense.
 
 246 The Plcctwing. 
 
 When Raymond told Uncle Joe about the whale-dreams, 
 and asked his opinion about going on the other tack, the 
 old whaleman deferred giving his answer for the present. 
 
 As usual before turning in, Mr. Bailey took his seat 
 upon the carpenter's work-bench, beaft the tryworks, for 
 his after-breakfast smoke. He was not inclined to en 
 courage those who believed whales would be seen before 
 night. As it was his watch below, he soon retired to 
 his stateroom, and during the next two hours the old 
 man's voice was occasionally heard in plaintive tones of 
 prayer. 
 
 Soon after ten o'clock Mr. Bailey emerged from his 
 stateroom, and went to the after cabin door, in search of 
 the captain. Mrs. Talbert asked him in, and sent little 
 Emily on deck to find her father. The captain came in, 
 and Uncle Joe at once informed him that the whales were 
 at that moment to windward of the ship, and not very far 
 off. He further explained that though the school would 
 not be seen while the ship was on the northern tack, yet 
 it was best not to go about until trie ship had reached 
 blue water at the northern edge of the shoal ; else the 
 whales, when seen, would be too far to windward for 
 lowering. The captain deemed it best to keep the excit 
 ing news to himself, and not even Raymond was told the 
 prophecy till evening. 
 
 Just before eleven o'clock the Fleetwing ran out of 
 green water. The captain's voice was soon heard giving 
 orders : 
 
 " Stand by for stays ! Hands to the braces ! Cook 
 and steward, tend fore and main sheets ! Helm alee ! " 
 
 " Alee it is, sir ! "
 
 The Mental Mirage. 247 
 
 "Tacks and sheets ! Let go and haul ! Round with 
 your head braces ! Board your tacks, and aft sheets ! " 
 
 The fleet ship shot up into the wind's eye, and breasted 
 the blue seas as she swung gracefully round on the port 
 tack. The yards were braced sharp up, so that the ship 
 could head southeast, which diverged quickly away from 
 her old north and south track, and soon gave the lookouts 
 new ground to survey. 
 
 Uncle Joe had kept the deck until the ship went about. 
 Seated upon the work-bench, with a short black pipe in his 
 mouth, the weird old man sat leaning back against the 
 tryworks. Gazing up at the blue sky, seen between the 
 canvas pyramids which careened to the breeze, he seemed 
 rapt in profound reverie. At such times there was some 
 thing awe-inspiring in the benignant expression of that 
 spare, black face : a visage made hideous with wrinkles 
 and deformity, but which now seemed lighted up as by 
 some inward divinity. 
 
 "\Yhen the old saint's pipe was smoked out, the black 
 lips still held the empty thing in its accustomed place ; 
 though his mouth moved as if he communed with unseen 
 beings in the air. So he sat in his favorite roosting-place 
 for an hour, wholly unconscious of the uproar going on 
 around him, until aroused by the captain's orders to 
 tack ship. The sailors believed Uncle Joe saw whales 
 in a mental mirage in the air, as they had seen ships 
 and boats whaling, sixty miles away, in the Arctic 
 mirages. 
 
 When the ship was in full trim on the southern tack, 
 Mr. Bailey went to his berth with a smiling face, and 
 turned in and slept soundly ; for at twelve o'clock the
 
 248 The Fleetwing. 
 
 cabin boy had quite a time waking the old gent for 
 dinner. 
 
 Braybrook was the last to come from aloft at noon. 
 And not being in the secret, he began his usual course of 
 raillery, the moment Uncle Joe took his seat at table. 
 
 "Well, Mr. Bailey, I've looked myself 'bout blind, and 
 not a spout have I seen. I've got a kink in my head that 
 you promised whales for us about here somewhere. How 
 is it ? " 
 
 "Well, sah, I specs de bressed Lawd doan hurry his- 
 self et ebbry hint we uns gin 'im 'bout dese tings." 
 
 " Then you don't believe in answer to prayer ? " 
 
 " Yis, I duz, Misser Braybruk. But de Lawd tex time 
 to gin us whales. Fust ar leedle rain, an' den cums de 
 sunshine. So it am best ter ke'p prayin' till dey cum, 
 sah." 
 
 " Oh, I'll leave that to you ; dreams and prayers always 
 go backward with me." 
 
 "Sorry ter hear dat, sah. Dis child hab had sum so't 
 ob 'parm whale feelin' ter-day ; and I shouldn't be s'prised 
 ef yo' los' yer watch b'low dis arternoon." 
 
 " Oh, fudge. I shall turn in all the same. And I'll bet 
 you a Sunday-go-ter-meetin' hat that we don't see whales 
 to-day, nor to-morrow, nuther." 
 
 "Guess dis nigger better bet, sah. Dis cullud pussun 
 wouldn't min' habin' dat hat. I gin 'way all cle bes' 
 clo's fo' I lef home. An', brudder Braybruk, cle way 
 dem yar 'parm whales bin cum 'long lately, dis child 
 wul want ar go-ter-meetin' hat, and sum mo' clo's, bumby, 
 sah." 
 
 "Well, it's a bet."
 
 There s White Water! 249 
 
 " A tall hat, sah ? None of yer low-down tings sich ez 
 de Bedford folk vv'ar." 
 
 " Oh, yes ; tall as the mainmast, so you can carry a 
 pair of boots and a night-gown in it." 
 
 With a deal of hilarity the officers scattered from the 
 dinner-table, each assuming his duty or pastime of the 
 hour. Braybrook took to his berth, as he had said he 
 would, in spite of the prophecy, which was received in 
 the spirit of banter in which it was given. It was Ray 
 mond's turn at the mast-head, and he took down the 
 spyglass as he passed through the vestibule, and went 
 immediately aloft ; for Uncle Joe's raillery meant more 
 to him than to his brother officer. 
 
 Soon as the mate could adjust his spyglass after reach 
 ing the cross-trees, he carefully swept the horizon from 
 bow to beam on either hand. Whenever a tiny sea-cap 
 flashed in his glass, or its field was crossed by a white- 
 winged bird, the mate's heart leaped ; so taut was the 
 tension upon his nerves. But after a long, exhaustive 
 look the tremor of expectation subsided, and he settled 
 himself down into two hours' thorough survey of the 
 watery expanse traversed by the ship. 
 
 Closing his glass, and suspending it from his shoulder, 
 the mate leaned easily across the royal yard ; and though 
 he scanned the green sea closely, it was with a mechani 
 cal gaze, for the crest of every wave was peopled with 
 dancing images of pretty Mary Tudor ; and whales were 
 wholly excluded from his mental vision. 
 
 Ten minutes passed, and what a change came over the 
 three loitering mast-head's-men! Far away on the emer 
 ald rim of the horizon there rose up a monument of mar-
 
 250 The Fleetwing. 
 
 bled foam, showing sheeny white in the mid-day sun. 
 The voices of the mate and the boat-steerer yelled 
 lustily : 
 
 " There's white wat-e-r-r ! " It was the huge breach of 
 a large sperm whale, which loomed big as a ship's top 
 sail against the blue sky. 
 
 " Where away's that breach ? " cried the captain from 
 the quarter-deck, where he was romping with his cnild 
 and bantering the ladies. 
 
 "Two points on the weather bow, fifteen miles off. 
 There he breach-e-s ! " as a great mountain of foam again 
 blotted out a dome-shaped piece of blue sky on the far 
 verge of the sea. 
 
 " Sing out every time you see him ! " continued the 
 captain, as he stood watching the forward lookouts from 
 the main tack. 
 
 " There he breaches ! " as for the third time the whale 
 leaped out his whole length into the air. This was the 
 last of him for that rising. 
 
 Buntline was called upon to take the wheel, and the 
 ship was kept along touch and go ; the weather-leach of 
 the main royal just quivering in the steady breeze, as an 
 aspen leaf trembles at the playful kiss of the wind. 
 
 An hour and a quarter passed, and no further trace of the 
 whale had been seen. The vessel had been going a trifle 
 over five knots as tested by the log and should be 
 at least seven miles nearer the whale than when last 
 seen. 
 
 Captain Talbert walked the deck impatiently ; he was 
 getting nervous ; there were thirty pairs of eyes aloft, 
 and the usual time of a large whale's rising and sounding
 
 Breaching Again. 251 
 
 had passed. Just when the tension had become intense, 
 there came the bellowing shout of twenty voices : 
 
 "There he breach-e-s ! " with such a yell as might ha\e 
 come from an assault of brigands. 
 
 A long black object had suddenly emerged from the 
 sea, right ahead of the ship, about eight miles away. 
 It was the long-looked-for whale, just three miles too far 
 off to see him spout. His black form disappeared, giving 
 place to two milk-white columns of foam forty feet high. 
 Ere the foam-columns could fall, up leaped a volume of 
 green water between the last swash of the submerged 
 whale. Then down went green water and white foam to 
 gether, leaving a great blob of snowdrift tossing about on 
 the sea. 
 
 This was the typical breach of a large sperm whale, as 
 distinguished from that of a thin-sided finback whale, in 
 which there is no after-swash of water rising between the 
 previous columns of foam. This distinction is perceptible 
 far as the eye can reach, so that an experienced whale 
 man is rarely deceived. 
 
 Twice more the lookouts beheld the gladdening sight, 
 and thirty voices joined in the wild chorus of shouts. 
 The whale was too far off to distinguish spouts, which, 
 not being more than ten feet high, were yet hidden below 
 the rim of the horizon. 
 
 An hour and twenty minutes went by before the whale 
 was again seen. Everybody got anxious lest the ship 
 should overrun the distance and scare the whale. But 
 for the last half-hour the ship had been crowded into the 
 wind ; every luff-cloth in the sails was kept fluttering, 
 endeavoring to gain a weather-gauge of the whale, so
 
 252 The Flcctwing. 
 
 that the boats should be favored by free wind and fair 
 sea. 
 
 Eight bells struck, and the alarm became intensified, 
 for the whale was down five minutes longer than before. 
 Men spoke in whispers, and a hush of breathless excite 
 ment pervaded the ship. The captain came to the main- 
 tack and hailed to the mate in an undertone : 
 
 " They're down a long time. I'm afraid we have over 
 run them." 
 
 " Not too long for very large whales, sir," Raymond 
 replied. 
 
 " Could you make out just how the whales were head- 
 ing?" 
 
 " Yes, sir. A little off from where we sterned, when 
 the r'yal was just touch and go in the wind." 
 
 " Are you sure of it ? It would be bad business to run 
 upon 'em." 
 
 "I'm perfectly sure about it." 
 
 The conversation was broken off by an eighty-foot whale 
 leaping his whole length out of water, about a mile and a 
 half away. Turning over upon his side while yet poised 
 in the air, the whale tumbled back with a mighty splash 
 upon the sea, now showing but one column of broken 
 water and foam, instead of three, for the whale was fairly 
 broadside to the lookouts, and not end-on, as before. At 
 least fifty other whales were soon seen spouting around 
 the first one ; it proved to be a school of large whales. 
 
 The ship had crept up to windward of the school, which 
 now appeared four points off the lee bow. The men knew 
 better than to make a great outcry, with the whales so 
 near. An order from the mate to :
 
 Lowering for Whales. 253 
 
 " Tumble down from aloft, boys, and stand by the 
 boats ! " sent all hands but the cooper scrambling down 
 the rigging like monkeys, or riding down the backstays 
 at the risk of their necks. 
 
 The courses were brailed up, the royals and fly-jib were 
 taken in and furled by the ship-keepers. The mainyards 
 were laid aback, leaving the ship to drift while the boats 
 were lowered. 
 
 Mrs. Talbert stood near her husband's boat, holding her 
 child by the hand, watching the captain's glowing face 
 with loving, anxious eyes, as his boat dropped slowly into 
 the sea. The ship-keepers gathered in the tackle-falls, and 
 secured them carefully to the davit-heads. 
 
 Asenith Allston was leaning over the other quarter-rail, 
 and the heart of the beautiful girl was in her eyes as 
 never before. The mate had always contrived to meet 
 with such perils that it was like parting on the brink of 
 the grave every time he lowered. The girl was bent upon 
 having a last word with Raymond, as he stood there in the 
 stern-sheets of his boat, impatiently waiting for the cap 
 tain to lower, and, as he had promised, giving Braybrook 
 a chance to get away from the ship before him. As he 
 gave the word to lower, he met the girl's eyes on a level 
 with the rail as she pleadingly said : 
 
 " Please don't go into needless danger, Mr. Raymond." 
 The look which met the mate's eyes was pleading and 
 tender, such as only one other girl had given him before ; 
 but he did not take in its full import at the time. " Prom 
 ise me, won't you ? " continued the blushing girl. 
 
 "Oh, fair lady, you don't know the fun of it, or you 
 wouldn't ask me to bridle my gait " ; and he laughed away
 
 254 The Fleetwing. 
 
 the girl's fear for the moment, until she could almost feel 
 the wild joy which ran like a frenzy in the blood at the 
 thought of an encounter. 
 
 When fairly clear of the ship, the boats headed for the 
 whales, which were then drawing down off the beam. 
 Masts were stepped in the bow-thwarts, sails loosed and 
 spritted, sheets flung aft and trimmed to a beam wind, 
 putting life and legs into the fleet craft in an instant. 
 While the sails were being set, the crews shipped out 
 their oars, peaked them in the cleats at the bottom of the 
 boat. This done, they caught up their paddles and plied 
 them nimbly from their elevated seats on the gunwale. 
 
 It was a pretty sight to see the four dancing cockle 
 shells under sail, leaping from wave to wave as they sped 
 like a bird alee. When fairly headed for the school, the 
 nearest whales were about half a mile distant from the 
 captain and Braybrook, the leading boats. Soon after, a 
 large, yellow-headed fellow came up quite near to Captain 
 Talbert's boat, though hidden from him by the sail. Mr. 
 Antoine was the first to see him as he thrust his head out 
 to spout, and called to the captain : 
 
 " Big feller jes come up, sir. Two p'ints off de lee 
 bow, 'hind de sail from you, sir." 
 
 The black eyes of the swarthy Portuguese danced with 
 excitement, with this sure promise of a chance. With one 
 sweep of his steering oar, the captain swung off his boat 
 till the whale showed to windward of the mast; then 
 sprang upon the clumsy cleats for a better view of the 
 whale, fearing lest this straggling fellow might be spying 
 the boats, ready in due time to warn the school. This 
 matter determined, he soon announced his conclusion :
 
 Stand by to Dart. 255 
 
 " Paddle hard, boys. That's our whale. I can see the 
 starboard boat's mark on him. See the old sog lay 
 there, coaxing us to come and take him. Twig his yellow 
 head when he spouts. See his big hump. Why don't 
 you paddle ? All gone to sleep, sure as the world. Wake 
 up, you sleepyheads, and paddle like, thunder. Reach 
 your blades well for'ard, an' throw 'emi well aft. Hush 
 there, Bill ! don't thump the side o' the boat. Don't 
 spirt your suds so, Jim ; that whale's got a thousand ears 
 in his head." 
 
 "'Nother feller on de starboard hand o' our whale, sir." 
 
 "Never mind t'other whale ; this chap's got 'our mark 
 on him. Stand up and get ready, Mr. Antoine. See 
 your box-line clear, and brace your clumsy legs in shape 
 for darting. Two more spoutings and he's ours. Put 
 away the paddles and get to your thwarts, but don't touch 
 your oars till you're told." 
 
 The whale was jogging easily along to the southwest, 
 the hindmost and largest of all, and apparently the spy- 
 whale of the school. Yet he had not heard the sly- 
 coming boat following in his wake. A breathless hush 
 seized upon every soul in the boat ; the three green hands 
 cowered at the thought of approaching danger, and sat 
 with gaping mouths, endeavoring to still their noisy heart 
 beats. 
 
 The burly boat-steerer stood with his body thrown back 
 in position to dart ; balancing his iron carefully, he 
 gripped its stout hickory pole with both hands, awaiting 
 the given word. Having put his men in position for work, 
 the captain ceased to notice anything but the one mighty 
 object before him, upon which he fastened his blue eyes
 
 256 The Fleet wing. 
 
 with a savage glare. Though his eyes were fixed, his jaws 
 were going furiously, munching his huge quid, and squirting 
 his nicotine fluid to starboard and port ; often ejecting his 
 filthy tobacco-juice straight forward into the boat, at the 
 risk of blinding the tub and after oarsmen, who ducked 
 and dodged to escape the quick succeeding shots from the 
 skipper's Catling gun. 
 
 At last the boat approached within her length of the 
 broad flukes ; a stroke of the steering oar and she cleared 
 the tail, rounded it, and headed forward on the whale. 
 
 "Stand by, Antoine. Take your oars, men. Let go 
 your sheet, boy. Give it to him, Antoine ! Second iron, 
 quick ! Stern all, out of the suds. Stern hard ! he's 
 close under us ! Well. Peak your oars. In sail and 
 down mast." 
 
 The surprised whale flung up his head when the first 
 iron struck against his shoulder-blade, hollowed his back 
 with a nervous jerk, and thrashed his flukes furiously for 
 half a minute, then settled under water and plunged head 
 long clown for a running sound. 
 
 The whole school disappeared as suddenly as the fast 
 whale ; as if each individual had received an iron in his 
 flank. All wheeled under water and headed back to wind 
 ward, whence they came, running at full speed, the fast 
 whale among them and probably leading the lot. 
 
 Braybrook and Bailey were close upon other whales 
 when the captain struck, but their chances were snatched 
 from them at the last moment; Braybrook being within 
 two darts at the time. All rolled up their sails and took 
 to their oars for a long pull to windward. The school 
 ran a mile beyond the ship before they broke water. The
 
 m 
 
 i 
 
 CO 
 
 m 
 o 
 o 
 
 o
 
 Spouting Blood. 257 
 
 fast whale was among them when they came up, but he 
 soon straggled behind, turned and jogged slowly off 
 to leeward towards the boats. 
 
 Before the captain could gather in his line, Raymond 
 met the whale head-and-head, on the one side ; and Bray- 
 brook though farther off met him on the other. The 
 mate went into the head of his boat, and sent Hoogley 
 aft to the steering oar, harboring the cunning design of 
 not only fastening to the whale, as in duty bound, but 
 meaning to kill him at the same time. 
 
 Raymond had just time to get out a lance and put in 
 place of the second iron, when the boat shot fairly up to 
 the whale's life, and in went both iron and lance, fair 
 clown into the hollow over the shoulder-blade ; just six 
 inches above Antoine's iron, which ought to have been 
 darted with more care, and killed the beast at the outset. 
 
 The waist-boat pulled up on the opposite side, and 
 just as Morey darted his iron the whale spouted blood, 
 jetting a couple of pailfuls of his life-fluid into their boat, 
 completely drenching the second mate and the three 
 after oarsmen in gore. A shout rang out over the sea 
 from the three other boats' crews ; while Braybrook cried 
 out, with a touch of anger in his tones : 
 
 "Burn the beast! He's spilling his claret inter the 
 wrong boat. We might as well dress in sackcloth, and 
 done with it. We're always in at the funeral of somebody's 
 whale." 
 
 As the captain's boat dashed in among them, Mr. 
 Bailey hailed to know if he should chase on after the 
 school. 
 
 " Oh, no," was the reply ; " they are too badly fright-
 
 258 The Flcctwing. 
 
 ened to stop for hours. We'll hurry up and cut this fellow 
 in, and be ready for them when they return." 
 
 Mr. Bailey was told to pull to the ship, and work her to 
 windward, ready to take the whale. As there were two 
 other boats fast, the captain hauled up and cut off his line, 
 saved the iron-pole, and then pulled to the ship, ready to 
 board her at the same time with the bow-boat. 
 
 The whale ran slowly off to leeward, spouting thick 
 blood for an hour. Braybrook and his men busied them 
 selves about their personal ablutions, cleansing the sticky, 
 stinging blood-clots from their faces and clothes ; after 
 which the whole boat had to be washed out. The effect 
 of whale-blood is to blister the lips, nettle the face, stain 
 the clothing, and rust the bright shanks of the polished 
 lances. 
 
 After the open-air toilet of boat and men was fully ac 
 complished, Braybrook got out his pipe, loaded and lit it, 
 and succeeded in narcotizing himself into fairly good 
 humor by the time the whale turned up ; which was not 
 until after the sun had determined upon a watch below, 
 and rudely left the boats in the dark, without bidding 
 good night to any one. 
 
 On her second tack, the Fleetwing came up and took 
 the whale, which was fluke-chained and secured by torch 
 light. A flare was made of whale-scraps sufficient to 
 light up the whole proceeding, and cast a bright glare far 
 and wide over the ocean. Sail was shortened, and boat- 
 crew watches set until daylight, when all were to be 
 roused out for cutting.
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 STRIKING A SPERM WHALE HEAD-ON. 
 
 TV /I ORE than a week had passed since the last whale 
 ' * was taken, boiled out, and stowed in the hold. 
 After such a busy scene is fairly over, time hangs heavily 
 on the whaleman's hands for a while. Not even a sail 
 had passed in sight of the Fleetwing. But the moon 
 would soon full, and the wise ones would then look for 
 another spirt of whaling. 
 
 About two hours after the ship had been tacked round 
 from the northern edge of green water, a sail was raised, 
 far down on the lee bow. The lookouts soon discerned 
 men at her mast-head, and made out that she was a 
 whaler. Captain Talbert kept the ship away to meet the 
 new-comer, glad of something to break the monotony of 
 the day. 
 
 The spouter proved to be the Minerva. Captain 
 Small tacked about close under the wing of the Fleetwing, 
 lowered his boat, came aboard and spent the afternoon 
 and evening. He had not seen the spout of a whale since 
 the ships parted company, and was evidently a little 
 piqued when told that the Fleetwing had taken one hun 
 dred and ten barrels, and had sent the school hurrying 
 back to windward, whence they came. 
 
 When the captains parted, late in the evening, they con- 
 259
 
 260 The FUetwing. 
 
 eluded to keep company for a few days ; and Small now 
 readily agreed to mate with the Fleetwing, the two ships 
 to throw their chances together while seeing whales. The 
 Minerva ran off about five miles during the night, to put 
 a good distance between the ships, and morning found 
 them well separated, with a bright, clear day before them. 
 
 The pleasant, lazy afternoon of that day was slowly 
 wearing away. The two mated ships were steering a 
 southeast course, sailing a little off from the wind, which 
 was light for the northeast trades. The ships were then 
 nearly five miles apart, going along about six miles an 
 hour. 
 
 There was no work going on in the rigging, alow or 
 aloft. The deck watch strove to kill time by smoking, 
 reading, and yarning ; the latter function being of such a 
 soporific order that most of the story-tellers' audience 
 were asleep. A languid, do-nothing feeling seemed to 
 have seized upon all but the lookouts aloft, and the man 
 at the wheel. The probability of seeing whales that day 
 was becoming very small, when, suddenly, Braybrook 
 hailed down from aloft with a voice loud enough to waken 
 the dead, causing a dozen sleepers to spring to their 
 feet with a stupid, inquisitive stare : 
 
 "On deck there! The Minerva is manoeuvring as if 
 she saw whales. She's keeping away dead afore the 
 wind." 
 
 " All right. Watch her sharply," answered Raymond, 
 as he sprang from his seat at the taffrail, where he had 
 been ch-tting with Miss Allston, and now bade the steward 
 report the news to the captain. 
 
 Captain Talbert came hastily from the cabin, rubbing
 
 Chasing the Minerva. 261 
 
 his eyes ; for somnolence seemed to have invaded the 
 quarter-deck as well as the forecastle. 
 
 " What's up, Mr. Raymond ? " 
 
 "The Minerva has sighted something, and is running 
 off with square yards. Shall we square in and run to 
 leeward ? " 
 
 " Yes, keep the ship away, and follow after her." The 
 captain caught up his spyglass, threw the lanyard over 
 his neck, and hastened aloft. 
 
 In less than a minute, everybody was astir on board. 
 The helm was put up, the after-yards were squared in, 
 and the ship's course was made to correspond to the 
 Minerva's.. The watch below was aroused by the mast 
 head cry, and every soul came scrambling up, blocking 
 the fore-scuttle in their haste the companionway being 
 off for the better ventilation of the forecastle. Though 
 but half awake, most of the men mounted up the rigging 
 and scattered along the foretopsail and fore-yards, all 
 eager to catch a glimpse of the whales which were sup 
 posed to be seen by the Minerva. 
 
 The Fleetwing ran off nearly five miles before the lee 
 ward ship changed her course. Presently the Minerva 
 was seen rounding to, aback ; and directly after down 
 went all four of her boats, and chased off before the wind, 
 under sails and paddles. But as yet not a sign of whales 
 could be seen. 
 
 A half hour more passed ; and the ship had run dtfwn 
 within two miles of the Minerva, when the lookouts dis 
 covered a sudden splurge of white water among her boats. 
 Down came their sails and in a minute more one of the 
 boats drew swiftly out from the others, with the suds fly 
 ing from her bow, showing she was fast.
 
 262 The Fleetwing. 
 
 The fast boat was seen coming full drive to windward. 
 It remained to be seen whether there was a school, or 
 only a lone whale. But it was believed that there were 
 more than one whale, so the Fleetwing was kept steadily 
 on to leeward. 
 
 Captain Talbert called down to the mate and ordered 
 him to put in the lines, hoist and swing the boats, and 
 make ready to lower quickly. All knew that the chance 
 of catching a gallied whale was not worth much. But as 
 the whole voyage turns upon chance, it becomes the duty 
 of a whaleman to down boats and chase a shadow if it 
 takes the semblance of a whale. The fast boat had at 
 length approached within two miles of the Fleetwing, and 
 the long suspense put every one on tiptoe, when suddenly 
 thirty men loudened as with one voice : 
 
 " There they are ! " 
 
 " There they blow ! " 
 
 " A big school of sperm whales ! " 
 
 Then came the captain's voice : " Hard aport ! 
 Bring the ship to, with the mainyards aback. Stand by 
 the boats ! " 
 
 While the ship was luffing to the wind, officers and 
 men scrambled down the rigging, or slid humming down 
 the backstays, leaving a streak of pitch burned into the 
 calves of their trowsers, or a stain of tar on their hands. 
 Boat-headers and boat-steerers sprang into their boats, 
 ready to lower, their several crews gathering into position 
 to quickly follow the boats to the water. All waited in 
 the wildest enthusiasm for the ship to come to the wind, 
 that they might dart down after the prey. 
 
 The ship-keeper and his crew braced up the fore and
 
 Electing the School. 263 
 
 mizzen topsails, set the spanker, brailed up the foresail 
 and hauled down the flying jib, that the vessel might lie 
 quiet while the boats were lowered. 
 
 Captain Talbert remained aloft to watch the whales 
 2nd direct the mates by signals how best to meet the 
 -school. The three larboard boats were now ordered 
 down. The whales being about a mile and a half away, 
 coming heads out full tilt to windward a large school, 
 reaching from the lee quarter far out on the lee bow. 
 Captain Small himself was fast to a whale in the snarl of 
 five out on the quarter, and was trying his utmost to get 
 an effective lance. The Minerva's three other boats 
 were a mile to leeward of the school, pulling to wind 
 ward hard as they could spring. 
 
 When the Fleetwing's boats had lowered and were 
 fairly clear of the ship, the school was seen coming, about 
 a mile away. Raymond's boat was the first to get clear 
 and take to his oars. While Hoogley was putting his 
 irons into the crotch, and coiling his box-line clear, the 
 mate mounted the stern-sheets to get run of the whales. 
 He was not long making choice of a pod of large whales 
 out under the lee bow, and ordered the crew to pull hard, 
 endeavoring to get fairly ahead of them. Three minutes' 
 pulling brought the boat to the required position, and the 
 crew were ordered to lay on their oars : 
 
 " Way enough, men. Heave up, but keep your oars in 
 hand ready for quick action. Mind what I am going to 
 say : Don't let me see a man of you looking over his 
 shoulder when we're going on to the whales. We've a 
 ticklish job before us, and you must watch to get your 
 cue from me, when to pull, and when to stern.
 
 264 The Fleetwing. 
 
 " Stand up, Hoogley, and get your ideas about you. 
 Mind, my boy, keep cool as a cucumber. Make a right- 
 handed dart, and don't throw your iron at the head, nor 
 let fly at slack blubber, while the back is hollowed." 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir." And the black eyes of the brave little 
 Malay flushed with tigerish vehemence at the fun before 
 him. 
 
 " Gracious, how they are coming ! " continued the mate. 
 " It will be a tight squeeze, John, to go between those two 
 big fellows. But that's our chance ; for we must pick 
 from the biggest." 
 
 " We'll have to trail our oars, to run amuck 'tween 
 them uns, sir," sagaciously observed the boat-steerer. 
 
 " Right, John. We'll trail the oars, or ship them in. 
 Do you hear, boys ? Keep your eyes peeled for the 
 order." And Raymond flashed his eyes over his crew to 
 see if they were alert, and caught his meaning. 
 
 " All right, sir," answered brave Tom Crawford, cheerily 
 speaking for his boatmates. A rap on the head would be 
 Tom's reminder for any cowardly delinquent within reach 
 of his hand. 
 
 " Hoogley, we'll take that old gray-headed fellow on the 
 port bow, the one with a grayish hump, big as a meeting 
 house ; and a white scar across his jowl, where a devil 
 fish has clawed him in a fight." 
 
 "Ay, ay, sir. I'se got my eye on 'im. He's mine sure 
 plumb." 
 
 The boat was meeting a compact group of ten monsters, 
 coming heads on, all in a row, full tilt to windward. 
 As the whales came surging up toward the surface, 
 showing a pale pea-green, while yet under the sea, taey
 
 Head and Head. 265 
 
 rolled up a great green billow before them, fringing it with 
 foam as they broke water. Then thrusting their vast 
 heads twenty feet out, they dashed like a whirlwind 
 against the meeting seas. 
 
 The two whales between which the mate meant to pass 
 were running side by side, only at times leaving sufficient 
 room for a boat to squeeze through, even with the oars 
 shipped in. Raymond had deliberately made choice of 
 the largest whale in the school, willing to take the one 
 chance in ten of escaping a stoven boat a pleasurable 
 peril very much to his liking. 
 
 A more prudent whaleman would have selected a whale 
 on the outside of the school, as did Braybrook, and run 
 little risk in fastening. But the largest whales are always 
 in the middle of a pod when in rapid motion. The large 
 whales start the race, and keep the lead ; the smaller ones 
 gather timidly about and follow the leader. 
 
 The school now approaching the boat all came leaping 
 out together, spouting and sounding at the same instant. 
 It was an appalling display of brute power, for the whales 
 were coming with frightful velocity. The frail boat 
 seemed but a fly in their path; an atom, to be crushed in 
 an instant by the lightest blow of head or fin or flukes. 
 Though the speed of the whales was evidently accelerated 
 by fright, they seemed more like maddened demons bent 
 upon mischief. 
 
 Raymond sprang on to the foot-cleats in the stern- 
 sheets, elevating his position for a better view. His eyes 
 were alight with delirious pleasure as he drew near the 
 deadly peril. His voice grew low and deep and resonant 
 as the final crisis approached. He plied his steering oar
 
 266 The Flcctwing. 
 
 quickly, holding it with an iron grasp, as he steered the 
 boat with utmost precision towards the seething waters 
 between the leaping whales. 
 
 The half breaching whales had now approached very 
 near to the boat. Their combined spouts sounded like 
 the roar of a cajtaract. Their downward plunge left tlx& 
 wild waters whirling like a maelstrom. The faces of the 
 new hands were pallid as marble. But there were three big- 
 hearted fellows in that boat whose heart-beats were like 
 the tattoo of a drum-call, sounding the charge. 
 
 " Stand by, Hoogley, and take your iron," exclaimed 
 the mate. "One more spouting and we'll take him. 
 Keep cool, my lad, and don't dart till I tell you. Arc 
 you ready, John ? " and his voice sank to a whisper. 
 
 "Let him come, sir. I'll plug 'im ! " John's left leg 
 was braced firmly in the clumsy cleat, and his lithe body 
 was bent back ready to dart when the whale should 
 appear within reach of his iron. 
 
 " Here they come ! " whispered Raymond, as he pointed 
 the boat's head fair between the two uprising junks. 
 " Brace yourself, Hoogley, ready for a fling. Trail your 
 oars, men ! Here comes his head. Not yet, John. 
 There's his back. Now he dips. Give it to him ! 
 Another one ! Well done. Overboard your box-warp. 
 Mind the line don't jump the chocks while the boat turns 
 to windward," shouted the mate. 
 
 " Line all clear, sir," yelled the triumphant Hoogley, 
 from out the swash of foam, catching his breath between 
 the dashing seas as the half-buried boat spun round after 
 the leaping whale. 
 
 " Take your oars," called the mate. " Pull three !
 
 Fast to a Bull. 267 
 
 Stern two oars hard ! Round with the boat after the 
 fellow. All right. Peak your oars, and bail the boat. 
 Come aft here, John ! " 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir ! " 
 
 The mate peaked his steering oar, and the two officers 
 passed each other in the middle of the boat, exchanging 
 brief congratulations as they passed. 
 
 " Big feller, Mr. Raymond." 
 
 " Yes, John ; and you did the thing neatly ; chucking in 
 two irons in ten seconds can't be beat." 
 
 " Had a bully chance, sir, an' couldn't help it." 
 
 There was a cartload of joy in the hearts of those two 
 men. Though the black Malay and the white mate were 
 socially widely sundered, they were like lovers at that 
 moment so elevating is the affinity of courage in the 
 estimation of brave men. 
 
 The boat was well fast with two irons ; and, by care 
 fully checking the line, Raymond had managed to get the 
 boat headed round after the whale a dangerous problem 
 in a seaway. Then snubbing the line gradually at the 
 loggerhead, away went the boat to windward, racing over 
 the rolling seas like a cloud-shadow chased by the wind. 
 
 They had passed safely through that perilous gap of 
 floundering whales and foaming breakers, without boat or 
 oars touching the fast whale. But the starboard gunwale 
 went grazing, bump, bump, along the head and bilge of 
 the off whale, which pitched hurriedly and went down the 
 instant the boat's bow passed his eye. 
 
 The prick of Hoogley's first iron made the fast whale 
 fling his huge body away from the boat, his great flukes 
 crashing down across the back of the whale beyond ;
 
 268 The Ft 
 
 causing the whale to kick furiously, spouting with a snort 
 of fright and fury, as he too plunged below to escape the 
 general panic above the sea. 
 
 About the time Raymond got fast, the waist-boat struck 
 in the other pod of five whales, out on the ship's quarter, 
 half a mile away. Braybrook's boat was also now racing 
 away in the wind's eye, keeping company with the Min 
 erva's whale, which Captain Small was fast to in the same 
 pod. 
 
 For the next ten minutes the whole school kept under 
 water, running rapidly. They passed the ship, which 
 had boarded her fore and main tacks, and was making the 
 most weatherly work she could, as it looked like a tough 
 windward job the boats had in hand. 
 
 Mr. Bailey was following the larboard boat, his crew 
 buckling to their oars for a long, tiresome pull. The Min 
 erva's three boats were still tugging away two miles astern 
 of their fast whale, which bid fair to run them out of sight. 
 
 The Minerva's pod of whales came up first, streaking it 
 to windward faster than ever. Captain Small and Bray- 
 brook were in hail of each other, their boats running a 
 parallel course. Both men were expert whalemen, and 
 naturally compelled by present circumstances to be some 
 what emulous of each other. They had indulged in pleas 
 ant chat while the whales were down; but the moment 
 the school came up, both boat-headers went savagely to 
 work, each endeavoring to be the first to kill his whale, 
 and doubtless willing to show the young mate how the 
 thing should be done properly. 
 
 While the school was sounding, Raymond busied him 
 self putting two lances in the crotch, ready for action.
 
 Running to Windward.. 269 
 
 He also kept an intelligent eye on the veterans over the 
 way, not above learning how they would accomplish the 
 difficult job of killing a running whale. But as Braybrook 
 and Small both failed in their repeated efforts, a disdain 
 ful smile curled Raymond's. lips, and he turned his atten 
 tion to his own boat. 
 
 When his pod of racing monsters came up, the mate 
 pulled off his coat and rolled up his sleeves, verily like a 
 man wishing to come to close quarters with his work 
 possibly having it in mind to pit himself squarely against 
 the two veterans over yonder, for there was a ring of 
 triumph in his voice as he ordered the crew to face for 
 ward and haul line, though the boat was then clipping it 
 fifteen knots against the toppling seas, and the spray flew 
 over the bow as if a street water-cart were drenching 
 them. 
 
 A half-hour's hard pulling line brought the larboard 
 boat up to the very heels of the whale. But it was a 
 grave question how to get ahead the next sixty feet, where 
 the mate could kill his prize. Pulling on by oars was out 
 of the question ; Small and Braybrook had both failed to 
 accomplish anything with their oars. Bowing on seemed 
 the only feasible method, and that was both difficult and 
 dangerous when running at such speed. 
 
 There are two ways of bowing a boat on to a running 
 whale. The most common and least dangerous way is to 
 reach forward of the bow and take in the bight of the 
 line, bringing it across the bow-cleat, on the gunwale near 
 the bow-thwart. While the bow-oarsman hauls on the line, 
 the other men pull ahead on their oars, endeavoring to 
 work round the flukes and haul forward far enough to
 
 270 The Fleetwing. 
 
 lance the whale. But the speed of the whale on this 
 occasion was too great for the boat to make headway 
 against it, in the face of the meeting seas. The other 
 boats had also tried this process, and without success. 
 
 Waiting for the three large -occasional seas to pass, the 
 crew made ready to solve the other hazardous problem 
 of killing a whale when running at top speed against a 
 rough sea. The boat must be trimmed well over to 
 starboard, as a make-weight against the new position 
 of the line, which is then taken boldly out of the bow- 
 chocks, and brought to the larboard bow-cleat. All 
 hands are then set hauling line with a will, though at 
 the risk of capsizing the boat should the whale suddenly 
 sound. 
 
 The object of this perilous manoeuvre is to give the 
 boat a quick, broad sheer around the flukes, veering her 
 well out to one side of the whale, where the boat can be 
 hauled forward square up to the animal's life, and held 
 there while running parallel with him, however fast he may 
 run, or in whatever direction he may turn. In this way a 
 plucky officer gets sufficient chance to probe away with his 
 lance until blood comes in the spout the final death- 
 stroke to the prey. 
 
 A boat persistently kept in this position can be sheered 
 in or off from the whale by judicious use of the steering 
 oar, and avoid being stoven by keeping forward of the 
 blows from the flukes, and just beaft the sweeping strokes 
 from the jaw of a rolling whale. 
 
 This method of outwitting a running whale may have 
 the effect either to scare or enrage him, according to his 
 disposition. In the first case, the animal will speed up to
 
 Bowing On. 271 
 
 an incredible velocity, or he may stop short panic-stricken, 
 and easily succumb to his captor. 
 
 But if he becomes maddened, then indeed will he task 
 both the courage and skill of his assailant. Yet, if he 
 fights against a worthy combatant, and runs above water, 
 the infuriated monster can neither reach the boat with his 
 blows, nor escape the lance-thrust of an officer equal to 
 the occasion. 
 
 While hauling up to his whale, Raymond had watched 
 the other two fast boats repeatedly fail to bow on by the 
 least effective way, using line and oars, and had made up 
 his mind not to waste time trying their method. Turning 
 to brave old Tom Crawford, the bowman, he said : 
 
 "Tom, the boats yonder fail to get forward on their 
 whales. Sink or swim, we must try a way that will suc 
 ceed." 
 
 " Thet's so, sir. 'Twill never do fur ther larboard boat 
 ter miss fire, an' them ere gonies lookin' on." 
 
 " Ship in your oars, men. Stow them away handy for a 
 quick grab. Hoogley, this fellow don't use his flukes 
 much, and I'm going to bow on our good old way. Are 
 you ready aft ? " 
 
 " All right, an' all ready, sir." 
 
 "Trim dish to starboard, everybody." And the men 
 slid to that side of their thwarts, ready for the next order. 
 
 " Tom, have your ' nipper ' ready, and look out for the 
 line." 
 
 " All ready, sir, to dandle that babby." 
 
 Taking out the chock-pin, the mate deftly lifted the taut 
 line out of the chocks and passed it to the stout bow- 
 oarsman, who landed it in the bow-cleat without accident.
 
 2/2 The Fleetwing. 
 
 Instantly the swift-running boat sheered broad out to 
 starboard of the whale, in position to haul forward with a 
 little aid from the steering oar. But just then came three 
 big rollers, threatening to swamp the boat with the line 
 out on the gunwale. The great seas passed, and Raymond 
 gave the word : 
 
 " Now haul ahead on the line ! Buckle to, every man. 
 John, take your steering oar and guide the sheer of the 
 boat." 
 
 "Ay, ay, sir. All clear of the flukes'" 
 
 " Haul, men. Haul like devils ! Be^a your backs, and 
 put me forward of his hump. ' Haul ! I tell you. Hold 
 every inch at the loggerhead. Haul ; they are watching 
 us from the ship. Never mind the swash of the seas ; let 
 us teach the other boats how to do it. Haul ! half a boat's 
 length more, and I'll tackle him. Haul, there, you white- 
 livered youngster, what are you afraid of ? Avast all ! 
 Hold your line at that. Now, John, watch till he humps 
 out his back, then sheer in for a good set. There he dips. 
 Lay on ! ' Wood and black skin ! ' ! 
 
 And the mate stood shoulder to shoulder with the leap 
 ing monster, and thrust his keen lance down into his life ; 
 churning it up and down in the lungs with the relish of a 
 famished tiger for his blood. 
 
 " There's blood ! " shouted all, as the red spout shot 
 into the air, and blew astern like a long red banner 
 fluttering in the wind. 
 
 " There's tar ! " they cried, as the second spout came 
 thicker and almost black, as the mate reached deeper and 
 deeper with his lance. 
 
 " Dead whale ! Durn my toplights ! beat thet ef yer can,
 
 There's Blood! 273 
 
 over yonder," chorused in grinning old Tom, whose face 
 and whiskers were dripping with whale-blood, which fell 
 by the barrel over the boat and crew. 
 
 The goring twist brought on the iron by the new 
 position of the boat, together with the thumping of the 
 boat's bow in the water abreast of his eye, so harassed 
 the whale that he tore through the wallowing seas faster 
 than ever. His inability to escape the goading torment 
 finally so enraged the monster that he snapped his great 
 jaws savagely together ; reverberating through the boat 
 like the rumble of an earthquake. 
 
 Oscillating from side to side, the whale ran with his 
 mouth open. Rolling till his blood-shotten eyes came to 
 the surface, he glared fiendishly upon the boat ; swept his 
 great jaw across the bow, feeling desperately about for 
 boat-cedar, as intelligently as an elephant would use his 
 trunk. 
 
 Still the audacious boat clung to the maddened whale, 
 as a fleet hound hangs to the flank of a running boar. 
 
 Raymond kept his death-dealing lance at work when 
 ever the rolling beast came back up. Now reaching his 
 searching lance-point well forward into the quivering 
 lungs ; then drawing his murderous weapon almost out, to 
 replunge it backward into the after lobe of the lung, until 
 the keen steel had cut a score of death-wounds, making 
 doubly sure of his prey. Then came the order: 
 
 " Slack away your line, and drop astern." 
 
 When the boat had drifted past the flukes and the line 
 was taken to the chocks, the danger was over. Washing 
 the blood from their faces, as whale-blood makes 
 smarting eyes and sore lips the boat was held close to
 
 274 The Fleetwing. 
 
 the flukes of the whale, which showed remarkable strength 
 by still running with the school. 
 
 Bowing on in the way described is deemed excellent 
 training for a new crew. In the wild enthusiasm of a 
 "Nantucket sleigh-ride" after such a magnificent steed, 
 the half-dazed crew soon become familiarized with the 
 dreadful situation, and their pallid faces take on the look 
 of health again. The novelty of facing forward, having a 
 full view of the whale, while he cannot endanger the boat 
 by fluke or fin, serves to gloss over the too apparent 
 danger, which soon assumes the mask of fun. 
 
 When the face-bathing scene was over, washing from 
 the blood-stained lavatory of the sea, a drug iron was 
 bent on, and preparation made to harpoon a loose whale. 
 Without taking the line from the chocks, the boat was 
 hauled forward on the fast whale, passing carelessly over 
 his flukes ; the mate's lance having lessened his kicking 
 .propensities. 
 
 A loose whale soon came up close alongside, and the 
 mate let fly his iron square into his bilge. Catching up 
 his lance, he brought blood at the next spouting. Both 
 fast whales kept together in the school for a few minutes, 
 spouting blood thick and heavy. But the loose whales 
 gradually drew ahead of the dying ones, which were fast 
 losing their grip upon life. Half an hour after, Raymond's 
 two whales were a mile behind the school, and Uncle Joe 
 pulled up and fastened, glad to get rest after his long pull. 
 And together the two crews rode chatting along over the 
 blood-colored sea. 
 
 Captain Small and Braybrook were still in the school, 
 with no tinge of blood in the spout of their whales. As
 
 The Squall. 275 
 
 the wind was increasing, and night approaching, it looked 
 like a hopeless task for them. 
 
 The ship had just tacked toward the boats, forereaching 
 a little to windward of Raymond. There was a lowering 
 look came over the sun just then, and a black squall was 
 seen rolling down upon ships, boats, and whales. The 
 last seen of the Fleetwing and Minerva they were shorten 
 ing sail rapidly. A storm of thunder and lightning soon 
 burst upon the boats, and rain poured in torrents. The 
 wind was killed, and the waves cut down as if they had 
 never been. The panic-stricken whales could no longer 
 find a windward way to run. 
 
 Raymond's two whales wandered round and round 
 awhile, then struck a bee-line in the direction of the ship. 
 The whales died about the same time, turned up about 
 half a mile apart, almost in hail of the ship. The captain 
 sent down his boat after the squall passed, and helped tow 
 the rich prizes alongside. 
 
 When the thunder-storm reached Captain Small's 
 whales, the whole school became panic-stricken a not 
 infrequent occurrence and they all brought to in a snarl, 
 heading every way ; an opportunity which the two worthy 
 whalemen made good use of, for they not only killed their 
 own whales, but each boat-header lanced and killed a 
 loose one, thus securing four out of five whales in the pod. 
 The fifth one had the sense to sound, and make off in the 
 coming darkness. When the squall cleared, six whales 
 lay dead on the windless sea, three for each ship. As the 
 vessels were mated, the catch must be equally divided. 
 
 Small was given his choice of one of the waist-boat's 
 whales, and Braybrook towed his other whale to the Fleet-
 
 276 The FUetwing. 
 
 wing, with the help of the other boats toward the last. It 
 was nine o'clock before the three whales were secured for 
 the night, sail shortened, and the hands turned off to 
 supper. The moon rose bright, and the Minerva got her 
 three whales alongside soon after midnight. The six 
 whales averaged over seventy-five barrels each ; thus both 
 crews were made happy by a catch of two hundred and 
 thirty-five barrels for each ship.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 THE HURRICANE. 
 
 TT was a busy time on board the Fleetwing for ten days 
 * after her last whaling. Not the spout of a whale had 
 been seen since, and it was feared none would be seen 
 until the next full moon. As the Fleetwing was bound to 
 the Pacific, the two ships concluded to part company. 
 Small would cruise where he was, while Captain Talbert 
 deemed it best to proceed on his voyage, as further delay 
 would make the ship late for the whaling season in the 
 western ocean. 
 
 The ship's course was laid south for the Equator, with 
 a view to crossing in longitude 30 not in 32, where a 
 younger master would have crossed. Captain Talbert con 
 fessed that he was too old a sea-dog to adopt Lieutenant 
 Maurey's new-fangled notions about currents and sailing 
 directions. Yet the captain's old logs showed long weeks 
 spent in equatorial calms where now a modern vessel 
 need be but a few days crossing, by keeping well to the 
 west of the old beaten tracks, where the angular-shaped 
 doldrums converge to a point like a V. 
 
 After fairly entering the northeast trade the weather 
 became one continuous delight, the ship scoring four or 
 five degrees each day on the chart. Throughout the time 
 sea and sky were wedded in a kindred blue. Look into 
 
 277
 
 278 The Fleetwing. 
 
 the azure water whenever you would, and the heart was 
 made glad by its greeting ; the frolicsome waves were a 
 laughter-loving set, crooning a joyous melody as they 
 rose and fell, leaping in playful gambols as they raced 
 beside the ship. Look into the violet sky, and the 
 thoughts became restful and prayerful at the goodness of 
 the Creator in providing such a pleasure for the eye of 
 man. How tender and loving the blue canopy bent down 
 over the fleet ship and her happy crew ! It seemed full 
 of a spiritual presence, bringing blessing to all God's 
 creatures below, and prompting us to send a return mes 
 sage to the dear ones above. 
 
 How gracefully the wind-loving sails breasted their white 
 bosoms to the breeze, through all those bright days. 
 The great topsails leaned lovingly out over the blue mirror 
 beneath, counting the dangling reef-points, which hung in 
 triple rows from their sheeny breasts much as a maiden 
 peers at her ringlets, and croons at her swelling bust in 
 the glass. So with the three pretty royals, and the star 
 gazing skysail, which were seen coquetting like a simpering 
 girl in the water-mirror, delighted to see their curved re 
 flections dancing in the crests of the sunlit sea. 
 
 Throughout those sheeny days a pretty " shadow-ship " 
 kept ever at the side of the Fleetwing, as a loving dog 
 may follow his master, closely mimicking the very hoist 
 of her topsails, the set of her staysails, and the trim of 
 the jibs. Whenever the mast-heads were relieved, just 
 then the mimic sailor-men of the shadow-ship would be 
 seen tramping up their rigging, tarrying in the tops to 
 renew their quids, while the relieved men come down, in 
 exact imitation of their betters.
 
 The Shadow Ship. 279 
 
 When Jack was sent to ride down the stays in his 
 Boson's chair, tar-bucket in hand, so the mimic ship must 
 set her chaps to tarring down the backstays as well. If 
 the ebony cook chanced to empty his' steep-barrel over 
 the side ; lo, a blacker nigger than he would be seen 
 doing the like over the side of the sister ship which was 
 mirrored in the azure sea. 
 
 The helmsman had a pleasant task toying with his 
 wheel and hugging the lubber point, while he kept the 
 ship on her due south course, during those lustrous days. 
 At the change of watches, a new man would come loiter 
 ing aft to relieve the helm, repeat the course, " South ! " 
 after his shipmate, and grapple the spokes lazily, as he 
 twirled the wheel aport or starboard, in languid execution 
 of his duty. There stood the sleepy-eyed fellow, munch 
 ing his quid in a brown soliloquy ; his eyes roving auto 
 matically from compass to sails ; or watching some slow- 
 sailing cloud by which to keep his course ; much as a 
 coastwise sailor steers by a beacon or lighthouse, a hay 
 stack or a church, along a much familiar land. 
 
 The next to take the wheel was a bird of another 
 feather. It was the afternoon hour when the ladies usu 
 ally sat aft with their needlework or reading. There 
 were a few men among the crew before whom they chatted 
 freely, referred to as authority in sea matters, and always 
 greeted kindly as they passed. Crawford was one of 
 these, and deemed it a tall feather in his hat. It laid him 
 under an embargo to come prinked up for the occasion, 
 till he got to be styled a lady's man. In fact, old Tom 
 often swapped his night work for an afternoon trick at 
 the helm, with some lazy, untidy fellow, who was " shy o'
 
 280 The Fleetwing. 
 
 the wimmin folk " their usual price being a " chaw ter- 
 baccer " to boot, which the gallant Tom readily paid for 
 a smile or a nod from a feminine. 
 
 Though a nautical dandy of the sprucest kind, Tom 
 was every inch a sailor; and the largest, strongest, hand 
 iest man on the Fleetwing. He was always more or less 
 jauntily rigged. But to-day, being the " ladies' hour," he 
 was equipped with flowing blue trowsers, a French calico 
 shirt, with broad collar and flying ties, flowing from his 
 thick red neck. Dancing-pumps housed his number 
 eleven feet, for Tom was as lively at a hornpipe as the 
 trimmest man on board. 
 
 Tom's shining tarpaulin or neat chip hat was ever 
 listed aport with a saucy nautical tip, which showed the 
 self-respect as well as the egotism of the man. A dainty 
 blue ribbon bound the scuppers of his hat, with long flow 
 ing ends dangling in the wind ; which further confirmed 
 Tom's exalted esteem of himself. Yet, conceding the 
 inordinate vanity of this old shellback, Crawford was 
 worth any two men in the forecastle, and was loved by 
 the captain and mate from long years of useful associa 
 tions in past voyages. 
 
 It was a pleasure to see Tom handle the wheel. He 
 dandled the mahogany spokes as daintily as a woman 
 touches a piano. His merry blue eyes rolled sagaciously 
 about from the compass-card to the leeches of the sails 
 aloft. The wily fellow feels the swing of the ship before 
 she fairly swerves, and gingerly gives her a half-spoke of 
 the wheel to head off every attempt at deviation from her 
 course. A ship is like a mettlesome horse, or a coquet 
 tish woman, and soon learns to yield gracefully to the 
 master hand, which will not let her swerve.
 
 Companion Birds. 281 
 
 Not a dough-head nor a duffer on board could steer 
 the ship in a seaway like Tom. The superstitious fellows 
 readily came to believe that the partial jade ever sought 
 to play some prank or pirouette upon them ; but would 
 behave like a lady in the presence of her lover the instant 
 old Tom took charge of the wheel. 
 
 The same sea-birds that had adopted the Fleetwing as 
 their chief commissary a month previous still followed 
 the fleet craft ; though^ a taut rein and a sharp spur had 
 been applied to her speed. A large white albatross, and 
 his two demure looking mates in gray, flew round and 
 round the ship, or tacked back and forth across the stern 
 a thousand times a day ; tireless on the wing as the full- 
 sailed ship to which they clung. Every movement of the 
 cook while passing in and out of the galley was watched 
 by these greedy scavengers of the sea ; which would 
 plunge in a column of three, with a chorus of screams, 
 upon whatever scrap of bread or meat was cast upon the 
 water. 
 
 Two drab-colored, Quaker-looking blue-jays, and a lone 
 man-o-'war hawk were other less notable companions of 
 the Fleetwing. The blue-jays subsisted on the leavings of 
 the albatross, which, though scant, attached them to the 
 travelling household of a well ordered vessel. 
 
 The hawk made use of the ship for another purpose, 
 and never stooped to pick up a crumb from her table. 
 Hour after hour the motionless pinions of the dark-brown 
 hawk hung poised over the main truck, always near 
 enough to converse in a low crooning whistle with the 
 lookout on the royal yard. Occasionally, when the keen- 
 eyed hawk saw a dolphin or an ulbicore chase up a school
 
 282 The Fleetwing. 
 
 of fly-fish above the surface, then, with a shrill scream, he 
 folded his wings and dropped like an arrow to the water, 
 piercing his flying prey with open bill in his fall ; and 
 then mounted with his prize to the old poise in the sky, 
 eating his fish while he flies above the mast. Thus this 
 puny bird deigns to make a pointer dog of the ship, to 
 start up the hidden covey from the sea. 
 
 Less than a week of steady sailing took the ship into 
 the calm belt between the two trade winds. Two days 
 previous to losing the breeze, great masses of pearl- 
 colored clouds had been seen climbing steadily up over 
 the leeward horizon, coming northward, high above the 
 northeast wind-clouds, which swept the ship along in an 
 opposite direction; evidence that the ship had passed 
 the usual limits of the northeast trades, and might soon 
 expect the sister-wind from the southeast. 
 
 During the next several days the Fleetwing was wafted 
 along by occasional cat's-paws, until she reached the 
 latitude of 3 N., where every vestige of wind left her. 
 Above the ship hung a cloudless azure, and about her lay 
 a shimmering brass, windless and waveless, where the 
 noonday sun blazed upon the water till it appeared like 
 molten lead. 
 
 So hot and undimmed were the beams of the equatorial 
 sun that it cast a yellow halo of mirage along the leeches 
 of the sails, and about every other white object that 
 it shone upon. The men could not touch the shrouds, 
 when going aloft, without being smeared with hot tar. 
 The iron rods of the futtock -shrouds were so hot that 
 they burned the hands while climbing over the tops. 
 The odorous pitch boiled in the deck-seams, and the
 
 The Ghostly Noises. 283 
 
 shoes stuck fast to it when one tarried a moment in his 
 walk. 
 
 The glare reflected up from the mirrored sea scorched 
 the shaded face as quickly as the direct rays of the sun. 
 The hot beams blistered the paint on the bulwarks, masts, 
 and yards ; and so softened the tar in the hempen leech- 
 ropes that the canvas edges of the sails were strained by 
 the stretch of the bolt-ropes. 
 
 Throughout this breathless calm the vessel rolled un 
 easily on the low heave of a southern swell, a motion 
 which filled the ship with a bedlam of ghostly noises 
 above and below. Aloft, the chain sheets creaked over 
 the yardarm sheaves and quarter blocks, clanging heavily 
 against the under surface of the yards when the sails 
 swayed back and forth. The clewlines cheeped noisily 
 over their hot sheaves at the clews and quarters, while 
 the pattering reef-points drummed a tattoo against the 
 canvas when the topsails banged against the masts. 
 
 Below deck, bulkheads and partitions groaned with 
 unspeakable agony. The hoarse utterance of the ship's 
 larger timbers blended sweetly with the milder creaks of 
 the carlines, the clatter of dishes in the pantry, and the 
 musical jingle of the glassware in the swinging trays. 
 The berth-boards and state-room doors murmured meekly 
 in a timid chorus of smothered pain ; an unacceptable 
 lullaby for the watch below, which produced vocal mutter- 
 ings not wholly of a prayerful nature. 
 
 The ship had got becalmed in the very birthplace of 
 the Gulf Stream though, strange to say, the surface 
 drift was running to the eastward at the rate of thirty 
 miles a day. This was the eddy, or backwater current,
 
 284 The Fleetwing. 
 
 running between the two western drifts of the northeast 
 and southeast trades ; a reverse equatorial stream which 
 ends in the Bight of Biafra on the African coast. 
 
 This singular eddy was first noticed during the night, 
 when the sea along the west side of the ship began to 
 make a rhythmic, tuneful murmur, which greatly aroused 
 the superstitions of the sailors. Some of the croakers 
 said it indicated a gale. Others declared that it was a 
 warning of a wreck, and that dead men would strew the 
 sea before many days passed. Uncle Joe, the real oracle 
 of the Fleetwing, looked much disturbed, but would not 
 communicate any ghostly predictions. 
 
 In the morning it was discovered that the oily surface 
 of th^ water was wrinkled as a pie-crust where it breasted 
 against the starboard side of the ship. The current 
 sobbed and wailed like a crying baby where it dashed 
 against the shining copper, more especially where it 
 glinted off from the rudder and ran away in tuneful spiral 
 swirls. 
 
 This eastern set seemed an unfortunate event for the 
 Fleetwing. It carried her where the V-shaped doldrums 
 grew wider and wider, until it might take a week of Sun 
 days to cross the calm belt. Captain Talbert wished to 
 cross the line in longitude 30, but the three days eastern 
 drift took the ship into 28 30'. 
 
 The morning of the third day rose bright and clear. 
 Not a cloud was seen over the whole arch of heaven. 
 Not a cat's-paw rimpled the surface of the sea. In the 
 east, the earliest dawn-light had the effect to lift the dark 
 horizon up into a rounded hill. Though this is known to 
 be the work of refraction, yet one can never witness this
 
 Storm Signs. 285 
 
 skyward lift of an eastern sea without deeming it super 
 natural. 
 
 Just before the sun appeared, the top of this eastern 
 eminence became haloed with a double rim of green and 
 gold. Then up flashed a dozen great spokes of a golden 
 wheel ; the short horizontal spokes glinted downward 
 from the watery hill-top, while the vertical ones reached 
 high up toward the zenith, as if the whole circle of heaven 
 was required for a rim. 
 
 The undulation from the southeast was now steadily 
 increasing, as if from a sudden movement of wind in that 
 direction, imparting hopes that the calm would be short 
 lived. But for a trifling fall in the barometer, with the 
 wild cries of the sea-birds, and the nervous flitting about 
 of stormy petrels a brood of which had recently gath 
 ered about the stern one might look in vain for signs of 
 a storm. Yet one of the fiercest hurricanes of many a 
 year was approaching the ship. 
 
 The forenoon passed. Eight bells struck the noon 
 hour before the first unmistakable signs of a gale dimmed 
 the face of the day. In swift transition then the blue 
 canopy suddenly gave place to a dull haze of sombre, 
 sodden gray. This was quickly followed by a lowering 
 gloom, which lifted the murky rim of the horizon, and 
 hedged the ship about with fast-narrowing bounds, which 
 filled the soul with awe, as of some unseen evil lurking 
 very near at hand. 
 
 The haze which filled the upper sky was not a cloud. 
 It was less dense than mist. It impressed one as an im 
 palpable shadow cast by some unseen, death-dealing evil ; 
 it was an unmistakable forecast of the invisible storm.
 
 286 The Fleetwing. 
 
 The sea had lost its azure and taken on a dull slate-color, 
 reflected from the ominous shadow in the sky. 
 
 Late in the afternoon, the barometer fell so fast that all 
 the light yards were sent down, together with the three 
 royal masts. The flying jib-boom was sent in, and the 
 stunsail booms were lowered to the deck. The hatches 
 were barred down, the tarpaulins put on and battened. 
 The four boats were hoisted on the upper cranes, par 
 buckles were secured to them, and tackles put in the 
 rigging ready to roll the boats bottom up if need be. 
 
 Before dark, sail was shortened to close-reefed topsails 
 and courses. The spanker was brailed. The jib was hauled 
 down and stowed with double gaskets. The fore and 
 main spencers were set and examined, then brailed up 
 again ready for use. The galley and the scuttle-butt had 
 extra lashings put on. Every movable thing was lowered 
 down the booby hatch, to free the deck. A strong life-line 
 was stretched fore and aft on both sides of the deck. 
 
 Grim night set down over the ship, black as the mist 
 which Apollo dropped over the wounded ^Eneas in the 
 day of battle. It was so dark that one could not see his 
 own length on deck. The white lower masts were just 
 visible a fathom away. Even the mainmast and its sail 
 dimmed away in the blackness, till all trace of spar or sail 
 was lost half way up to the top. 
 
 The swell rose rapidly, humping up into a furious tum 
 ble ere it struck the ship, till it frothed and fumed like an 
 angry surf. The night air now began to grow hot and 
 sultry a lifeless, negative atmosphere, that made one 
 gasp for breath, almost unendurable for respiration. At 
 length a puff of wind struck the sails while the ship lay
 
 The Night Gale. 287 
 
 wallowing in the trough of the sea. The puff quickened 
 to a breeze, hot as from a furnace, and the vessel 
 luffed slowly until she took the largest swell on her port 
 bow. This new position eased up on her rolling, but made 
 the antic thing pitch heavily, capering about like a teth 
 ered goat. 
 
 After a long, anxious hour of this prelusive annoyance, 
 the gale struck, coming with a thunder-gust from the 
 south, in squalls of wind, rain, and vivid sheets of light 
 ning, which illuminated the blackness like the outburst of 
 a volcano. The wind shrieked, and the billows howled, as 
 the two mad elements battered against the listed ship, 
 intent upon her destruction. It seemed as if all the 
 spirits of demolition were abroad on the warpath. 
 Though the rain ceased after the first onslaught, the thun 
 der became more terrific, a trifle louder than the roar of 
 the boarding seas ; but that, too, passed away, and the wind 
 took full possession. 
 
 With nothing remaining to curb their madness, the 
 billows now toppled up into mountains of bellowing 
 breakers. The hideous noise of the canvas when it shook 
 in the increasing gale, the crash of the waves as they 
 struck the bow and swept across the deck, together with 
 the unearthly shrieks from the rigging, when heard midst 
 such inky blackness, sounded like an orchestra of demons 
 from Inferno, rather than the natural crescendo of earthly 
 noises when put to their worst. It was a scene to startle 
 the boldest seaman on board ; a pandemonium sufficient 
 to terrify a landsman till he quaked with fear and wished 
 for the home fireside. 
 
 Captain Talbert and the mate kept the deck for several
 
 288 The Fleet wing. 
 
 hours, and retired to the cabin at ten o'clock, thinking 
 the gale was at its worst, and the ship would carry her 
 canvas through the night. The captain slipped into his 
 swinging berth and was soon asleep, forgetful of wind, 
 seas, and the pitching ship. The mate turned in on the 
 soft side of his mahogany chest, booted and otherwise 
 equipped, with oil-cloth coat and souwester, ready for a 
 bit more fun about midnight. The barometer was still 
 tumbling frightfully, showing that the worst had been kept 
 in reserve. Suddenly Raymond heard the second mate 
 yelling at the top of his deep, hoarse voice : 
 
 "Take in the mainsail! Man the clew-garnets, and 
 buntlines ! Ease away the main-tack, when you're ready ! " 
 
 Braybrook's bass notes were in such accord with the 
 wind, that the men had not heard readily from their 
 shelter aft under the weather-rail. His tones were a 
 thousand notes below the shriek of the gale. Raymond 
 sprang out, and, taking in the situation, he gave counter- 
 orders : 
 
 " Hold fast the main-tack ! Har-r-r-d a-weather yer 
 helm ! Clew up mizzentops'il ! " The mate's voice was 
 set to a different key from Braybrook's, and it pierced 
 through the screaming wind and the rumble of the seas 
 like the shriek of a steam whistle. 
 
 Had the main-tack been let go at Braybrook's order, 
 the mainyard would have snapped off in an instant. As 
 it was, the weather-leech of the mainsail supported the 
 yard for the clew of the topsail to tug at. Braybrook had 
 seen evidence of an " Ox-eyed " squall coming, and had 
 gone to work hastily, for the danger was imminent. 
 
 As soon as the mizzentopsail was clewed up, the ship
 
 The Hurricane. 289 
 
 felt her helm, and swung off before the wind. The main 
 sail was taken in and furled ; then the mizzentopsail was 
 snugged, while the ship was kept before the gale to 
 receive the coming squall. The first of the gale blew 
 from the south. The squall now came from the southeast, 
 blowing with much greater force ; denoting a circular gale, 
 working round against the hands of a clock. The ship 
 scud well, though the waves ran up into gigantic combers, 
 each sea topped out with an acre of foam. So high were 
 some of the larger billows that the vessel hung in a 
 breathless gasp, ere she rounded up over their steep 
 declivities ; and then pitched dizzily downward, with a 
 long, never-ending plunge into the windless gulf below. 
 
 Seeing that the ship made better weather scudding than 
 lying to, and that the storm-centre had passed to the west, 
 Raymond took the responsibility to let her run with the 
 gale, as the barometer was still falling, and the worst was 
 yet to come. At daylight the wind suddenly came out 
 east, and increased to a furious hurricane, blowing a 
 hundred and twenty miles an hour; such a gale as the 
 oldest seaman rarely sees in a lifetime. The whole face 
 of the waters now put on a different appearance. The 
 wind blew with such force that the largest seas were 
 battered down by the mere momentum of the gale 
 crushed flat by dynamic wind-weight as an Alpine 
 avalanche might shatter a haystack. 
 
 The genuine hurricane-blast is made up of millions of 
 small subordinate whirlwinds, that travel in the general 
 direction of the gale, and claw up the surface in long, end 
 less spirals of froth, which whiten the ocean into ghastly 
 sheets of parallel foam-streaks. The rotary motion of
 
 290 The Fleetwing. 
 
 this wind-blown spume hurled it into the air till it struck 
 the ship with force, as though shot from a Catling gun. 
 
 The gale which first struck the ship, from the south, was 
 merely an indraught of wind, on its way to the storm- 
 centre ; which was then astern of the ship, to the north 
 east, about a hundred miles distant. The velocity of that 
 gale was a little over sixty miles an hour, but would 
 increase as it neared the centre. 
 
 The second gale, which struck the ship at midnight, 
 coming from the southeast, was blowing eighty miles an 
 hour ; and showed by its increased velocity that the storm- 
 centre had passed the ship, and was then bearing north 
 west, about two hundred miles distant. 
 
 The initial velocity of the hurricane, which came from 
 the east, at daylight, was a trifle over one hundred miles 
 an hour, but it increased twenty miles during the next 
 hour and a half. At which time the storm-centre was 
 bearing west-northwest, nearly three hundred miles away ; 
 although the ship had run, during the time, one hundred 
 miles towards it since midnight. 
 
 By these observations, it will be seen that the central 
 circle of the storm was nearly two hundred miles in diame 
 ter ; which is very large for the Equator ; though in middle 
 latitude such storm-circles are often a thousand miles 
 across. The rotating centre moved over the surface just 
 twenty miles an hour; which is faster than usual; from 
 which we may infer that it had blown several days to ac 
 quire such velocity. 
 
 When this long-remembered hurricane struck the \Yind- 
 ward Islands, six days after, it destroyed everything in its 
 path. It expended its force near the Mona Passage,
 
 The Peril Passed. 29 1 
 
 where it strewed the neighboring shoals with many 
 wrecks. 
 
 The Fleetwing rode out the gale like a duck in a mill- 
 pond. She had been managed with skill, by being put on 
 the right tack at first, so as to draw away from the storm- 
 centre. Her running before the southeast gale after it 
 struck did no harm, as the centre of the storm had passed, 
 and was rotating to the west faster than the ship could 
 sail. Running before the hurricane, till it, in turn, ran 
 away from the ship, was the safest policy, so long as the 
 vessel would scud, and was not approaching dangerous 
 ground. 
 
 It had been a fair stand-up fight between the best 
 handiwork of man and the two mad elements of wind and 
 sea, conspiring for the destruction of the beautiful craft. 
 All were thankful that they had had no third element, 
 such as land, to contend with, when having such a tussle 
 of life and death. Had the ship been bound home and 
 imprudently steered to the northwest when the south gale 
 struck, she might have been destroyed by plunging into 
 the storm-centre. So, the officers had much to be thank 
 ful for that they had not been tempted into any error of 
 management during this frightful gale.
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 THE WRECKED SHIP. 
 
 A FTER the furious gale had passed away to the west, 
 the barometer rose as rapidly as it had fallen. The 
 wind dropped away to a calm, and the weather remained 
 sultry for many hours. The monstrous seas subsided, 
 leaving several heavy, quick-running swells rolling in from 
 the south, the southeast, and the eastern board; all of 
 which made the ship thrash about like a dancing Jack. 
 
 On the following morning the sun rose bright through a 
 narrow rift in the eastern sky ; and with a sudden impulse 
 the swift- flying scud swept clear the whole firmament. 
 
 The tarpaulins were taken from the hatches, the boats 
 let down to the lower cranes, and the life-lines, which had 
 been stretched fore and aft, were taken down. The crew 
 got up their wet clothing and filled the rigging with steam 
 ing garments. The cabin windows were flung open, and 
 the cabin people gathered aft once more about the taffrail, 
 gladdening in the welcome sunshine. 
 
 A faint air came in cat's-paws from the east, just rim- 
 pling the smooth surface in long dark streaks, here and 
 there ; creeping slyly up to the tops of the great undula 
 tions, and then scampering down into the deep, dark 
 troughs, still shaded from the sun, and looking like droves 
 of black mice seeking covert from the light of day. 
 
 292
 
 Floating Wreckage. 293 
 
 These isolate airs increased, and soon joined hands over 
 the whole eastern board in a veritable breeze. It came 
 light at first, baffling about from the east, far round to the 
 south, over a quarter segment of the circle, settling at 
 length into a steady southeast trade that was cool and 
 refreshing. 
 
 Every drawing sail was at once put upon the ship. 
 Royal and skysail yards were sent aloft, and the sails set. 
 A confusion of swells still rolled heavily in on the .port 
 bow a lingering reminiscence of the hurricane, which 
 caused the ship to bury her martingale and catheads at 
 every plunge. This furious pitching prevented the yards 
 being braced up sharp, so that the ship was not heading 
 better than south, and did not make better than a south- 
 southwest course, owing to the smart westerly current she 
 had now run into. 
 
 At noon a meridian altitude placed the ship in 
 2 30' north latitude. . The trades continued light during 
 afternoon and evening ; but during the morning watch the 
 swell dropped away and the wind freshened up prettily. 
 Pieces of wreckage were now frequently reported by the 
 lookout on the bow ; and once, in the dark before dawn, 
 the ship struck her stem heavily against some floating 
 spar such a thump as led Braybrook to order the boxes 
 drawn and the pump sounded. 
 
 Soon after, the lookout declared he saw a dead body 
 ahead of the ship, but as the vessel ran over and buried 
 the corpse, the officer did not see it, and expressed doubts 
 about it. When day broke, a stoven boat was discovered 
 on the weather bow, and a broken topmast was passed, 
 with yard and a reefed sail attached, showing the wreck
 
 294 The Fleetwing. 
 
 was in some way owing to the recent gale. The boat was 
 bottom up ; her bow was stove n and both garboard 
 strakes smashed in ; and a sailor's pea-jacket hung from 
 one of the splintered holes : as if that was the first acci 
 dent, and the brave tar had attempted to stay the leak ; 
 and this was the sad result. 
 
 Other broken spars, and parts of a recent wreck contin 
 ued in view for hours ; trailing away to the south, in the 
 direction the ship was sailing. Such sad havoc told of 
 fatal results, and kept the watch below up and alert ; and 
 all hands were excited, wearing a look of alarm upon their 
 faces. Officers and men climbed upon the yards, eager to 
 behold the wrecked vessel from which so much floating 
 de'bris had been ravished. Parts of three masts had been 
 seen, so they looked for nothing but a waterlogged hulk. 
 
 As longitude had not been obtained on the previous 
 afternoon, the sun being obscured at the proper time, 
 the exact position of the ship had nc/t been known since 
 the day before the hurricane. At nine o'clock, much to 
 Captain Talbert's surprise, St. Paul's Rock appeared 
 directly ahead of the ship. This determined their longi 
 tude to be 29 22' west, instead of forty miles to the east, 
 as the dead-reckoning placed them. This discrepancy 
 arose from some unusual variation in the currents. 
 
 It was at once concluded that the wreck would be found 
 stranded upon St. Paul. The Rock was then not more 
 than twelve miles distant. It consists of a small cluster, 
 with two pointed peaks which are not more than thirty-five 
 feet above the sea a projection of hard volcanic tra 
 chyte, making up from the very northern end of a southern 
 plateau, of which St. Helena and Ascension are more con-
 
 The Wreck. 295 
 
 spicuous evidence. St. Paul is as spindling as a church 
 steeple, far down beneath the sea ; for the soundings near 
 about the Rock measure thirteen thousand five hundred 
 feet. There the bottom water is found at a temperature 
 of 32 Fahr. the, coldest water in the whole middle 
 Atlantic. 
 
 This most extreme frigidity of the bottom water found 
 in the torrid zone is caused by curious phenomena. It is 
 well known that wherever a warm ocean-current is ob 
 structed by impinging upon a coast-line, the effect is to 
 produce latent heat ; as at northern Norway, and in the 
 bight of Alaska. But it is not so well known that a frigid 
 Austral and an Arctic current, meeting directly under the 
 Equator, tend to produce latent cold ; greater even than 
 is found anywhere else in mid-ocean. 
 
 The strong upward rebound of these two polar sub-cur 
 rents, when thus meeting, head to head, has the effect to 
 create a vast mountain of ice-water, directly under the 
 Equator; nearly twelve thousand feet high ; and that, too, 
 in a zone where the surface water maintains the tempera 
 ture of 80 Fahr. throughout the year. 
 
 As the Fleetwing approached St. Paul from the north, 
 the bow of a large vessel was seen wedged in high and 
 dry, between two vertical points of rock. This was the 
 only part of the wreck which could be seen from the 
 north. The bowsprit was the only spar remaining ; 
 the masts must have gone by the board when she struck. 
 
 In about an hour the ship passed to the south of the 
 Rock, running very close in. Then it was discovered that 
 the wrecked vessel had broken in two, amidships, just 
 forward of the mainmast. The stern-end of the ship had
 
 296 The Fleetwing. 
 
 sunk and wholly disappeared. The bow-half had run in 
 on the top of a vast breaker, and was firmly fastened 
 between two high pinnacle-rocks, which held her immov 
 able ; though her after part tipped down into the water at 
 an angle of fifteen degrees. This slanting position had 
 compelled the whole forward cargo to disgorge into the 
 sea, and float away ; leaving the between-decks and lower 
 hold open to the inrolling breakers ; the return wave 
 washing out everything which was movable vithin. 
 
 The stoven long-boat still remained alongside, held fast 
 by a strong painter, secured to the main chains, the only 
 vestige of a boat to be seen. Looking from the mizzen 
 top, with a glass, several dead^ sailors were seen wedged 
 under the thwarts, and some of the seamen's bags and 
 clothing were swashing about in the boat. Twenty-two 
 other bruised and bloated bodies were cast upon the jut 
 ting rocks, near the bow of the ship, several of which were 
 females. Two of these, a mother and daughter, were 
 locked hand in hand, a piteous testimony of affection in a 
 death so filled with horror. 
 
 With the exception of a yelping dog, a pretty King 
 Charles spaniel, which ran about from one corpse to 
 another, howling his dismal plaint of death, not a vestige 
 of life could be seen. The forward deck-house remained 
 on the wreck, intact, poised high and dry above the reach 
 of the highest breaker; though every comber ran head 
 long into the 'tween-decks and the hold. Had the crew 
 remained by the wreck, instead of attempting to debark 
 by boats, they would have fared better, and had a longer 
 lease of life. 
 
 As it was deemed impossible to board the wreck, on
 
 The Cannon. 297 
 
 account of the furious surf, which broke far out, and rose 
 into gigantic combers, the mate suggested that a cannon 
 should be fired, to arouse any one in the deck-house, if by 
 chance a living person were there. This was thought by 
 all present to be a useless precaution, as there was no 
 signal flying from the splintered stump of the foremast, 
 which stuck up twenty feet above the house, and would be 
 the first thing thought of by a stranded sailor. But as the 
 captain made no objection, Braybrook lent a hand to get 
 out one of the six-pound cannon, while Raymond sent 
 the steward to get up the powder, and himself filled the 
 cartridges. 
 
 After a deal of trouble the swollen tompkin was got out 
 of the muzzle, the gun swabbed out and loaded ; receiving 
 a double-sized oakum wad, to make it " speak." Apply 
 ing a finer grade of powder for priming, the gun was ready 
 for use. As the ship had forged ahead some distance, 
 she was now tacked back to the north, and ran close in, 
 fairly to windward of the wreck. 
 
 The gun was elevated, pointed at the wreck and fired ; 
 with the result of waking the echoes among the rocks, and 
 making a dull ghostly boom emerge from the caverned 
 hull. The burning wad was seen to strike the deck ; and 
 being of tarry hemp, with a layer of tow next the powder, 
 it soon fanned into a flame and set fire to the windward 
 side of the deck-house, against which it lay. This incident 
 was deemed of no importance, as the big uproar of the 
 gun had not startled even a gull from the Boson's deserted 
 tenement. 
 
 Standing on past the Rock, to the north, for a last look 
 about in that direction, the ship was again tacked back to
 
 298 The Flcctwing. 
 
 the south; running close in along the edge of the 
 breakers, for a last sorrowing look at the wreck, and her 
 score of dead seamen. The windward side of the deck 
 house was blazing briskly as the Fleetwing returned, and 
 tongues of flame began to burst from several of the 
 windows, showing that the fire had found combustible 
 material within, to make such headway ; and would soon 
 consume all of the wreck above water. 
 
 The cannon was put back in its place, and lashed. 
 The fore and main tacks were boarded, and the ship kept 
 away a point free, on her course. With tears in their 
 eyes, the captain and the ladies stood on the weather 
 quarter, viewing the sad sight of a broken vessel and the 
 unburied dead. 
 
 Suddenly the shriek of a woman was heard, coming 
 loud and shrill, as of a person in mortal anguish or abject 
 fear. The voice outrang the roar of the breakers, and 
 pierced the ear with repeated cries ; breasting against the 
 wind like the sharp notes of a fife. All eyes were turned 
 upon the wreck, but not a soul could be seen. Perhaps 
 the men were right in declaring that it was but the ghost 
 of the dead, who would continue to shriek till the wreck 
 was consumed, and the dead were demolished by the 
 birds. Tom had known many such things, he said, in his 
 time ; and old Ben backed him up by knowing many more 
 such cases than his shipmate. 
 
 The cries ceased, and three minutes passed before the 
 mystery was solved. A young girl was then seen rushing 
 out of the port door of the deck-house, drawing after her 
 a tottering, white-haired man, whom she was trying to 
 pull out of the flaming sepulchre. Both were bare-headed
 
 The Heroic Girl. 299 
 
 and scantily clad, as if they had been hastily driven from 
 the berths in their night-clothes. 
 
 The heroic girl succeeded in drawing the old man 
 toward that part of the bow which seemed least exposed 
 to the flame, which now rose roaring twenty feet above 
 them. Seizing upon a ringstopper, which hung from the 
 port cathead, and trailed down the steep deck, the active 
 girl supported her companion while she steadily worked 
 her way up to the windlass ; where they found partial 
 shelter for the moment behind the bitts. While they 
 tugged away at the big rope, the long black hair of the 
 one and the thin silvery locks of the other streamed in 
 the wind like a blended banner of death and peace 
 emblematic of what awaited them. 
 
 Once beyond the windlass-bitts, where they could lean 
 and rest, the girl put the hair from the old man's eyes and 
 together they stood, aghast ; watching the cruel flame eat 
 its way along the house-top, and seize upon the splintered 
 stump of the foremast, which lay in its path, and then 
 begin to scorch the bowsprit-bitts ; while occasionally the 
 long tongues of flame reached far out over their heads, 
 writhing about in the wind with the contortions of a 
 serpent reaching for its prey. 
 
 Thus far the wrecked ones had not discovered the 
 Fleetwing, which just then hove about in stays. BraHing 
 up the courses, the captain headed the ship back toward 
 the wreck ; but without the least idea that anything could 
 be done to rescue the two unfortunates from death. 
 What to do to save them, no one had conjectured. The 
 captain finally suggested that a raft should be built and 
 floated in to the wreck.
 
 3OO The Flcctwing. 
 
 " But, sir," demanded Raymond, " how are a young girl 
 and an old man to get down upon your raft, should you 
 succeed in drifting it alongside of that high wreck ? " 
 
 " True enough, I don't think they could." 
 
 A look of horror was upon the faces of all as they 
 watched the increasing flame, fanned by the wind, and 
 licking its way steadily along into the bow, which would 
 soon be ablaze and consumed. One and another burst 
 out in exclamations of pity: 
 
 " It's a terrible thing to stand here and see a young 
 girl roasted like a pig. But a boat can't live a minute in 
 such a surf as that," suggested Braybrook, showing a deal 
 of tender-heartedness, as he contemplated the certain 
 destruction by fire of the wrecked victims. 
 
 "A boat must and shall live to reach that wreck," 
 replied the mate, impulsively. " It will likely be stoven 
 when boarding the wreck, and can never return. But 
 we can put out the fire and save those people from being 
 burnt alive, and we shall be there to help them upon the 
 raft when you drift it in to us." 
 
 Ever prompt to follow his own impulses, Raymond 
 sprang upon the cabin deck and yelled to the men : 
 
 " Aft here, every soul of you, and clear away my boat ! " 
 The crew quickly gathered amidships, with a puzzled look 
 of amazement upon their faces; then the mate again 
 addressed them : " Men, who among you will volunteer to 
 go to that wreck with me ? " 
 
 Among the twenty men clustered there beneath the 
 
 fierce eye of the mate, were several brave souls as ever 
 
 manned a yard or tackled a fighting whale. But not a 
 
 -voice responded to the wild scheme of boating over break-
 
 Call for Volunteers. 301 
 
 ers twenty feet high, surf which ran headlong upon 
 jagged rocks, or against the splintered end of a broken 
 wreck. Huge Tom Crawford folded his arms and com 
 pressed his lips into a resolute No ! But his calm blue 
 eye did not waver before the savage look of his loved 
 young officer ; a look which smote upon old Ben, so that 
 he and others slunk sheepishly back into the rear of their 
 more resolute shipmate. 
 
 When Raymond sprang upon the house and gave his 
 order, Captain Talbert hastily exchanged convictions with 
 the second and third mates, who agreed that a boat was 
 out of the question ; but a raft might possibly succeed. 
 Then he went to the mate, ready to refuse him a boat, if 
 he got a volunteer crew ; but luckily no answer came to 
 Raymond's crazy request. With a look of scorn, the 
 young officer turned his back upon the crew, too indig 
 nant to speak ; and appealed to the captain to know what 
 could be done : 
 
 " Is there nothing we can do to save those people ? " 
 
 " Rig up a light-floating raft ; 'tis the best we can do. 
 Try to drift it up into the 'tween-decks of the wreck. A 
 boat can't live a minute in such surf." 
 
 " But, captain, how can those frightened creatures get 
 down to your raft ? " 
 
 " There must be a hatchway for'ard of the deck-house," 
 continued the captain. 
 
 " Very likely, but they can't approach the house while 
 it is burning that way. The poor wretches will be roasted 
 alive before that fire is ended." And the mate strode 
 back and forth on the house-top with his lips quivering 
 with emotion.
 
 302 The Fleetwing. 
 
 " They are sheltering themselves behind the \\indlass- 
 bitt, and the house will be burnt up, out of their way in a 
 half hour's time." 
 
 " Perhaps you are right, sir. We'll try the raft, and 
 may God spare their lives till we can reach them." 
 
 " No one will be willing to go in on the raft. The 
 wrecked folks must get down upon it themselves." 
 
 " I'll go in on the raft ! and shame the cowardly clowns 
 who refused to man my boat, and save a woman from 
 death." 
 
 " No, no ; I'd rather you wouldn't take such risk, my 
 son." 
 
 " Oh, sir, don't refuse my making an effort to save those 
 poor creatures. Why, captain, I should hate myself ever 
 after, if I did not risk something at such a time," appealed 
 the mate, with persuasive voice, and tears in his eyes. 
 
 " Boy, I love you too well to consent to your going on 
 that raft, for you risk certain death. But, if you will go, 
 I shall not forbid you ; for the Almighty has already 
 snatched you from more dangers and deaths than I've 
 'scaped from in fifty years past ; and I will give you into 
 his keeping, and trust to your luck if you will go." 
 
 " God bless you, captain ! I'll go, whatever the risk : 
 and I'm sure to save them, if they don't burn up before I 
 get there." Raymond turned to the men and gave his 
 orders, loud and fast : 
 
 " Off main hatches, there ! and get up four slim, three- 
 barrel casks. Cooper and helpers ! get out your ham 
 mers and drivers, ready to becket the casks. Mr. Bailey, 
 get up a topgallant-sail from the sail-room. Mr. Bray- 
 brook, cut me sixteen lengths of new, inch-hemp rope, for
 
 The Raft. 303 
 
 the beckets ; and have Morey put two lines into your 
 boat, to slack the raft in with. Tom, get me four stun- 
 sail-booms to make a raft of, and a set of halyards to lash 
 them with. Hoogley, get ready two short warps, the lan 
 tern keg, and two deck buckets ready to go on the raft, 
 and two sealskin buoys." 
 
 As all realized the need of despatch, it is needless to 
 say that every part of this work was executed with ut 
 most celerity and care. Off went the hatches, and not 
 waiting for a tackle to hoist with, strong men leaped down 
 between-decks and boosted up the four casks. In three 
 minutes the cooper's hammers were heard knocking off 
 the quarter hoops, ready to receive the beckets. In half 
 an hour the four casks were lashed firmly together, to 
 which a frame-work of the four booms was secured. Over 
 this, a strong, new topgallant-sail was fastened to the 
 booms, one half of the sail being left loose, for the pur 
 pose of covering over their live freight when coming out 
 against the surf. 
 
 In the meantime the ship had taken a position fair to 
 windward of the wreck, as near in to the surf as it was 
 prudent to go, and there let drop a kedge anchor, with a 
 two-inch rope hawser attached, by which the boat was to 
 anchor while slacking in, and hauling off the raft. 
 
 When all was ready, twenty men seized upon the buoy 
 ant raft and tossed it into the sea, landing it fairly upon 
 its bottom with a splash. It was then hauled alongside, 
 and the mate sprang down upon it, receiving and securing 
 the several things he wished to take, such as buckets, 
 buoys, lantern keg, ropes, hachet, and knife. 
 
 As Raymond gave the word to slack away, and the
 
 304 The Fleetwing. 
 
 waist-boat's men gathered in upon the two new towlines, 
 by which Braybrook was to hold the raft, John Kanaka 
 leaped upon the taffrail, and asked the mate if he wanted 
 help. Miss Allston and Mrs. Talbert had shamed this 
 brown water-fowl into proffering his services, and the 
 two ladies stood there with streaming eyes, waving their 
 kerchiefs to the young officer as he drifted away from the 
 ship. 
 
 " Yes, John, I would like one of the Fleetwing's boys to 
 show that they are not all cowards. But I can't stop for 
 you ; you must jump overboard and swim." 
 
 Over went the lithe Kanaka, and climbed upon the 
 raft, just as the waist-boat hauled it out to her anchorage. 
 To Braybrook's question : 
 
 " Are you ready for me to slack away, sir ? " 
 
 " First give me two of your paddles to quicken our drift, 
 and guide us on the crest of the breakers," replied Ray 
 mond. " Now pay out your lines ! " adding, as the raft 
 began to forge ahead before the wind and current, "My 
 signal to ' snub your line ' will be one paddle-blade in the 
 air. Signal to ' haul line,' shall be two paddles in the air, 
 or a shirt waved from the wreck." 
 
 "Ay, ay, sir! God speed you, Mr. Raymond.", And 
 Braybrook waved an affectionate farewell to his young 
 superior, whom he had almost hated a month before. 
 Tom, Ben, and others of the boat's crew sent their bless 
 ings after him ; while aboard the ship, the men ran up the 
 rigging, and cheered the brave act which they dared not 
 emulate. The captain waved his spyglass from the mizzen- 
 top, where he had stationed himself to watch his loved 
 young mate till the death-struggle was over, as he had no
 
 Among the Breakers. 305 
 
 hope of his reaching the wreck alive. From near the 
 round-house two little hands were seen waving their white 
 kerchiefs with a jerky, hysterical motion ; they, too, 
 were bidding a final adieu to one most dear to them. To 
 these last, Raymond waved his hat, and kissed his hand, 
 just as the fore end of his raft began to lift upon the first 
 quick upheaval of a monstrous breaker. 
 
 Standing, paddle in hand, steadying himself by one of 
 his life-lines, Raymond was seen to cast his last look at 
 the ship, and dwell a moment on the low-lying sun, as if 
 the first serious thought of his danger had dawned upon 
 his mind. From that moment his whole attention was 
 given to managing his raft. 
 
 Up rose the massive comber, higher and higher, crest 
 ing up into a long line of breaking, bursting foam, hissing 
 and roaring as if the whole ocean had gone mad. The 
 surf seized upon the raft as 'twere in the maw of some 
 living monster, shaking, pitching, tossing the buoyant float 
 about, as if it were bent upon hurling it end over end, 
 down the steep forefront of the breaker, into the smooth, 
 shining trough made dismal by shadow, in the low-lying 
 sun. 
 
 For a full round minute the raft held just the right tip 
 down over the howling crest of the. breaker ; and Ray 
 mond and his companion stood on their feet, the master 
 spirits of the scene. Before them rolled a half-score of 
 galloping outriders, leaping, loping, tossing their white 
 manes in the sun, till its waning beams gilded the froth 
 and spume of the surf into gold. 
 
 Finding that the raft was driving away to the starboard 
 hand of the wreck, Raymond gave the word, and the two
 
 306 The Fleetwing. 
 
 paddles were set desperately to work, bringing their craft 
 into line of the desired landing. This was a delicate task, 
 as they must keep to the top of the surf ; for to drop back 
 and be overtaken by a following breaker, would be certain 
 destruction. 
 
 Little by little their object was accomplished, and they 
 saw the foremost breakers, one after another, flounder in 
 upon the wreck, or the adjacent rock ; shattering to pieces 
 with an angry howl, almost stunning to the ear. Observ 
 ing at the last moment that the top of the higher breakers, 
 like that on which they rode, would dash the raft against 
 the upper deck, Raymond up with his one paddle-blade 
 and signalled, " Snub the line." Slowly the two lines 
 tautened till the raft dropped back ten feet from the 
 higher crest. Then the paddle-blade was withdrawn ; and 
 the raft drove fair in upon the 'tween-decks, heaving up 
 fifty feet into the dark cavern, beyond the utmost send of 
 the sea. 
 
 Leaping out, the two heroes secured their craft to the 
 foremast, which they found by groping about on the dark 
 deck. They then peered about further forward, to find 
 the fore hatch. Luckily for them it was not barred. By 
 their combined effort, one half of the hatch was pushed 
 from the combings, and exposed the forward end of the 
 burning house, which still blazed furiously ; evidently 
 feeding upon tarred ropes, or a tar barrel, in the Boson's 
 locker. 
 
 At first it was too hot for Raymond to pass up the 
 hatchway without being burned. Happily the strong up- 
 draught from the hatchway had the effect to swerve the 
 roaring flame away from the girl ; and by freshening the
 
 The Burnt Girl. 307 
 
 blaze helped to expend the combustible material all the 
 quicker. 
 
 In fifteen minutes the whole forward end of the house 
 tumbled in, falling to the deck and sending part of the 
 burning brands down the hatchway. Raymond sent the 
 Kanaka to fill one of the buckets, from the raft, with 
 which he put out the charred remains as they fell ; and 
 then began to throw water up the hatchway till the fire 
 was dimmed down overhead. 
 
 Climbing up the foot-cleats on the stanchion, Raymond 
 sprang up the hatch, followed by John. Running to the 
 windlass end, he there found the brave girl kneeling down 
 over the prostrate man, vainly striving to protect him from 
 the heat. One side of her hair was badly singed ; her 
 right cheek, ear, and neck were blistered. While across 
 her back and right shoulder, parts most exposed, the 
 night dress and under-wear were so badly burned that 
 they had fallen away, leaving the girl's bare flesh burnt to 
 a crust. 
 
 Horrified at what he beheld, Raymond snatched off his 
 thin coat and laid it tenderly over the head and shoulders 
 of the girl. This was the first intimation she had of his 
 presence. With a languid effort, she raised her head and 
 met the gaze of her rescuer. Uttering a cry of surprise, 
 and delight at seeing a human being standing beside her, 
 she continued with a piteous appeal for her parent : 
 
 " Oh, sir ! save my father, my beloved father ! and I 
 will bless you all the days of my life." 
 
 " Yes, poor girl, I am going to save you both." 
 
 " How can you ? What power have you to save us ? 
 Father, father ! do you hear what this brave man says ?
 
 308 The Flcetiving. 
 
 He will save you. You shall not be burnt alive." She 
 helped the weak old man to raise his head ; and he looked 
 up at Raymond with a vacant stare ; shaking his head 
 with a disconsolate negative, saying : 
 
 " No, no, Nellie ; he cannot save us. Burning or 
 starvation is our lot. 'Tis the will of the Heavenly 
 Father, as I have told you, and we must not murmur. He 
 is a good young man, to wish to do us a service, but he 
 ought not to promise what he cannot fulfil." The dazed 
 old gentleman dropped his head back upon his hands, ex 
 hausted by the effort he had mad 2 to talk. 
 
 " Father is right ; he understands all about the sea. 
 He has said no boat could ever pass the surf to reach us." 
 Her lips quivered, and tears came into her soft dark eyes 
 at the thought of her father's dying such a death." 
 
 " Don't despair ; we've got a raft below in the ship 
 here ; and we must get you and your father below 
 quickly, or night will overtake us." And Raymond 
 glanced at the sun, which was just then pierced by a west 
 ern pinnacle of the Rock ; the two halves of the setting 
 orb glared red and opaque upon the little group, every 
 particle of hope and warmth gone out of its beams. 
 
 " Tell me what to do, noble man, and I will do your 
 bidding. Only promise to save my precious parent, for 
 my life is as nothing to his." 
 
 " Yes, yes, you brave girl, I promise to save you both. 
 But you must be up and doing. First, we must get your 
 father down between-decks." 
 
 The girl sprang up, almost as if she was not maimed by 
 the cruel flames. The coat fell from her bare, burnt shoul 
 der. Raymond picked it up, and helped her put it on,
 
 The Boson's Chair. 309 
 
 tenderly as a loving mother could do, for she shrank with a 
 nervous shudder at having her crisped back touched by 
 the garment, though not a murmur escaped her lips. 
 
 By the use of a short warp, Raymond made a Boson's 
 chair and placed it under the old man, tying him to it ; 
 and then lowered him down the hatchway. John stood 
 ready to take him, with orders to place the frail old gent 
 on the upper side of a large wooden knee, till the raft 
 was ready to launch. 
 
 Then the girl was got into the chair, and made ready to 
 lower down in the same way. But when Raymond dis 
 covered that the feet and limbs of the delicate creature 
 were bare, having on nothing but her night-dress, he 
 called up the Kanaka to lower her down, and himself 
 went below to receive her. Taking her tenderly in his 
 arms, to avoid touching her burnt side, he took her 
 directly to the raft. Holding her until John came to 
 lift back the loose part of the sail, Raymond placed her 
 in the middle of the raft, where the stretched canvas did 
 not touch the casks beneath, making her as comfortable as 
 he could. 
 
 He then went and got her father, groping about in 
 the dark as best he could, for the light from the fore- 
 hatchway seemed suddenly to have departed. Having 
 placed the old man beside his daughter, on the side oppo 
 site her burns, he lashed them both securely ; then the 
 sail was placed smoothly over them, leaving their faces 
 bare for the time, but with a fold of canvas ready to draw 
 wholly over them when entering the surf. 
 
 The steep slant of the 'tween-decks prevented Raymond 
 from seeing the ship or the outer world. The mouth of
 
 The Fleetwing. 
 
 their dark cavern pointed down into the water, at an 
 angle of fifteen degrees, and was wholly submerged by 
 every inrolling breaker ; so that it was necessary to go 
 on deck to signal the ship to haul them off. Some min 
 utes before all was made ready for a launch, they noticed 
 that the tumult without was increasing. Though the noise - 
 of the surf was almost deafening at the best, yet there 
 was evidence that bad was being made worse. The 
 breakers drove in higher than before, lifting the raft till it 
 thumped hard on the deck, while it almost crushed their 
 living freight against the beams overhead, till they were 
 compelled to haul the raft up nearer to the foremast. Be 
 sides, the darkness had suddenly become impenetrable, 
 though Raymond could not believe that the sun had 
 set. 
 
 When Raymond climbed up the hatchway to show his 
 two paddle-blades as a signal for Braybrook to haul out 
 the raft, he was dismayed to find the Fleetwing hidden 
 from view by a fierce black squall of wind and rain. The 
 surf was so increased by the wind and sea that it was now 
 made too dangerous to encounter even if the squall 
 should pass quickly away, which there was no prospect 
 of its doing. This was a sad mishap, as it was nearly 
 sunset and a night spent in the damp hold would greatly 
 add to the suffering of his weak charge, both of whom 
 were starving, and one sick and feverish from her 
 burns. 
 
 With a sad heart, Raymond sheltered himself from the 
 rain behind the charred stump of the foremast, and waited 
 for the squall to pass away. But the rain continued, 
 night set in dark and gloomy, and all hope for the time
 
 The Starving Ones. 311 
 
 was gone. Going below, the mate announced the state of 
 things to his companions, assuming as cheerful tones as 
 he could, while he set about preparing to pass a long, 
 dismal night in the noisy cavern. 
 
 Groping about on the raft, he found the lantern-keg, 
 knocked off the hoops with his hatchet, and took out the 
 head. Carefully taking out some ship-bread, and a tin 
 can of soup, he came to the boat-lantern, in which he 
 found a candle and matches. Lighting a match, he lit his 
 candle and hung up the lantern to the carline overhead. 
 The small glimmer was just sufficient to eat by, but 
 rather had the effect to increase the sense of gloom in 
 their surroundings. 
 
 Sending John to fill one of the buckets with rain water 
 which still poured in a deluge down the hatchway, Ray 
 mond laid out enough ship-bread for passengers and crew, 
 and then headed up the rest to keep it from the rats, 
 which swarmed about them. 
 
 When John returned with the water, the mate opened 
 the can of prepared soup, and induced the old gentleman 
 to sip sparingly of the palatable liquid, and to nibble all 
 he could from a biscuit soaked in water. This had the 
 effect to visibly improve the parent, and Raymond then 
 turned his attention wholly to the daughter. 
 
 The poor girl had become faint and sick, in high fever, 
 from the dreadful condition of her burns and her starved 
 state. Not having any utensil in which to thin down the 
 soup, Raymond induced her to take first a swallow of water, 
 followed by one of soup, though but a little of the latter 
 could be allowed her while the fever was present. It was 
 the first morsel of food that the two unfortunates had
 
 3 1 2 The Fleetwing. 
 
 tasted for the past two days, and it greatly refreshed and 
 strengthened them. John and the mate made their 
 supper of bread and water, keeping the remainder of. 
 the soup for the wrecked ones. The soup-can was 
 slung by ropeyarns and suspended to an overhead beam, 
 to keep it from the rats, now made furious by the smell 
 of food.
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 A NIGHT ON THE WRECK. 
 
 TT became a matter of anxiety to Raymond how the long 
 night was to be passed on the wreck. The constant 
 inrush of the surf, aside from its hideous noise, kept up a 
 cold, damp draught, which chilled even a healthy person 
 to the bone. How the sick ones were to endure it re 
 mained to be seen. 
 
 The father, happily, was clothed in a warm flannel 
 night-gown, stockings, and drawers. But the delicately 
 nurtured girl, having had more forethought for her aged 
 father than for herself, on^ the night of the wreck, had 
 rushed to her parent's state-room in a thin night-dress and 
 light upper-wear, having on nothing to protect her lower 
 extremities. 
 
 The mate's heart ached to think of her exposed condi 
 tion, and he set about devising the best division he could 
 make of his own clothing. Going quietly away in the 
 dark, he divested himself of his own under-wear. 
 Taking his drawers, stockings, and under-shirt to the girl, 
 Raymond bade her put them on, while John and he went 
 on deck for half an hour, to observe the weather. 
 
 The two men climbed up the hatchway, pleased to find 
 the squall had passed away, leaving a light wind with 
 bright starlight overhead ; but the surf was s:ill much
 
 314 The Fleetwing. 
 
 heavier than when the raft came in. The ship's light 
 could be distinguished in the offing, which served to cheer 
 the lonely situation on the wreck. While they stood 
 whiling away the time, watching the larger star-beams 
 glitter like mimic suns in the foaming crests of the break 
 ers, a sudden light flashed across the long line of surf and 
 lit up the slanting deck on which they stood. 
 
 Their shipmates were making a big flare of scraps ; a 
 signal showing their anxiety about the absent ones on the 
 wreck. The mate understood what was wanted, but just 
 how to answer his friends was difficult to conceive. Rak 
 ing about among the charred remains of the deck-house, 
 he found some smouldering embers which had escaped the 
 deluge of rain. Bidding John gather some unburnt pieces 
 of the house, they succeeded in making quite a blaze. 
 Enough to satisfy their friends, for they soon began to 
 swing their great iron-hoop cradle back and forth with the 
 chain by which it hung from the mainyard, until the oily 
 scraps doubled their volume of light. This was followed 
 by a ringing cheer, which came echoing along over the 
 breakers, gladdening the hearts for whom it was uttered. 
 
 Putting out the deck-fire,, the two went below for the 
 night. Raymond's thoughts were alert; he was distressed 
 to know how to contribute to the comfort of his charge, 
 especially the poor maimed girl. The young thing was 
 flushed with fever, and crying with pain, when Raymond 
 returned. She had succeeded in robing herself in all but 
 the stockings, after a painful effort that made her sick and 
 faint beyond endurance. She had broken the crusts in 
 several places from her burnt back and shoulder. She 
 sat holding the stockings in her hands, having failed, after
 
 The Sick Girl. 315 
 
 repeated efforts, to put them on. As Raymond took his 
 seat by her side, and tested her feverish pulse, the girl's 
 lips quivered with emotion, and a fresh burst of tears 
 came from her eyes. 
 
 "Oh, sir, I have tried so hard to do your bidding, but 
 truly I cannot reach my feet," and she buried her face in 
 her hands. 
 
 " You poor sick girl, I ought not to have left you to do 
 it alone. I thought perhaps you would rather do it, if you 
 could." 
 
 Raymond put the stockings on ; and then prepared a 
 brace for his back with the paddles at the lower end of 
 the raft, so that he could sit up and hold the girl, as it 
 impeded her heart action to lie down, and made her dizzy 
 and nauseated. The old gentleman was greatly affected 
 at the tenderness and thoughtfulness of his preserver, and 
 he crept forward and grasped the mate's hands, and 
 blessed him ; declaring that if they were preserved, Ray 
 mond should never need follow the sea again. 
 
 The exertion which the old man had made, together 
 with his nervous emotion, gave him a chill. Raymond 
 bade John snuggle up to the old gent, and spend the whole 
 time rubbing his back, chafing his hands, and imparting 
 to him the grateful lomi-lomi of the Polynesians, at which 
 John was an adept. 
 
 Having fixed the brace for his back, and raised the sail 
 so as to shelter them all from the cold indraught, Ray 
 mond took the girl in his arms, and sought the easiest sit 
 ting position he could find for the night. He held her so 
 that her burnt side, shoulder, and face would not be 
 touched by anything. Responding to her fevered call for
 
 3 1 6 The Fleetwing. 
 
 water, he bathed her hot forehead frequently; and the 
 girl and her father became quite easy after an hour's 
 rest. 
 
 As there was no disposition in any of them to sleep, 
 Raymond asked how the ship came to be wrecked, what 
 her name was, where she was from, and who they were, 
 taking this means to divert their attention from the dis 
 mal situation. 
 
 The father began the story of their disaster, but soon 
 bade the daughter finish, as talking tired him greatly. 
 
 " The ship was the Washington Allston, Captain Wai- 
 bridge, of Boston. She is owned by my brother, Robert 
 Lawrence, and myself. I went out to Calcutta in her for 
 my health, and my daughter Nellie insisted on keeping 
 me company, and sorry work we have made of it. We 
 were overtaken by the hurricane in the afternoon ; short 
 ened sail for scudding, and ran the ship dead before it, 
 thinking we were well to the east of St. Paul. We knew 
 nothing of our danger till we struck, and the masts went 
 by the board. The ship broke in two soon after, and 
 every soul but ourselves is dead. Here we are ; and 
 what possessed you to come through this surf, Heaven 
 only knows. I understand the sea, my young friend, and 
 know it is impossible to go through these breakers alive ; 
 but I honor you for your courage and humanity, and we 
 will both bless you with our latest breath." He sank 
 back exhausted, and motioned to Nellie to tell the rest of 
 the story. But Raymond interrupted her by saying: 
 
 " I came in here, Mr. Lawrence, because I knew I 
 could save you. Keep up your spirits a little longer, and 
 to-morrow we'll give it a good try."
 
 Story of t /i e Wreck. 317 
 
 A sickly smile passed over the old man's face, as he re 
 plied: 
 
 " You are too enthusiastic, sir. We might as well 
 starve to death as go into the surf and drown. I saw 
 from the first that you were of those devil-me-care fellows 
 who don't know danger when they see it. It's a good 
 quality for sea-life, and you are just the man I would 
 choose for captain of my best ship. Pray, what ship are 
 you from, and what is your name, my young friend ? " and 
 he ceased talking, from sheer prostration. 
 
 " My name is Raymond, mate of the Fleetwing, of New 
 Bedford." Turning to Nellie, who lay restfully reclining 
 on his arm, he continued his questions : " How came you 
 two all alone on the wreck, Miss Lawrence ? " 
 
 " I'll tell you, noble sir"; and the girl fixed her large 
 black eyes on Raymond's face, as she brushed away the 
 tears. " I had best go back to where father left off. 
 After the ship struck, and the awful crash had ceased in a 
 measure, I sprang from my berth and ran into father's 
 state-room. He was up and just coming to find me, that 
 we might die together, as he said ; for he knew that we 
 had run on to the pitiless rocks of St. Paul. In a mo 
 ment, Captain Walbridge came, and said : 
 
 " ' The ship's back is broken ! Run for'ard to the deck 
 house, quick, or you are lost ! The whole stern is break 
 ing off, and slowly sinking under water. Run', both of 
 you !' 
 
 " The captain threw father's overcoat over me, and hur 
 ried us on deck. The steward helped father along, and 
 the captain took me forward into the house. The broken 
 deck was just held on one side by the planksheer as we
 
 3 1 8 The Fleetiving. 
 
 passed, and it broke away and buried in the surf an 
 instant after. The Boson and Chips cleared out their 
 berths for us, and Captain Walbridge insisted upon our 
 both getting in for better protection. Most of the deck- 
 watch were swept overboard when the ship struck, for not 
 one was found on deck when the captain came out. 
 
 " When the gale passed away, there were but ten men 
 left out of twenty-four. The captain, second mate, and 
 Boson thought the long-boat might be launched, and per 
 haps we could escape in it. The boat was unlashed and 
 slipped safely into the water, and all got into her but the 
 captain, who remained behind to help father and me in. 
 Just as father was being lowered over the side, a great 
 surf overwhelmed the boat and stove her; and we saw the 
 crew drowned before our eyes. We were helped back to 
 the house, and in an hour after Captain Walbridge went 
 mad. Sometimes in his worst frenzy he took father for 
 the mate, and threatened to kill him. The captain attrib 
 uted our disaster to the wrong longitude given by the mate 
 on the day before the gale, being himself sick at the time. 
 
 " Having nothing to eat, and no water, we suffered from 
 hunger and thirst. The captain drank freely of sea-water, 
 and became more crazy, until we expected to be killed by 
 him ; as he still insisted that father was the mate, and 
 that I was urging him on to wreck the ship. For an hour 
 he ran shrieking about the deck, looking in at the win 
 dows, or spying in at the door ; declaring that he should 
 soon have a warrant to kill us both. At length, after a 
 more dreadful outcry than usual, he ran and jumped over 
 board ; floundered in the surf a moment, and sank. And 
 we two were left here to die together in peace.
 
 The Girl's Sad Tale. 319 
 
 '' This afternoon I was aroused from sleep by the 
 crackle of flames, and the heat of fire which had blistered 
 my cheek while I slept. I sprang up and found the 
 whole end of the house in a blaze. Arousing father, 
 we ran out and climbed up the steep deck to the windlass. 
 There we knelt down and prayed God to spare us pro 
 longed torture. We strove to wait patiently while being 
 burned to death. The pain was at first hard to bear, but 
 it became more endurable as it became more severe. I 
 was prepared to die, only asking that father and I might 
 die together. When you came, I thought I was almost 
 dead. I had swooned several times, and believed it 
 would soon be over. This is all, and I fear it is the end. 
 I was not pleased at first with your coming. How could 
 the Heavenly Father let you come here to die with us ? 
 so brave and good as you have shown yourself as if two 
 were not enough to die such a death as this ! " 
 
 The girl had tired herself by the intensity with which 
 she told her story. Her head sank upon her chest, and 
 she burst into sobs and tears, leaning heavily upon Ray 
 mond as if she would faint. He reached out for the 
 water and induced her to drink, and, pouring some into 
 his hand, he bathed her forehead. He spoke soothing 
 words to her, and made restful passes about her head, and 
 endeavored to instil his own belief of their being saved 
 in the morning. 
 
 Mr. Lawrence had dropped to sleep restful as an 
 infant, snuggled up to John Kanaka ; the faithful fellow 
 had done his work well. Raymond drew Miss Lawrence's 
 attention to the look of repose on her father's face, and 
 bade her copy her parent's example, as she would need all
 
 320 The Fleetwing. 
 
 her strength and resolution to undergo the rescue on the 
 
 3_r* 
 coming day. The weak, confiding girl dried her tenr^, 
 
 and struggled hard to suppress her sighs ; trying her best 
 to do as she was bidden. Nestling herself into an easier 
 position, in half an hour she too was in a sweet, painless 
 sleep, which continued till three o'clock in the morning. 
 
 Raymond sat there tending his sacred charge through 
 all that dismal night. John had dropped to sleep before 
 midnight ; but as he still clung fast to his charge in a way 
 to insure warmth, he was left to his slumber. It was a 
 wonder how any one could sleep midst the ceaseless roar 
 of the breakers, together with their swash and floundering 
 about the raft. The crashing swells rolling up into the 
 lower hold forced the imprisoned air into the bow, till it 
 gushed up between the frame-timbers, and through all the 
 small crannies opened in the deck-seams ; whistling in 
 shrill fife-notes, and shrieking hideously, in the voice of a 
 thousand demons. 
 
 Add to this unearthly tumult of the sea, the din of a 
 hundred hungry rats squealing about the raft, attracted by 
 the smell of food. A dozen at a time would spring upon 
 the raft, so famished that they would fight and tear each 
 other. It required Raymond's constant watchfulness to 
 prevent their springing upon his sleeping companions ; 
 especially were the starving rodents intent upon inspect 
 ing Nellie's dainty feet ; and the smell of her roasted 
 shoulder made them frantic for a meal upon such a 
 dainty. 
 
 At length, a large rat suddenly seized upon a toe of the 
 sleeping Kanaka, eliciting a yell that should have sent 
 them to their holes ; instead, the smell of blood induced a
 
 A Dreadful Night. 321 
 
 dozen others to spring upon John's foot, and leg, requir 
 ing blows and kicks, together with some ingenious Kanaka 
 expletives, to drive them off. The brutes were crazed 
 with hunger, and a weak person would have been de 
 voured in spite of feeble resistance. There was no more 
 sleep for John. The superstitious fellow was in a panic, 
 with rat-fright. The glaring eyes of the little beasts 
 struck horror to the soul of this Polynesian nobleman. 
 Though John was a tabued chief in his own land, here 
 was a set of cannibal's having no respect for the dread 
 tabu of Polynesia. 
 
 Raymond lay watching the candle burn low in its 
 socket, wondering how he should protect his charge 
 against the rats in the dark. Just before the candle 
 expired, Miss Lawrence waked, refreshed and strengthened 
 by her sleep ; but terribly sore and numb over all her 
 burnt side. Raymond induced her to seek some new 
 position. He prompted her to lay her burned side fair 
 against him, for it had become cold and stiffened by 
 the dampness. Though the least movement pained her 
 greatly, the grateful girl nestled up to her protector again, 
 as he directed ; and once more slept at short intervals in 
 the darkness, till a vestige of light gleamed up through 
 the water into the hold, and announced the new day. 
 Then Raymond laid his charge gently down by her sleep 
 ing father, bade John keep off the rats, and himself climbed 
 up the hatchway, to prospect for the coming rescue. 
 
 When day dawned, the Fleetwing was seen a mile away 
 to windward. She was just keeping off before the wind 
 when Raymond discovered her, and would soon be in 
 position to renew their work. The waist-boat had been
 
 322 TJic Fleetwing, 
 
 left anchored through the night; and now lay about a 
 ship's length outside of the breakers. Raymond watched 
 the ship run down and round to near the waist-boat, 
 lower the bow-boat, and put ten strong men into the an 
 chored boat, ready to haul out the raft at a signal given 
 from the wreck. 
 
 Springing below, the mate got his passengers into 
 position to embark ; feet to the breakers, with the sail 
 drawn over their heads, as on the previous day ; so that 
 the breaking comb of the surf would roll over the sail 
 without sweeping away those beneath. When father and 
 daughter were securely lashed to the raft, a life-line was 
 rigged for John and himself to cling to, as they designed 
 to remain outside of the sail and breast the rollers as best 
 they could. The excitement of preparation made the 
 sick girl faint and hysterical ; and as the old gentleman 
 was also in low spirits, thinking their last hour had come, 
 Raymond thought best to delay their departure, and fortify 
 both passengers and crew with breakfast. 
 
 While John opened the lantern-keg and got out some 
 ship-bread, the mate took down the soup-can and doled 
 out the rich nourishment to the privileged ones of his 
 little craft ; himself and the one-man crew partaking has 
 tily of hardtack and water ; not being above drinking from 
 the pail where fifty thirsty rats had been before them. But 
 as the dainty passengers had not lain awake to observe 
 this, the water was as palatable as ever to them. The 
 breakfast, together with the brief delay, and Raymond's 
 cheerful re-assurance, had the desired effect. Miss Law 
 rence promised to trust implicitly to the brave words of 
 their protector; while the less trusting father continued
 
 Afloat on t/ic Raft. 323 
 
 to murmur parting messages to his daughter, and call 
 upon God to remember the noble humanity of this young 
 man, who had bravely come to die with them, in his 
 vain attempt to rescue. 
 
 When all was ready, Raymond sent the Kanaka on 
 deck to display the two paddles, and wait a response 
 from ship or boat ; with orders to then hasten down and 
 take his place on the raft. John was gone about a minute 
 and a half, when the ropes began to steadily tauten. As 
 he saw the required signals from both ship and boat, he 
 sprang down the hatchway with undue haste, in fear of 
 being left behind. 
 
 Standing on the raft, hatchet in hand, ready to cut the 
 fasts which held their little craft to the foremast, Raymond 
 watched patiently until three large, continuous breakers had 
 rolled in upon them, and spent their force ; and then cut 
 the fasts. The two towlines had previously been brought 
 to a severe strain, and when the stern fasts parted, at a 
 stroke from the hatchet, the raft grated an instant on the 
 deck, and started on its way. Following quickly down 
 on the last retreating sea, which compelled them to duck 
 low to clear the upper deck, the raft shot well out clear of 
 the wreck before the next surf rolled in upon them. 
 
 She rode over the next inrolling comber like a duck ! 
 It was then deemed the test wave of their perilous enter 
 prise, and they had survived it. This was rightly con 
 strued from the boat as well as the ship, where the whole 
 rigging was lined with their shipmates ; from whom a yell 
 of the wildest delight broke forth, and ran echoing down 
 over the long reach of water, merry as marriage-bells. It 
 was the welcome outpouring of thirty hearts for a brave
 
 324 The Fleetwing. 
 
 man's act, carrying a note of inspiration alike to the 
 rescued and the rescuers. 
 
 Seeing that the next several breakers were undersized, 
 Raymond stooped and lifted the sail from the faces of his 
 passengers, and let the morning sun beam in upon the 
 frightened ones. The old man's eyes met the mate's, as 
 he muttered : 
 
 "There's a grain of hope in that cheer of your ship 
 mates." 
 
 " Yes, Mr. Lawrence ; the danger will soon be past." 
 
 " Pray God to keep us yet in his charge, young man ; 
 for you certainly have the ear of the Lord ! " and glad 
 tears streamed down his venerable face. 
 
 Raymond kneeled to slacken the rope across Nellie's 
 chest, and said a word of cheer to the patient girl. She 
 seized his hand and sought to reply ; but her quivering 
 lips and grateful looks were the only response she could 
 make. But there was a wealth of language -in her dark 
 eyes, that repaid him a thousand-fold for the peril he 
 had undergone for their sakes. An outcry from John 
 brought the mate to his feet. 
 
 So far, they had ridden slowly out over ten inferior 
 breakers without shipping a sea ; until all began to depre 
 ciate the danger which they had looked for. John's 
 experienced eye had detected the first humping-up of 
 three monstrous rollers. Beginning farther out on the 
 verge of the shoal than the rest, even beyond the 
 anchored boat, there the surf heaped up into furious 
 crests, frothing, and threatening destruction to the poor 
 little raft, for the foam was breaking twenty feet above its 
 occupants.
 
 The King Breakers. 325 
 
 Raymond stooped quickly and drew the sail a few feet 
 over the heads of his sacred charge, and bade them hold in 
 their breath when the surf struck. Then a brief word to 
 the Kanaka : " Drop flat on the raft when it strikes, John, 
 and hold hard for your life, boy." And he followed his 
 own instructions. 
 
 There was just time for a word of prayer while the raft 
 lifted on the forefoot of the first gigantic roller, when 
 down came ten feet depth of hissing, spuming foam, roll 
 ing over the bowed heads of the crouching men, and 
 crashing down against those under the sail. Three suc 
 cessive times the rollers hid the raft wholly from view. 
 The king breakers of St. Paul had done their worst, and 
 passed harmlessly away, leaving the four occupants of the 
 stanch raft alive and safe. , 
 
 Again a cry of delirious joy burst forth from the ship's 
 crew at the signal deliverance of their loved young mate 
 and his rescued ones. When the last breaker swept over 
 them, Raymond sprang up, drenched to the skin, and 
 half stunned by the blows on his head. Flinging off the 
 wet sail- from the ghastly faces of Mr. Lawrence and his 
 daughter, Raymond bade John unlash the one, while he 
 knelt tenderly over the other to unloose the ropes which 
 bound her to the raft, and bid them cheer, for further 
 danger from breakers and other proximity to death was 
 passed. 
 
 While John helped the half-moribund man to sit up, 
 Raymond took the sick girl in his arms, and bade her look 
 about upon liberty and life once more. Pointing with 
 pride to the beautiful ship to which they were going, and 
 to the men in the boat whose strong arms were bowsing
 
 326 T/ie Fleetwing. 
 
 them out of death by starvation, lie begged her to listen 
 to the heart-felt cheering for their safety, and believe that 
 all danger was passed. 
 
 Thus artfully did Raymond succeed in snatching the 
 dazed girl from her alarming condition of mental stasis, 
 and brought back a normal beat to her almost pulseless 
 heart once more. So great had been their terror at being 
 buried beneath the avalanche of waters, that they were 
 both near dying with fright, when the rescue was com 
 pleted. The re-action came quickly in the girl. The 
 vacant look went out of her eyes, and the ashy pallor 
 abated about her mouth, and both were soon able to com 
 prehend that the hungry maw of the breakers could reach 
 them no more. 
 
 Tears, grateful tears, ran down the cheeks of the 
 redeemed ones, while their lips quivered in voiceless 
 prayers, as they both seized a hand of their deliverer. 
 Their faces beamed with love and gratitude for the brave, 
 strong soul who had thus entered into the valley of death 
 to save them. 
 
 In the midst of this scene, the raft was hauled along 
 side the waist-boat, when the boisterous crew stopped 
 their cheering, hushed with awe at the affecting scene 
 they beheld. Braybrook, Morey, old Tom, and Ben were 
 alike in tears as they saw the reverence and love ex 
 pressed by the wrecked ones for their deliverer, and heard 
 the tremulous voice of the white-haired old man calling 
 upon Heaven to bless them for their part in the rescue. 
 Uncle Joe stood with clasped hands in his boat, praying 
 aloud to the Giver of all good for his beneficent guidance 
 in all which had transpired. It was an affecting scene, 
 never to be forgotten by those who witnessed it.
 
 The Rescued Ones. 327 
 
 At a signal from the mate, Mr. Bailey pulled up on the 
 opposite side of the raft, ready to take the wrecked ones 
 on board. Lifting Miss Lawrence tenderly in his arms, 
 Raymond stepped into the bow-boat, and seated himself 
 on the after thwart. John did the same by the old gen 
 tleman, for both of the rescued ones were too weak to 
 help themselves in the least. They could not even sit up 
 in the tottling boat, so terrified had they been by the 
 recent crash of breakers, and so prostrating was their 
 overflow of joy and thanksgiving for safety. 
 
 There they sat for twenty minutes watching the ap 
 proaching ship, while she tacked round and ran down 
 toward them, and hauled aback. While Braybrook was 
 preparing to take the raft to the ship, Uncle Joe shot his 
 boat alongside, in the waist-boat's place, as most conve 
 nient for hoisting up his passengers. Every man in the 
 ship sprang to the tackle-falls, running the boat up to her 
 cranes with song and chorus. There stood Captain Tal- 
 bert and the ladies, anxiously awaiting the unfortunates, 
 and eager to render some assistance to the sick girl. 
 
 Miss Lawrence had fainted, from excessive emotion, 
 while the boat was being hoisted ; and, thinking she was 
 dying, the ladies sorrowed over the pale girl as over a 
 dear friend. Raymond stepped out with the limp form in 
 his arms, carried her into the lower cabin, and laid her 
 in the berth near Miss Allston's. He showed no haste in 
 resuscitating the girl, but at once began, in his province 
 of physician, to dress the painful burns with a soothing 
 embrocation, glad to have her remain in a syncopic con 
 dition while her wounds were being bandaged, so long as 
 the systole of the heart continued. Having administered
 
 328 The Fleetwing. 
 
 the indicated remedy to prevent nerve-shock, he left the 
 still faint girl in the tender care of the ladies, to be 
 dressed in some more suitable underwear of their own. 
 
 Raymond had ordered Mr. Lawrence put into his berth. 
 There he found the old gentleman lying weak as an 
 infant, so anxious about the precarious condition of his 
 daughter that he could not rest. When re-assured about 
 her, and given to understand that his own recovery would 
 do more than anything else toward the convalescence of 
 Miss Nellie, he remained passive and restful, sleeping 
 most of the day. 
 
 Having set the steward to making some thoroughly 
 cooked gruel of Indian meal for the patients, Raymond 
 got out of his wet clothes, and then permitted himself to 
 devour a hearty meal, with the hopeful endeavor of 
 making up for the starvation rations of the past day. 
 The ship had taken aboard the raft, weighed the kedge 
 anchor which had done such good service, and had been 
 kept away on her course, close-hauled to the south, 
 the trade wind having steadied into a mild, warm 
 breeze. 
 
 Miss Allston came up before the mate had finished 
 eating, to say that the girl had dropped into a quiet 
 sleep, without coming out of her faint, and that the heart 
 had regained a fairly normal beat, and a wee bit of color 
 had come into her cheeks. She was told to let her 
 sleep to her own time of waking, as the pain from her 
 burns would throw her into high fever when she woke. 
 
 John Kanaka had been entertaining the people amid 
 ships with his adventures during the night aboard the 
 wreck. And now Braybrook and Bailey joined the cap-
 
 Relating the Story. 329 
 
 tain and ladies in the main cabin, eager to hear Raymond 
 relate his experience on the wreck, and learn the incidents 
 of the vessel's running ashore, as well as the history of 
 the two rescued ones. 
 
 The ladies cried bitterly over the piteous state in which 
 the girl was found, and declared that she was a brave, 
 noble girl to resist such terrors, and keep such unselfish 
 oversight over her aged father. They one and all ex 
 pressed well grounded fears that Mr. Lawrence would 
 never rally from the mental shock he had received. 
 When re-assured on that point, the captain was asked 
 where he should land the new passengers. 
 
 In reply, he said that he would give Mr. Lawrence his 
 choice of landing at Pernambuco or Rio, adding that he 
 wished to send home a mail from one or the other of 
 these ports, to have the last lot of oil insured, and to 
 increase the insurance on the ship, in fear she might be 
 wrecked, as it is a peculiar idiosyncrasy of shipmasters 
 to take aboard a shipload of needless anxiety for a while 
 after seeing the wreck of another vessel.
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 THE DIPLOMACY OF LOVE. 
 
 A SHRIEK coming from the lower cabin soon broke 
 ** up the pleasant reunion above-stairs. Raymond 
 sprang up and went down to Miss Lawrence, who had 
 waked in less fever, but demented by her pains and 
 the anaemic condition of her brain. She was now scream 
 ing for help, not for herself, but for some one to save her 
 poor old father from being burned to death on the wreck. 
 
 The ladies followed quickly down, and endeavored by 
 soothing words and gentle strokes on her forehead to re 
 assure the startled girl. Raymond scanned the patient 
 anxiously a moment, and then sought to administer some 
 remedy by which to permanently alleviate the dementia, 
 and also her numerous other bad symptoms. It is a nice 
 point in therapeutics to determine just what to give in 
 such a sudden metastasis of disease, but the physician 
 who is master of his Materia Medica is not long left in 
 doubt at the bedside, whatever the nature of the case. 
 
 Aconite had seemed to Raymond the only internal 
 remedy required to subdue the high fever and great fear, 
 together with the restlessness and unquenchable thirst. 
 But other important indications had supervened during 
 sleep. The febrile condition had changed. The apprehen 
 sion was now more for another than for herself, the girl 
 
 330
 
 The Indicated Remedy. 3 3 1 
 
 still having a lingering dread of being left alone. While 
 the thirst was now only for small, frequent drinks, a 
 swallow at a time, her previous ghastly pallor had given 
 place to a cold, damp, bluish skin, accompanied by great 
 sinking of the vital forces, most alarming symptoms, 
 which demanded immediate relief. 
 
 There is but one unmistakable remedy for such a case of 
 blood-poisoning as this. Arsenicum, given in small doses 
 of the thirtieth potency, not only covers all the above symp 
 toms, but is also the internal remedy in such excessive 
 burns, to prevent undue suppuration from a large raw 
 surface. 
 
 This specific was administered in grain doses, once an 
 hour. Soon after each dose of medicine, a dessertspoon 
 ful of meal gruel was given, seasoned with cayenne, which 
 is the best of all stimulants in either congestive or blue 
 chills. An improvement soon took place, in color, pulse, 
 and temperature, while the pinched, sunken, deathly look 
 of the face passed away, and in less than two hours the 
 patient was again sleeping a natural sleep. 
 
 Mr. Lawrence had heard the wild shrieks of his 
 daughter, and demanded of the steward to be taken down 
 to his sick child. After Raymond had selected and ^ivan 
 his remedy, he heard a groan and piteous outcry behind. 
 He turned and saw Mr. Lawrence sitting on the transom- 
 locker, supported by the steward, horrified at the death 
 like appearance of his daughter. 
 
 " Where's the doctor ? " the old man asked, in a weak, 
 hoarse whisper, addressing his appalled looks and feeble 
 words to the mate. 
 
 " I am the best substitute we have for one here, sir,
 
 33- The Flee twin g. 
 
 American whale ships do not carry physicians. But I 
 think I can save your child." 
 
 " No, no ! My poor Nellie is lost to me forever." 
 
 " Pray God, Mr. Lawrence, that my efforts may be suc 
 cessful." 
 
 " Poor deluded youth ! How can you expect to save 
 my child? She is lying at the point of death, and you 
 do not know it. One so young can have neither knowl 
 edge nor experience. Father in heaven ! have mercy on 
 my tottering years, and spare my child." 
 
 The old gentleman fainted, and fell into the arms of the 
 steward, whom the mate ordered to carry his charge back 
 to his berth and not allow him to come below again. 
 
 Late in the afternoon Miss Lawrence woke refreshed 
 and clear-headed. After taking a cup of the meal gruel 
 lo fortify her stomach against nausea, her burns were 
 carefully dressed for the night. Miss Allston and Mrs. 
 Talbert took turns in watching over her, while Raymond 
 was called out every three hours to inspect the condition 
 of his patient. She passed the night comfortably, sleep 
 ing most of the time. Her medicine was in such minute 
 doses that it could be dissolved on the tongue without 
 waking her. 
 
 The morning found the sick girl mending steadily. At 
 the end of three days she was convalescing rapidly On 
 the fourth day she was taken on deck and laid in a cot, 
 slung beneath the awning, where she enjoyed the cool 
 breeze, and thrived on the balmy tropic air. 
 
 Mr. Lawrence daily gained strength, as he sat in his 
 easy-chair and watched the marvellous recovery of his 
 daughter. When alone by himself he brooded over the
 
 Two Rare Blossoms. 333 
 
 sad events of the wreck. And were it not for the inter 
 est he took in watching the hopeful progress of his child, 
 the old man would hardly have survived the mental shock 
 which he had received. When he saw how dependent his 
 child was upon Raymond's attendance, and that she now 
 owed her life to him a second time, the doting parent 
 came to love the young officer with an enduring attach 
 ment. 
 
 Miss Lawrence and Miss Allston were not long finding 
 out that they were distantly related, through Washington 
 Allston, who was a cousin of their mothers. This revela 
 tion proved a pleasant adjuvant for the invalid, and hence 
 forth the two girls were inseparable companions. Asenith 
 had previously shown herself a little ungenerous, because 
 of Nellie's taking up Raymond's attention so exclusively, 
 to the neglect of all others. 
 
 Though Miss Allston could not secure one of those 
 delightful evening chats alone with the mate, as of old, 
 she could at least be so fond of Nellie Lawrence as to 
 prevent her having one of the delicious communal talks 
 and walks with Raymond in the starlight, without the 
 presence of a third party. 
 
 Between the two girls, they contrived to occupy most of 
 the mate's time after the usual evening games in the 
 cabin, when the trio with or without Mrs. Talbert 
 would linger long hours about the taffrail, or in one of the 
 quarter-boats. There they would sit, wing-and-wing, a 
 sturdy young oak dove-tailed between two rare blossoms, 
 as different in color and texture as the lily and the rose; 
 yet both sweet and companionable girls. 
 
 During these rare evenings, while the ship ran down
 
 334 The Fleetwing. 
 
 through the balmy trades, these chatty girls would press 
 their companion to teach them about the stars, as some of 
 the most noted of the southern constellations and nebula; 
 were then coming into view. Orion hung directly above 
 them, in some of their late talks. He is an equatorial 
 constellation, and would pass the meridian on the 23d of 
 January, the coming month, and now shone in his greatest 
 splendor, near neighbor to other most interesting groups 
 in the heavens. 
 
 The southeast trades came light and unsteady at first. 
 Not unusual when so near their northern extremity, where 
 they taper down next door to nothing. The sea had 
 again become blue and transparent as glass. The minia 
 ture waves made one laugh to see them swell and strut, 
 trying to ape the pomp and swagger of their larger fel 
 lows ; they plumed up into tiny fringes of foam, with a 
 deal more splutter and swirl than was becoming. 
 
 But for the strong westerly current, which is usual to 
 the place, the ship should have made her course sailing 
 free. Instead of that, she was braced up sharp until the 
 lower yards breasted in the lee swifters ; while the topsail 
 yards were so near fore-and-aft as to give their lee rigging 
 a skew three points awry. But with the yards thus braced, 
 and the bowlines taut as fiddle-strings, the ship could sail 
 a point and a half to weather of her course, and would 
 thus make up for the leeward sag of the current. 
 
 From St. Paul to Pernambuco it is a south-southwest 
 course. This would take a ship to the east of Fernando 
 Noronha. But as the westerly current splits at Cape St. 
 Roque, a part running south, along the coast, past Cape 
 Frio, a vessel need not mind the leeward sag near the
 
 Passing St. Roque. 335 
 
 Equator, even if she is currented west to the Roccas 
 Shoals; for if she can but weather St. Roque, the current 
 will then be in her favor. 
 
 Although he knew this fact, from the experience of 
 others, yet Captain Talbert was unwilling to let the ship 
 sag so far west as the Roccas ; yet there the much 
 dreaded current began to abate, and in latitude 5 south, 
 it fairly curved southward, greatly accelerating the speed 
 of the ship, and she passed St. Roque, Lat. 5 28', with a 
 leading current and a free wind. 
 
 The trades freshened after passing the cape, and the 
 upper yards were rounded well in ; while the lower yards 
 were checked in a trifle, not to strain the trusses ; and 
 were then well supported by strong preventer braces. 
 
 This new trim quickened the ship's paces amazingly. 
 In an instant the antic jade was flinging up a jet of blue 
 brine from her cutwater tasselled with foam ; wetting the 
 clew of her foretopsail with spoondrift, and carrying a 
 rousing white bone in her teeth. The log-line scored six 
 teen and a half knots, much to the delight of the Law 
 rences, who had never seen the beautiful creature in one 
 of her frisky moods. Another such day's sailing would 
 take the ship to Pernambuco, where Mr. Lawrence had 
 decided to debark. 
 
 It became known throughout the ship that Mr. Law 
 rence and Nellie had frequently urged Captain Talbert to 
 give up his mate and let him go home with them, promis 
 ing that Raymond should have all of this world's goods 
 that he could desire. As the father did not succeed, his 
 daughter had latterly taken up the matter, pleading with 
 the soft-hearted captain as only a beautiful girl could do
 
 336 The Fleetwing. 
 
 when intent upon bestowing a suitable recompense upon 
 her preserver. 
 
 Perhaps it might be deemed a little unkind in the cap 
 tain, and certainly purely selfish in Miss Allston, to 
 intimate for want of better argument that Raymond's 
 heart was already irrevocably bound up in another 
 girl, and that he could not possibly be induced to go to 
 Boston to live. Yet both the captain and Miss Allston 
 came to bitterly repent of their audacious insinuation to 
 this high-bred girl, when she retorted : 
 
 " Only a shallow, selfish heart could blame her father 
 or herself for proffering the highest guerdon within their 
 power their love and their lives to the only man in a 
 ship's company willing to peril life to snatch them from a 
 dreadful death." 
 
 The tears and sobs of the beautiful girl on this occa 
 sion were not needed to enforce her bitter retort. But they 
 availed greatly with the captain, who at once gave up the 
 battle, and surrendered, foot, horse, and dragoon. And 
 it was understood from that hour that if Raymond chose 
 to ask the captain for his discharge, he could have it. 
 
 But all their precious arguments did not deter Miss 
 Lawrence from occupying every moment of Raymond's 
 time and attention she could find plausible excuse for 
 doing, in her capacity of a patient who did not wish to 
 recover too fast. This charming, well bred girl was not 
 above the feminine wiles of her sex in such a desperate 
 gage of battle. She became an adept at noting pulse- 
 beats, the proper cardiac rhythm, and the dangerous 
 aspect of a very red tongue red lips not being included. 
 And when the pretty invalid could honestly detect some
 
 The Debonair Girl. 337 
 
 sluggish action, accelerated beat, or awry look of her 
 prattling lingual 'member, she instantly made use of the 
 latter to call the steward, and send him for her honored 
 physician and loved preserver. 
 
 It was immaterial who were in presence, or what the 
 social surroundings might be, when Raymond came, at her 
 call. Pretty Nellie Lawrence would hold out her dainty 
 little hand for an examination of her radial pulse, una 
 bashed at the insufficient pretext which had excited her 
 fears. Or if the call was to be made more urgent, she 
 declared that something serious must be the matter with 
 her heart, and demanded auscultation of that important 
 member, both posteriorly and anteriorly, together with 
 careful digital touch, to feel how the poor heart jumped, as 
 if it would leap from her bosom ; as if the whole present 
 company could not have easily diagnosed the girl's heart- 
 disease through her soft, dark eyes, which were ever fast 
 ened upon Raymond's face with unstinted admiration. 
 
 It would be far too much to assume that the young 
 mate was wholly indifferent to the deep-seated admiration 
 of this debonair girl ; for Charles Raymond was very hu 
 man, and Miss Lawrence was elegant in her manners, 
 and of transcendent beauty. Whether he would or no, 
 the one day of peril which they had undergone together 
 had linked this girl to his life forever. 
 
 A man does not willingly risk life for a woman without 
 subsequently placing her upon a higher niche than he allots 
 to most others; and Raymond's success in snatching Nellie 
 from a second death, in his capacity of physician, served 
 to intensify this bond. He could not but look upon this 
 girl with a sober, brotherly affection, until there had
 
 338 The Flectwiug. 
 
 sprung up a beautiful confidence between them, born of 
 the occasion ; something more enduring than lay between 
 him and any other woman. 
 
 Raymond intuitively knew that he had rightfully earned 
 this girl's confidence, as no man else could ever secure it 
 by years of kindly conventional acts of life. The man felt 
 himself entitled to the highest diploma of trust which a 
 woman can bestow. Feeling this, and knowing the purity 
 of motive which induced him to save her, with a man's 
 egotism he accepted her gratitude and affection as his 
 due, and would give her the best he could in return. 
 
 Late in the afternoon, as the ship approached Pernam- 
 buco, Mr. Lawrence asked Raymond into his state-room 
 for an interview, and at once made the proposition that he 
 should leave the ship and go home with him, saying : 
 
 " Mr. Raymond, we are fast nearing port. Nellie and I 
 leave the ship to-morrow, and I wish to make you the 
 formal offer to go home with us, that I may adopt you as 
 my son. Nellie is my only remaining child ; and but for 
 you, I should now be childless. 
 
 " Wait, my dear young friend, and hear me out," as the 
 mate made an attempt to answer. " Captain Talbert has 
 consented to your discharge, if you ask for it ; though the 
 good old man loves you dearly. He tells me that you are 
 wedded to sea-life. If so, I have several ships of a thou 
 sand tons or more, any of which you shall command, if you 
 wish. But I had rather you would stay ashore with us, 
 and take charge of my part of the mercantile business of 
 Lawrence Brothers, for which purpose I will furnish you 
 all the necessary means. Let me hope that you will accept 
 this offer as frankly as I have made it."
 
 The Generous Offer. 339 
 
 Raymond was not made of the material to stoically 
 receive or reject such a test of love and gratitude as this. 
 Tears sprang to his eyes when he saw how much Mr. 
 Lawrence had set his heart on this generous scheme, and 
 he replied with a broken voice : 
 
 " Really, Mr. Lawrence, I am sorry you have put me 
 into a position like this. It pains me to have to refuse 
 any request of yours. But I could not think of accepting 
 such generous compensation for any service of mine." 
 
 " Don't say that, my young friend. My daughter and I 
 owe our lives to your admirable courage and skill ; and 
 you must not assume that any recompense in my power to 
 give can requite the obligation you have put us under. 
 Believe me, my son, my mature judgment must be better 
 than yours in this matter." 
 
 " Perhaps so, dear sir ; but then a sailor must sail by his 
 own chart and compass in this life. This is the third 
 time that I have been compelled to differ from you in 
 vital matters, sir ; and as my reasoning proved good in 
 our two previous differences, I must still abide by my own 
 conscience in this case." 
 
 " Pray, young man, in what have we ever differed 
 before ? " 
 
 " It ought not to be necessary for me to recall the time 
 when Mr. Lawrence wished me to leave him on the wreck 
 to die in peace, rather than hasten his death by drowning 
 in the surf. And after we came aboard, you assumed that 
 your daughter was already in the hands of death, and 
 declared that I could not possibly have the knowledge 
 and experience to combat such a case. In both cases, 
 your maturer judgment was in the wrong."
 
 340 The Fteetwing. 
 
 ' Ah, yes, ah, yes. God be praised ! But then one could 
 not look to find such ingenuity in the first case ; nor 
 expect such a fund of medical lore in one so young, and a 
 sailor at that. This is another matter, and I must be 
 right. Perhaps I ought to tell you that Nellie joins me 
 heart and soul in this offer, in which you will become my 
 son and her brother." 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Lawrence, you dear old man, don't make 
 this task any more difficult for me to decide. Believe 
 me, dear sir, I shall always love and venerate you, and 
 hold your precious Nellie in the highest esteem as long 
 as I live." 
 
 " Don't deny me, Raymond dear ; Nellie and I have 
 put more heart into this matter than you conceive. Why 
 should you, with your natural gifts, be toiling on the sea 
 especially in your most dangerous of all occupations 
 when we, your debtors, are eager to share with you our 
 home, our hearts, and all our worldly goods. I cannot 
 take your refusal, you most obstinate of men." 
 
 The old man caught Raymond in his arms, and the 
 tears streamed over his wrinkled visage and down his 
 long white beard. He felt heart-broken, in his senile 
 grief, to think of separating from one who had rendered 
 such vital aid to himself and his darling child. Raymond, 
 too, was distressed to know how he could mollify the old 
 man's sorrow. 
 
 " Look upon me as a son, if you wish, Mr. Lawrence, and 
 I will endeavor to be worthy of your adoption and your 
 love ; and let me be a loving brother to Nellie, who is a 
 noble, beautiful girl. But, believe me, I love the sea and 
 the adventures of whaling which I have adopted, and I
 
 Off tin da. 341 
 
 mean to abide by it till I am master of this, the best ship 
 in the service." 
 
 " But you have done so much for us, we want to keep 
 you with us forever," exclaimed the old man through his 
 tears. 
 
 " You have made too much of my poor services. I 
 would gladly undertake the same thing to-morrow for a 
 stranger, for it is my nature to doat on such perils. So 
 let us say no more of this " ; and he put the old man 
 away from him, and tried to smile away his tears. 
 
 " Be it as you will, you noble, obstinate fellow. But it 
 will break poor Nellie's heart, I fear." 
 
 " I will be to the dear girl all that an absent brother 
 can be. And the voyage promises not to be lng." 
 
 And the two left the state-room in response to the stew 
 ard's call to supper. The ladies and Captain Talbert 
 were already seated at table. Tears came to Miss Law 
 rence's eyes as she made room for her father at her 
 side, for she knew by his sorrowful face and tearful eyes 
 that his mission had not succeeded as they wished. 
 
 When evening shut down, the ship was running close 
 along the Brazilian shore. A beautiful gleam from the 
 lighthouse at Olinda lit up the faces of the cabin-group, as 
 they sat aft around the taffrail, watching the light abreast 
 of them, and intent upon waiting for the tv/o island lights 
 at Pernambuco to heave in sight. 
 
 Mr. Lawrence had taken occasion after supper to com 
 municate his ill-success to his daughter, and their mutual 
 disappointment at Raymond's refusal now threw a visible 
 gloom over the party. Mrs. Talbert understood the cause, 
 and the good-hearted lady did the best she could to
 
 342 The Fleeiwing. 
 
 enliven the solemn scene. She urged upon Raymond to 
 tell them something of the towns they were passing, and 
 induced the captain to relate some of his many expe 
 riences at the port which they were about to enter/ 
 
 Though Miss Lawrence had fully convalesced at the 
 time, she was still favored with the seat of honor upon all 
 such occasions as this. She chose the cushioned seat 
 around the elliptic stern, so that she could recline, with 
 her back to the round-house. Whether her purpose was 
 obvious to others or not, she expressed just sufficient 
 timidity about being pitched out by the roll of the ship, 
 to induce Raymond to move his chair up close beside her, 
 where she could rest her arm upon his shoulder. 
 
 When thus cosily seated about the taffrail, the group first 
 listened to the mate's experience among the convents at 
 Olinda, where the pretty Portuguese nuns make rare feather 
 flowers, and are sufficiently worldly-minded to know that 
 a callow young sailor will pay twice as much for their 
 feather-work as his elders, as Raymond subsequently 
 learned on shipboard. The captain followed with many 
 amusing incidents which had happened to him, both at 
 Olinda and Recife. 
 
 During these recitals, the frequent sighs of Miss Law 
 rence were possibly noticed by no one but Raymond, as 
 the two sat there in the starlight, snuggled closely to 
 gether. When, at length, the girl's burden of regrets 
 became unendurable, she leaned yet more closely upon 
 her companion, and spoke in low tones upon the sad 
 topic lying nearest to her heart : 
 
 " Father tells me that you have refused to leave the 
 sea and go home with us, Mr. Raymond," spoken in a
 
 Nellie s Heart Disease. 343 
 
 low, sweet cadence made pathetic by the proximity of 
 tears. 
 
 "Yes, I could not do otherwise. You have both made 
 too much of my poor services." 
 
 " How can you say that, Mr. Raymond ? Is there any 
 thing of more value than one's life ? And have you not 
 given a father and daughter a renewed lease of their 
 lives ? " 
 
 " But, Miss Lawrence, your father seeks to put me 
 under too great obligation. Don't you see, dear girl, that, 
 feeling as I do about this matter, I could not endure it ? " 
 
 " Perhaps you are right. But you have promised pa 
 that you will become his adopted son, and accept his poor 
 little Nellie as your loving sister. For this much let me 
 thank you with all my heart." 
 
 " Yes, dear, if this much is acceptable to you both, I 
 shall feel myself honored by your esteem." 
 
 " Oh, Raymond, how can you doubt it ? We both feel 
 that all we possess is inadequate to repay your one noble 
 act. Your refusal to go home with us has made me feel 
 very sad. My heart beats terribly ; I fear it is a valvular 
 trouble, or perhaps enlargement ; what do you think ? " 
 
 " It is simply neurotic." 
 
 " There ! That was a sharp clutching feeling, like the 
 grip of an iron hand. What is your remedy for such a 
 disorder ? " 
 
 " Cactus Grandiflorus covers that symptom beautifully, 
 and will relieve you in a moment. Let me go and get you 
 some." 
 
 " No, indeed. We are seated so comfortably that I 
 can't spare you. And then it would be a little rude to
 
 344 The Fleetwing. 
 
 leave while Captain Talbert is talking. Just see, please, 
 if my pulse isn't acting awfully," and she laid her opposite 
 hand across her lap for his professional inspection. 
 
 " Yes, dear girl, it is a trifle excited ; and your poor 
 little heart thumps against my shoulder like the wings of 
 an imprisoned bird." And Nellie leaned a trifle more 
 closely to port, that her good doctor should have the most 
 favorable opportunity to observe her cardiac trouble, 
 saying, in her sweet, musical tones : 
 
 " I'm sure, dear Raymond, that you can cure it, if you 
 are attentive to me " ; and her soft words were rounded 
 off by a most convincing sigh, which left no doubt of the 
 profound nature of her trouble. 
 
 " Certainly, it is curable. But you must strive to regain 
 quiet, so as to insure a good night's rest against the 
 time of your boat-journey ashore to-morrow." Raymond 
 sought to withdraw his hand from the girl's pulse, but 
 Nellie caught it in her own tiny palm, and held it fast, 
 saying : 
 
 " No. I want your hand, my brother. If we are to be 
 loving brother and sister, as you have solemnly promised 
 we may, then I shall assert my sisterly privilege from this 
 moment. May I not, dear Raymond ? " And she cooed 
 his loved name in a low warble into his ear. 
 
 "That shall be as you wish, Miss " said the half 
 
 alarmed sailor. But the sprightly girl clapped her dis 
 engaged hand over the mate's mouth in a twinkling, say 
 ing, in her sweet, prompt way : 
 
 " Oh, please don't ever ' Miss ' me again. If I am to 
 be your truly sister, I want to be your little sister Nellie, 
 and never, never, Miss Anybody else."
 
 Something Sweet. 345 
 
 Raymond laughed quietly at the girl's swift sisterly 
 advances, which slightly overawed the modest fellow. 
 But he responded by saying that it should be just as she 
 wished. 
 
 " Of course it should be as I wish. And now, my 
 precious brother, promise to write us from every port, pa 
 and me. Though it would be much nicer if you will 
 always write me a letter all for myself. You must begin, 
 ' My own dear Sister Nellie,' and always end with some 
 thing sweet, for I shall never let a soul see it. And you 
 mustn't forget to tell us just where to send our letters." 
 The girl hummed a lively air, showing that the heart- 
 disease was steadily improving under the magnetic prox 
 imity of her new brother. 
 
 " Yes, dear Nellie, I shall be glad to write to you both, 
 relating everything about our voyage. Our next port will 
 probably be Valparaiso. But no letters should be sent 
 there after January, as we should be more likely to receive 
 them if sent to Honolulu." 
 
 " Won't it be a long time to wait before we hear from 
 you ? " The newly made sister stroked and fondled her 
 brother's hand with her dainty little fingers, taking a deal 
 of comfort out of the easy, confidential way that she had 
 assumed, as a right which she meant to maintain. 
 
 " Not very long, dear. You will hear from me in a 
 month or two after your return." 
 
 It was getting late, and still the captain talked on. The 
 wind had dropped light, and the lighthouses at Recife had 
 not yet appeared. The company were getting a little 
 impatient. Miss Allston left her seat by Mr. Lawrence, 
 and came and sat at Nellie's feet, She had kept aloof
 
 346 Tlie Flcetwing. 
 
 from her room-mate as long as she could, and Miss 
 Lawrence now showed her appreciation of it by making 
 room for Asenith ; but was not quite willing to give up 
 Raymond's hand, when her girl companion sought for a 
 small digit to fondle. 
 
 Raymond now discovered that proximity to land had 
 induced quite a dew-fall. He started up at once, and 
 insisted that both father and daughter should go in out of 
 the evening damp. As the ladies all rose to enter the 
 cabin, the forward lookout called out, "Light ho!" It 
 proved to be the long-looked-for light of Recife, and the 
 party tarried a moment to determine if it was the fixed or 
 revolving light that was seen. 
 
 Nellie waited to receive her dose of cactus, though the 
 symptom that had called for it was gone ; cured by a 
 greater alchemic than drugs. Yet it was a laudable ex 
 cuse to repeat her pleasant good-night, while she peered 
 roguishly into the eyes of her medical friend and 
 brother. Greeting the others with a pleasant message to 
 each, she retired with Miss Allston to her berth below. 
 
 It was Braybrook's watch out. As the captain ex 
 pressed some anxiety owing to the ship's being near in to 
 the land, Raymond offered to stay up if the captain would 
 go to bed. This was satisfactory, and the two officers 
 walked the quarter-deck, chatting pleasantly. Occasion 
 ally they would extend their beat into the waist, to verify 
 the leadsman's soundings, and take new bearings of the 
 two lights on the Island which forms the harbor of Recife. 
 
 At one o'clock all hands were called. The ship com 
 pleted her bearings by the Olinda light and the Recife 
 light-tower ; then sails were clewed up, the anchor let go,
 
 Anchored at Recife. 347 
 
 and the ship rode almost motionless in the open road 
 stead of Pernambuco. Not till the sails were all furled, 
 and everything made snug about deck, did Raymond seek 
 his cot, which the steward had slung for him three hours 
 before in the main cabin.
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 THE PARTING AT PERNAMBUCO. 
 
 A T early morning the health officer and the custom-house 
 officials came off to the ship. The first dignitary was 
 induced to leave a "clean bill of health," by which the 
 captain would be permitted to land. The custom officer 
 scrutinized the ship's manifest with a view to learn what 
 things there were on board which might possibly be 
 smuggled ashore. These watch-dogs of the Portuguese 
 revenue are a nondescript set, who are not willing that 
 any one shall cheat their government but themselves. 
 
 The guard-boats, in the harbor, and the custom officers, 
 at the wharf, are equally watchful that you do not smuggle 
 off your honest purchases from the shore without paying 
 an enormous export-tax, be it only a bunch of feather 
 flowers, or a monkey. Thus, all should be warned not to 
 stow contraband things under the stern when passing the 
 guard-boat, as such an innocent undertaking often costs 
 more than the value of the things you try to run through. 
 
 But if sin of this nature lurks in you big as a meeting 
 house, here are an adept old smuggler's directions : " Try 
 to look sort of meek-like, and honest as skim-milk, a few 
 times while passing the guard-boat. Go square up along 
 side of their boat each time you pass it, and be rather 
 insistent that the officer shall see you display all the 
 
 348
 
 Rowing Ashore. 349 
 
 coats and wraps under the bow and stern cuddies, and 
 give the chief imp a good cigar in pay for a light every time 
 you stop. Very soon they one and all come to recognize 
 you as a person of such remarkable integrity that butter 
 wouldn't melt in your mouth, and smuggled goods would 
 lie heavy on your conscience. Such honesty reflects 
 seriously upon a guardsman, and ever after your boat is 
 waved away as you approach, and bid to ' Pass on ! ' 
 Now then, mister, the next passage you make past that 
 guard-boat, ' Qo in lemons, if you come out squeezed!' 
 and make a haul that will do to tell of for all after years." 
 
 It had been agreed upon by the captain and Mr. Law 
 rence that the cabin party should go to a hotel for two 
 days, during which time the ship could take aboard her 
 water and fresh provisions for the Cape Horn passage. 
 After breakfast two of the ship's boats were got ready to 
 take the shore party into the harbor. A seat for three 
 was placed in the stern, cushioned with gay-colored flags, 
 and made comfortable for the two miles' pull to the land 
 ing. 
 
 Captain Talbert took his wife, Miss Allston, and the little 
 girl in his boat. The mate carried Mr. Lawrence and 
 Miss Nellie in the larboard boat ; and as Raymond would 
 remain ashore with his party, Hoogley steered the boat ; 
 so that Nellie had the pleasure of sitting between her 
 father and brother during the long pull. The two boats 
 sped gayly along over the green water, aided by a free 
 wind and a flowing sea ; and in about half an hour they 
 rounded the rocky point of San Antonio, the island where 
 stands the Tower of Recife. 
 
 The delay at the guard-boat was brief. The long,
 
 3 SO The Fie diving. 
 
 narrow harbor was well occupied with foreign shipping, 
 busily loading and discharging cargoes ; through these 
 and the passing lighters the ship's boats picked their way 
 to the wharf, where fairly good steps were found for land 
 ing. The party walked to the hotel, which fronted the 
 quay, and was not far from the wharf. By some process 
 of natural affinity, Miss Nellie fastened to Raymond's 
 arm, and, with the art of a courtier, invited her father to 
 escort Miss Allston ; and in this order they followed after 
 the captain, wife, and child. 
 
 Soon as they were all snugly established at the hotel, with 
 rooms allotted to each, Mr. Lawrence at once took it upon 
 himself to entertain the ship's party as his guests. An 
 elaborate shore-breakfast was ordered at ten o'clock for a 
 party of nine. The American Consul, and Don Manuel, 
 the Portuguese consignee of the Boston house of Lawrence 
 Brothers, had been invited to attend ; a note of invitation 
 and urgent business inducements had been sent to these 
 foreign residents by the health officer. 
 
 Mr. Lawrence's visitors came promptly ; in time for a gen 
 eral introduction all around, and a word of congratulation 
 to be said and received about their sad wreck and singular 
 escape, before the call came for breakfast. While eating, 
 a brief story of the shipwreck was related by Mr. Law 
 rence, which took up the meal-time hour. Captain Talbert 
 and the mate promised to narrate their part of the affair 
 in the evening, as time pressed for business purposes. 
 
 After breakfast, the host detained Don Manuel on 
 mercantile and legal business a lawyer just then 
 coming in. Captain Talbert and the consul went to the 
 consulate to enter the ship and transact other ship affairs.
 
 Nellie and the Mate. 35 1 
 
 Raymond went to the harbor-master's to order out a water- 
 boat to replenish the Fleetwing's casks; thence to the 
 market, where he met the captain, and the two selected 
 potatoes, fruits, fowls, pigs, and a plump bit of two-year- 
 old live stock, to carry on the legs till they were ready to 
 kill, down in the forties. 
 
 Dinner had been agreed upon at six. This left a long 
 day for business and pastime. When the captain had 
 helped along the marketing, he returned to the hotel ; for 
 he had promised to escort the ladies on a shopping cruise, 
 where they could inspect monkeys, parrots, feather flowers, 
 and all sorts of foreign bric-a-brac, such as feminine 
 creatures adore their admiration scaling up-along accord 
 ing to the extravagant price of the article. 
 
 Raymond was left to look up a lighter which would 
 take aboard the purchases of all kinds early in the morn 
 ing. After this he returned to the hotel, at about three 
 o'clock in the afternoon. Nellie was watching his return 
 from the corridor, and ran in to meet him at the head of 
 the stairs. The young lady was in high glee at having 
 her new brother all to herself ; the other ladies being 
 absent, and her father busy with his consignee and lawyer. 
 
 " Where's your father, Miss Nellie ? " 
 
 " He's with the foreigners. They are making papers 
 which you must promise to sign." And she looked archly 
 at the mate for reply. 
 
 " Oh, yes, if it will please my new friends." 
 
 "Then I shall feel sure that you are pa's dear son and 
 somebody's own precious brother." 
 
 The girl's eyes were sparkling with affectionate merri 
 ment, while her flute-like tones seemed caught from the
 
 352 TJic Fleetiving. 
 
 leashed mocking-bird singing from his perch on the corri 
 dor. She seated Raymond at an open window, and occu 
 pied an ottoman at his feet ; there she sat holding his 
 hand between her dimpled fingers, a variety of emotions 
 flitting over her face as she peered fondly into his eyes 
 and asked countless questions. The graceful creature 
 seemed intent upon garnering as much of Raymond's 
 presence as she could during the absence of the party. A 
 tiny shadow followed this happy mood, with a sigh so pro 
 found as to attract her companion. 
 
 " Why, Nellie, what are' you thinking of, to look so 
 solemn and sad, and sigh such a nor'west breeze as that ? " 
 Seeking to expel every morbid thought from the girl's 
 mind. 
 
 " Oh, Raymond, you grow dearer and dearer to me 
 every minute. And the dreadful thought that you will 
 insist upon going to sea keeps intruding upon me, when it 
 would be so much better for all if you would go home 
 with us." 
 
 " But that's tabu talk, you know, Nellie. You are much 
 too brave and sensible to give way to such feelings, my 
 little sister," and he looked a trifle sober, to impress what 
 he said. 
 
 " Do you really think I am brave, Raymond ? " 
 
 "The bravest girl that I ever knew. Few could have 
 borne up as you did on the wreck. It is a picture of hero 
 ism which I love to contemplate." 
 
 And Raymond stroked one of the dainty little hands 
 which lay in his, in a reverie, as his mind wandered back 
 to the wreck. The girl's eyes dimmed with pleasurable 
 tears as she listened to his unstinted praise more than
 
 The Pretty Ninny. 353 
 
 his guarded tongue had ever uttered before. She pressed 
 her lips to his hand, and murmured a low blessing upon 
 his head, as with quivering lips she renewed her query. 
 
 "And sensible, too, my precious brother?" and her 
 heart was in her mouth as she awaited his reply. 
 
 " Why, certainly you are, you pretty little Ninny ! 
 What makes you ask ? " 
 
 " Ah, dear Raymond, I was truly afraid you might 
 think me silly and foolish ; and not quite worth having as 
 a sister." And the little minx puckered up her lips and 
 looked demure as she continued : " And am I a pretty 
 Ninny, too ? " 
 
 " Did I say that ? " 
 
 " Yes, you did, and I don't see how you can go back 
 on it." 
 
 " Let it stand, then, imperishable as fate ! " and the two* 
 sat smiling at each other. However, the topic was too 
 pleasant to be dropped. 
 
 " Come, dear brother, tell me some more sterling quali 
 ties that I possess," and the look was earnest, deep- 
 freighted with a wish to know in what category Raymond 
 placed her. 
 
 "Well, then, my little sister, I'll tell you truly: I think 
 you are a nice girl in so many ways that, honestly, Nellie, 
 I'm not a bit sorry that I saved you." 
 
 This raillery brought the little witch promptly back to 
 her merry mood again. In the midst of her peals of 
 laughter, the ladies came in upon them, glad to find the 
 moping girl in better spirits than when they left her. 
 
 Mr. Lawrence and his associates soon came out. Don 
 Manuel and the legal gentleman left, to return again in
 
 354 The Flcctwing. 
 
 the evening. As the dinner-hour drew near, the ladies 
 went to their rooms to prepare. The gong soon sounded, 
 and the evening meal was a source of great pleasure to 
 them all. Mr. Lawrence related that, beside having the 
 indenture made to take Raymond into his family, he had 
 taken the occasion to transact considerable mercantile 
 business, as the English steamer was expected in a few 
 days, upon which they should embark, in fear of having 
 to wait too long for some direct passage home. 
 
 By preconcerted appointment, the consul and Don 
 Manuel came in during the evening. Captain Talbert 
 and Raymond were asked into the private room, where 
 Mr. Lawrence announced the business. He declared his 
 wish to adopt the mate of the Fleetwing, under the style 
 of Charles Raymond Lawrence, with the understanding 
 that the name Lawrence was left optional, to be used or 
 not, during the present voyage. But it was part of the 
 indenture that the full name should be permanently as 
 sumed when the mate returned home, before entering 
 upon his newly acquired patrimony. 
 
 The consul was asked to read the document for the 
 benefit of all present; the witnesses, as well as the signa 
 tory members of the duplicate indenture. When the 
 reading was over, and a general approval expressed as to 
 its construction, Mr. Lawrence and Raymond drew up to 
 the table and signed the indentures, which were witnessed 
 by the consul, the consignee, and Captain Talbert. 
 
 While Raymond was receiving congratulations for this 
 deserved reward of his brave act, Mr. Lawrence asked the 
 consignee if he had filled out the other papers required. 
 Don Manuel replied by producing two sets of exchange,
 
 The Generous Patrimony. 355 
 
 each in three duplicates. The first was exchange for 
 $25,000, drawn in favor of Charles R. Lawrence, payable at 
 the Bank of North America, Boston, U. S. The second ex 
 change, for $1000, was drawn in favor of John Kanaka, on 
 the same bank. This last was delivered to Captain Tal- 
 bert, to be disposed of by him as the boat-steerer wished. 
 
 It was with a just degree of pride that Charles Law 
 rence clasped the hand of his new father, and modestly 
 accepted the generous sum given him as the first honora 
 rium of the princely fortune that awaited him. 
 
 Taking his son's arm, Mr. Lawrence invited the gentle 
 men to pass into the drawing-room, where the pleased old 
 merchant presented Charles as his legally adopted son. 
 
 The ladies sprang up to come forward and greet the 
 young hero ; but while two of them advanced and con-^ 
 gratulated him with pride and pleasure in his success. 
 Miss Lawrence dropped back into her chair, sobbing 
 aloud with joy, while she hid her face in her hands, pow 
 erless to leave her seat. Having received the friendly 
 greetings of Mrs. Talbert and Miss Allston, Raymond 
 hastily crossed to where Nellie sat, and spoke as he ap 
 proached her : 
 
 " Has my little sister Nellie no pleasant word for her 
 new brother Charles Lawrence?" and he reached out 
 and drew her hands gently from her tear-stained face. 
 Smiling through her tears, Nellie sprang up and put her 
 arms about his neck, sobbing louder than ever upon the 
 bosom of this much-loved friend. The girl's joy nearly 
 induced hysteria at this happy consummation of her 
 wishes. 
 
 Gaining command of herself in a few minutes, Miss
 
 356 The Fleetwing. 
 
 Lawrence looked brightly up, dashed the tears from her 
 eyes, brushed the dark ringlets from her face, and took 
 Raymond's arm to go and thank her father for what he 
 had done ; also desiring to learn if the moneyed part of the 
 business had been accomplished. This being found to 
 her satisfaction, the two joined Captain Talbert and the 
 ladies, leaving Mr. Lawrence to transact further business 
 with the Recife gentlemen. 
 
 Putting on their wraps, the ladies expressed a wish to 
 walk out on the corridor for a breath of evening air. In 
 addition to the two lighthouses, the harbor was then 
 prettily dotted with the blue, red, and white lights of the 
 shipping and the guard-boats. The bands of two naval 
 vessels were entertaining, each playing, by turns, the na 
 tional airs of the other, the sad strains acquiring an added 
 charm from the interval of water which rippled between 
 them and the shore. 
 
 When the bands ceased playing, a fine tenor voice burst 
 forth, pleading the beauty of his far-away love, in Spanish 
 verse, preluded and accompanied by a guitar. This love- 
 ditty was soon answered from a Portuguese vessel, by a 
 girl' s strong, clear contralto, sung in strains sufficiently 
 correct and sweet to hush every other note within hearing. 
 Several times these two rich, rare voices responded to 
 each other, till every loving heart in the haven was at 
 tuned to the all-pervading sentiment which the singers had 
 advocated so well. 
 
 Our party had clustered into a compact group to listen 
 to the singing. As they sat leaning over the balustrade, 
 with ears alert to catch every note of the songs, almost 
 unknowingly Nellie nestled closer and closer to her pre-
 
 Nellie s Confession. 357 
 
 cious brother, quite unconsciously stealing her little hand 
 into his, sighing from the very depths of her being at the 
 close of each song. So tumultuous was the girl's heart 
 beat against his side, that Raymond's strong, steady pul 
 sation went a deal out of its usual course to beat in the 
 same delicious rhythm as the lovable creature's by his 
 side. So much were the hearts of the young people in 
 unison, at that moment, that by some unaccountable con 
 cert of movement the cheeks of the two were found 
 nestled lovingly together, purring verily like two kittens 
 in a mew. 
 
 When the final pause of singing came, one by one the 
 company aroused. And as Mr. Lawrence came out at that 
 moment, Miss Allston sprang up and took his arm for a 
 walk on the long length of the corridor, the poor girl 
 being the only one who was not paired during that 
 delicious trance of songs. The Talberts followed suit. 
 And Raymond and Nellie could do no less than start up 
 and follow in the wake of the others, though they were fast 
 becoming steeped in blissful emotions, where locomotion 
 soon comes to be a forgotten evolution. 
 
 After they had walked back and forth frequently, prat 
 tling volubly about the novelty of the sights and sounds 
 about them, Miss Lawrence broke the momentary pause 
 by an unexpected announcement, which brought all to a 
 sudden halt. 
 
 " Now, stop, good friends, right here. I am just going 
 to confess my sins of the day to all present. I do it in 
 fear that I sha'n't sleep a wink to-night, if I don't free my 
 wicked heart of its burden." 
 
 A half-suppressed titter rippled among the ladies,
 
 358 The Fleetwing. 
 
 more substantially chorused by a light laugh from Mr. 
 Lawrence, and a subdued guffaw from the captain, at this 
 honest announcement. 
 
 " It's truly no laughing-matter for me. Brother Ray 
 mond has been pointing out the lights of the dear old 
 Fleetwing, far away yonder in the seaward background, 
 where she lifts and lowers in the rise and fall of the swell, 
 as if signalling to me, with her green and red fingers of 
 flame, to abjure all naughty thoughts about her." She- 
 paused as if the enormity of her sin had deprived her of 
 speech. 
 
 " Well, my child, we've got the text of your confession : 
 now let us have the terrible context," said her father. 
 
 " Oh, pa, I have wished more than once to-day that 
 something awful might happen to the Fleetwing, so that 
 she could not carry any of these dear friends away from 
 us. Then we would all go home together. But now that 
 I have become so happy with this dear new brother at my 
 side, I am horrified at my dreadful wishes, and have repeat 
 edly asked to be forgiven for such unheard-of selfishness." 
 
 " Let your repentance be very thorough, my daughter, 
 for it was indeed a wicked thought." 
 
 " Indeed, pa, it was. When I now look upon the lights 
 of that beautiful ship, out on the dark sea, I realize that 
 she is as dear to me as to any of you and I would not 
 have her destroyed for the world. Especially as these 
 dear friends, and this precious brother, are to trust their 
 lives in her." 
 
 "Yes, Nellie," replied her father, "it was through a 
 most wonderful providence that God sent the Fleetwing 
 to our rescue."
 
 Raymond's Confession. 359 
 
 "That's about so, Mr. Lawrence," added the captain. 
 " But for that confounded eastern back-drift which caught 
 us in its grip, north of the Line, something which never 
 happened to me before, the ship would have passed one 
 hundred and twenty miles to the west of St. Paul, and you 
 would have been left to starve. And we shall all remem 
 ber that it was this impulsive young mate of mine who 
 tried to burn up his little sister by a gun-wad." 
 
 Instantly two little arms were about somebody's neck, 
 with a possible design of strangulation. And Raymond 
 was in turn brought before the confessional by Nellie's 
 question : 
 
 "You didn't fire that wad on purpose, did you, dear?" 
 "Yes, I'm afraid I did, for I put it into the gun myself." 
 "But you didn't mean to burn up your little sister?" 
 " If I did, I repented, just as you have done. But that 
 singular fire was the most providential part of the rescue." 
 " If you have no objection, Captain Talbert," said Mr. 
 Lawrence, " I wish we might all meet in prayer a few 
 minutes before we retire to-night. My heart is so full 
 toward you all that I would like to express my feeling 
 upon this our last night together. This is my daughter's 
 suggestion, and it has my hearty approval." 
 
 " There is no reason why your wishes should not be 
 adopted," replied Captain Talbert, who, though he never 
 held services on shipboard as Small did, was often relig 
 iously inclined. 
 
 It was nearly twelve o'clock when they went into the 
 drawing-room, from whence they assembled in the small 
 private parlor for prayer. It was a devout group that 
 knelt about the venerable old patriarch at that midnight
 
 360 ' The Fleetwing. 
 
 hour, while he poured forth his heartfelt gratitude to the 
 Heavenly Father ; calling down Heaven's blessings upon 
 the beautiful ship, which by God's own guidance came to 
 their rescue. 
 
 He prayed for her venerable captain, who had opened 
 up his heart like a brother to receive them in their 
 distress ; for the dear wife and lady passenger, who 
 had been as loving sisters unto her who was as the 
 apple of his eye and the core of his heart ; for which 
 he must continue their debtor through his brief span of 
 life. 
 
 He prayed with a full heart for all the officers and crew 
 of that dear ship ; men who gladly drew them out from 
 the devouring breakers, and wept with joy at their rescue. 
 Above all he pleaded with the Almighty for that one noble 
 soul, the bravest where all were brave, the noblest where 
 all were heroes, he who felt the Father's hand had 
 appointed unto him the task of peril in that hour. But 
 for whom, death by the slow torture of fire had been 
 their lot. He prayed God to watch over that young life, 
 as one too precious to be lost ; even though he toyed with 
 the dangers of his vocation, as a child with fire, dazzled 
 by its brightness and its beauty. 
 
 It was an appeal which went home to the hearts of all. 
 Most especially was it of value to Captain Talbert, 
 noble old sea-dog that he was, for his sailor supersti 
 tions were as thoroughly aroused as Tom Crawford's or 
 old Ben's. Arguing as those veterans continued to do : 
 Had they not snatched two beings from grim Death's very 
 grasp ; and as Satan is believed by all honest tars to be 
 ever leagued with Death, was it not probable that old Nick
 
 The Devil's Setback. 361 
 
 would track the ship with ill-luck, if not dire disaster, to 
 the end of the voyage ? 
 
 Harboring such deep-grounded delusions in common 
 with his veritable old shellbacks, there was wonderful 
 efficacy in the pious outpourings of such a man as Mr. 
 Lawrence. And it was the captain's earnest belief 
 though confessed with bated breath that the devil had 
 got a thundering setback, which might possibly last 
 through the voyage. And the old man sailed away, on the 
 following day, with a lighter heart than he came in with. 
 
 Before separating for the night, Mr. Lawrence shook 
 hands, with kind wishes expressed to all. Nellie came 
 round and kissed the captain, after parting with the ladies, 
 reserving Raymond for the last. To him she gave a 
 double share of good nights, saluting him on both cheeks, 
 and then affectionately put up her small red lips for a 
 sister's just recompense. Raymond complied with the 
 pantomimic request of the witching girl, but with a deal 
 more trepidation than he ever felt when tackling a fighting 
 whale. Bewildered with her success, Nellie ran to her 
 father, caught his arm, and hastened him away in the 
 direction of their sleeping-rooms. 
 
 It had been determined that breakfast should be at 
 nine, in consideration of the ladies wishing to do more 
 shopping. Raymond was up at six, ordering his lighter 
 round to the market-quay, ready for her load. Before 
 nine, the vessel was on her way out by the Olinda passage, 
 in time for the last run of the northern tide. The tides at 
 Recife run north and south, with great force, inside of the 
 island harbor. 
 
 When Raymond returned to the hotel, the whole party
 
 362 The Flectwing. 
 
 were out on the corridor watching for him, and he re 
 ceived his sister's greeting manfully. Leading her back 
 to the corridor, he pointed out his lighter, then rounding 
 the Recife Tower on its way to the ship, as a result of his 
 early rising. But what to make of a second lighter going 
 out side by side with his, neither the captain nor the mate 
 could understand ; as the Fleetwing was the only ship 
 then lying in the roadstead. 
 
 A call from the gong paired them off for breakfast, 
 Nellie clinging fast to her brother. After a prolonged 
 and pleasant meal, the two ladies laid their embargo on 
 the captain's going out, requesting his escort while they 
 finished their purchases. Nellie was urged to go with 
 them, but declined with thanks. Though sadly in need of 
 clothes, she preferred to continue in borrowed wear while 
 Raymond was ashore. The two went out on the corridor 
 to walk in the bland morning air, for though it was past 
 ten o'clock, the trades had not yet struck in. 
 
 Captain Talbert agreed to go with the ladies if Ray 
 mond would go and settle the port-dues, consul's fees, and 
 the provision-bills at the consignee's. He wished to be 
 ready to leave when the boat came in, at four o'clock. 
 Miss Lawrence entered a strong protest against this 
 arrangement ; she declared that her brother had accom 
 plished a good day's work before breakfast, and should 
 now be left with her father and herself to the last moment. 
 
 Mr. Lawrence now came to the rescue, saying that he 
 had agreed with the several creditors to pay all dues 
 against the ship. Captain Talbert demurred at this too 
 generous act, and declared that he could not receive any 
 thing in the way of compensation for their brief stay on
 
 Reward for Deserter. 363 
 
 shipboard ; as a sailor never accepts remuneration from a 
 wrecked shipmate, without mentioning the superstition 
 connected with it. 
 
 " Yes, yes, captain," replied the old merchant, " this 
 matter has been all talked over between us. No need to 
 view this in the light of payment for any service of yours. 
 It is a present to the ship; as the fruits, etc., in the small 
 lighter are presents from Nellie and me to the officers and 
 crew of the dear old Fleetwing." 
 
 " Oh ho ! That's what the second lighter was up to, is 
 it ? Well, well, sir, you manage things a little too smart 
 for a sailor-man to head you off." The Captain caught up 
 the glass and levelled it at the ship. " Yes, there're two 
 lighters 'longside, true as Moses. Well, Mr. Lawrence, I 
 tender many thanks in the name of the ship, captain and 
 crew. I suppose my lost son will do the proper thing for 
 the officers." 
 
 Captain Talbert prepared to leave with the ladies, first 
 exchanging roguish glances with Miss Lawrence, who 
 stood holding fast to the mate in fear he might be smug 
 gled away. Putting his head back through the door, he 
 said his last word : 
 
 "Tell ye what, little Miss Nellie, I'm going to take a 
 last look at my Charlie 'fore I go. For I've known 
 sailor men to desert ship on much less incentive than my 
 boy is having from two bright eyes that I know of." 
 
 Amidst the jolly laughter which followed this pleasant 
 banter, Miss Lawrence hailed down from the corridor as 
 the captain appeared on the street, "What reward would 
 you olTcr for such a deserter, captain ? " 
 
 The gallant old man turned, and took off his hat as he
 
 364 The Fleetwirg. 
 
 replied to the flushed young girl: "The whole ship and 
 cargo, pretty miss. So don't you think to steal away my 
 mainstay and rudder, till the voyage is over." 
 
 "Oh, sir, that reward wouldn't bring him back. So 
 you had best look your last upon him now." The captain 
 laughed, bowed, and followed swaggering along in the 
 wake of the ladies, who had gone ahead. 
 
 Mr. Lawrence lay reclining in a lolling-chair, enjoying 
 his freshly imported Havana, and taking part in the talk 
 of the young people as they passed him while walking 
 forth and back along the corridor. While watching the 
 busy scenes among the shipping, the two lighters were 
 seen entering the harbor, coming quickly down before the 
 strong southern tide. In an hour after, Don Manuel 
 made his appearance, bringing Braybrook's receipt for 
 two lighter-loads, giving products in detail, for which the 
 consignee brought his bill against the ship. This Mr. 
 Lawrence acknowledged on account, and then asked the 
 agent to go and settle the custom dues and the consul's 
 fees, which he was also to carry to account. 
 
 Three o'clock was the hour agreed upon for dinner. 
 The young folks had hours of close, confiding talk, in 
 which Nellie asked Raymond to tell her the honest state 
 of his feelings for Mary Tudor whatever that might be. 
 And she as honestly told him the captain and Mrs. Talbert's 
 belief that Mamie would not be permitted to wait his return. 
 She begged him to fortify himself against such broken 
 troth, and to remember that there were others who would 
 value him above all price, as the best and noblest on 
 earth, fortifying her last conviction by the aid of two little 
 arms about his neck, with other nameless endearments,
 
 The Sad Parting. 365 
 
 while sorrowing over the presupposed treachery of 
 another girl. 
 
 The ladies carne back in good time for dinner, and 
 a bright, pleasant hour was passed over the meal. 
 Promptly at four, the porter announced Hoogley with a 
 boat for the captain. This broke up the delightful table- 
 chat at once. The trades were becoming fresh, and the 
 sea running large, so that the boat would have a hard pull 
 against the short chop, and no time must be lost. 
 
 Nellie's beaming face blanched in an instant at this sud 
 den call for parting. Tears sprang into her soft eyes, and 
 her lips quivered with suppressed emotion. After a warm 
 greeting and loving words all around, Mr. Lawrence 
 went down to the street with the departing friends, leav 
 ing Nellie a moment's privacy with her brother. 
 
 That the parting was pathetic and sad between the two, 
 could only be judged by the mate's tears and unusual 
 agitation when he followed down after the party, for 
 Nellie's grief was too uncontrollable for her to appear on 
 the corridor, as all had expected she would. With a 
 warm embrace and loving words, good old Mr. Lawrence 
 parted with his newly adopted son, as if he was his first 
 born, and best loved. And it was a sad scene for all who 
 witnessed the separation. 
 
 The captain and wife, Raymond and Miss Allston 
 paired off and walked briskly to the wharf, with the child 
 running ahead with a tiny King Charles that Miss Law 
 rence had given her. The boat was soon headed out 
 with the northern tide, which had changed in good time 
 to favor the passage to the ship. Mr. Lawrence waved 
 his hat to them as they passed, but Nellie, poor girl, was
 
 366 Tlie Fleetwing. 
 
 seen by them no more. The girl's experience during the 
 last month had comprised the romance of a lifetime. 
 
 As the boat neared the ship, Captain Talbert waved his 
 hat for Braybrook to get the ship under-weigh, as it was 
 becoming more and more diffcult to take the anchor 
 against the increasing wind. Mr. Bailey was aft with a 
 gang ready to hoist up the boat, with the ladies and child 
 sitting in it. 
 
 Raymond went forward to his duty on the bow, greet 
 ing all hands kindly as he passed, and shaking hands with 
 Braybrook with great cordiality , for the two men had 
 long since become the best of friends. In a half-hour's 
 time the anchor was hove up, sail made, and the Fleet- 
 wing heading south for Abrolhos Banks, their next sperm- 
 whale ground. 
 
 When tacks, sheets, and braces were all trim and taut, 
 and the mettlesome ship began to prance to the heavy 
 ground-swell, Charles R. Lawrence went aft and ran the 
 beautiful ensign up and down at the peak, as a sailor's last 
 greeting to his venerable father and his darling sister 
 Nellie, to whom he had become far more attached than he 
 knew till this moment. 
 
 Not a soul on board but thought Mr. Raymond was 
 unwise in his decision to remain in the ship ; and it is 
 most likely that he thought so himself, just then. His 
 real motive was known to but few. His resolution to 
 remain greatly endeared him to his shipmates. More 
 especially was his rejection of high social position appre 
 ciated by his dear old captain, who could not meet his young 
 mate for days after without tears flooding his eyes. He 
 best of all others knew why his young officer remained.
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 BOUND FOR THE ABROLHOS. 
 
 A FTER leaving the anchorage at Recife, the wind held 
 strong for nearly two days. The ship passed Cape St. 
 Augustine before dark. She was then, kept away two 
 points, following down the trend of the coast to Bahia, 
 which port she passed late the next day. Many home 
 ward bound vessels were here met, under press of sail, 
 dashing northward with a smother of foam about their 
 bows. 
 
 Numerous other vessels were bound south ; these the 
 Fleetwing overhauled, and passed with ease. One was a 
 large ocean steamer, under press of steam and sail ; her 
 passengers gathering about the quarter-rail, waving hats 
 and handkerchiefs, so amazed to witness the ship fleet 
 and beautiful as a bird on the wing. This auspicious 
 event caused a hilarious time among the Fleetwing's 
 crew ; and much was it needed, in their present morbid, 
 moody state of feeling. 
 
 Meeting a full-sailed ship at sea is always a pleasant 
 incident to all seagoing mortals. Though the meeting 
 ships may pass at a distance, national colors are run up, 
 and displayed for a moment ; as two fiiends lift their hats 
 to each other from afar. More often the strange ships 
 approach near enough to exchange reckonings; then 
 
 36?
 
 368 The Fleetwing. 
 
 each chalks his longitude on the gangway board, which is 
 deemed a graceful sea-courtesy. Parting, the captains 
 wave hands politely, and sail away to the world's end, in 
 opposite directions. 
 
 But, alas ! when a ship meets with broken spars, sloven 
 boats, and dead seamen afloat on the solitary sea, it is an 
 ominous event, that causes long-lasting horror among her 
 crew. The worst superstitions of the most impressible 
 and childish crass of men are permanently aroused. 
 Though sailors commiserate the sufferings of their class, 
 and are charitable to the last cent in the locker, or the 
 last shirt from the back, yet they shrink from witnessing 
 death and disaster, as Satan avoids holy water. The 
 simple fellows always attribute the accident which wrecks 
 a vessel to some supernatural agency, and believe that 
 meddling to prevent the full consummation of a disaster 
 will surely transfer the evil 'agency upon themselves or 
 their ship. 
 
 This terrorized condition had prevailed among the 
 Fleetwing's lucky and well disciplined crew since they 
 witnessed the gigantic horror at St. Paul, which event was 
 the forecastle talk for many a week after. The chief 
 problem that the croakers now sought to solve was : 
 Through what evil agency would disaster come to their 
 ship? 
 
 Some deemed that there might be a Jonah among the 
 crew, who should be sought out by some fiery ordeal, and 
 harried for the good of his soul. Others thought there 
 were too many cats on board to expect that their ship 
 would escape wreck ; puss having littered since leaving 
 the Azores. These argued that a petition ought to be
 
 TJic Superstitions Sailors. 369 
 
 sent aft to the captain, humbly asking to have all but the 
 lucky number of one or three cats drowned in the deep 
 sea. These catists were easily quelled by their opponents 
 declaring that the petitioners should drown the beasts ; 
 which they would not have done for the world. A few 
 other cowardly snivellers declared that some of the ship's 
 timbers had been " cut on a Sunday," and that, in spite of 
 all the fine qualities of their loved craft, judgment would 
 overtake her before the voyage was over. 
 
 But the most serious of all these fanatic delusions came 
 from a small minority of the best seamen in the ship. 
 These professed to have known from the day of sailing 
 that Joe Bailey was leagued with Satan ; adding, with a 
 furtive glance, and in a sepulchral voice : " Death and 
 wrecks will follow that durned one-eyed niggar wherever 
 he goes." 
 
 These loquacious shellbacks declared, with most per 
 suasive eloquence, that they had looked for some terrible 
 mishap to the Fleetwing ; and that nothing but their saga 
 cious watchfulness had saved the ship so far. Chief 
 among these nautical boobies were brave Tom Crawford, 
 spoony old Ben, spook-seeing Nantucket Jim, and burly 
 Bill Brown, the English blood-and-thunder croaker, who 
 growled because of too much duff and salt horse as 
 heartily as another might over starvation rations. 
 
 During the ship's first evening on the Abrolhos Bank, 
 the wind fell light. The air was warm and pleasant on 
 deck, but within the cabin it had become sultry and op 
 pressive. The light breeze did not prevent the ship's 
 rolling gently to the long, low undulation that ran under 
 her keel and awoke discordant creakings from bulkheads
 
 370 TJie Flsetwing. 
 
 and partitions. Her roll imparted a slow, lazy swing to 
 the brazen lamp hanging in the skylight of the main 
 cabin , just enough motion to invoke life into the indolent 
 shadow of every suspended thing ; until strange, uncouth- 
 looking objects flitted in and out under the table, upon 
 which most uncanny transactions were taking place, suffi 
 cient to call forth the ghostly shapes seen creeping stealth 
 ily about among the sea-chests and chairs. 
 
 Captain Talbert and his weird old companion had for 
 hours held possession of the dining-table ; so absorbed in 
 supernatural doings as to be oblivious to all else. Joe 
 Bailey, the black prophet, was at work conjuring up 
 whales from every ocean ; using a kind of necromancy 
 that makes one shudder to contemplate. Both men were 
 grizzled with age, if both really were men, and they 
 were alike brimming over with marvellous wisdom; sea- 
 knowledge gleaned from half a century's experience in 
 ocean-wallowings. 
 
 There they sat, the venerable white man and the ebony 
 seer, pondering over time-stained sea-charts ; the long 
 black, shrivelled finger of the one tracing numerous 
 pencillings of whale-flukes on the yellow charts pro 
 phetic predictions about the great cachalots, now foretold 
 months in advance. The labors of these gray old spouters 
 were varied. Sometimes the captain found mention of 
 whales in his musty old logs records of long previous 
 voyages. Then the sable-faced prophet would shut his 
 one lone eye and turn his shrunken face upward, glancing 
 introspectively over the distant ocean in question, with a 
 solemn aspect of mystery and meaning ; never failing to 
 confute or confirm the present value of the place in
 
 The Black Prophet. 371 
 
 question as a whale-ground. At such times, the thin, 
 sunken face of old Ebony looked as dead as the black 
 mummy of Pharaoh. 
 
 When the captain's suggestions were not answered to 
 his satisfaction, then Uncle Joe produced his own illiterate 
 memoranda ; some of which were written with a sail 
 needle upon thin leaves of ivory, cut from the teeth of 
 enormous whales which the old man had killed. From 
 such quaint hieroglyphics he proved that only " passage 
 whales " were ever seen at the designated places. 
 
 To a landsman, it might well seem absurd to thus study 
 ancient ocean charts, seeking the mazy currents of the 
 deep, by which to trace the pathless feeding-grounds of 
 the nomadic cachalot. But immense sagacity can be, and 
 often is shown, in searching the labyrinthine travel-ways 
 of whales, along the known and the unknown seas. For 
 the sperm whale is a worldwide wanderer, confined to no 
 particular ocean or clime ; but familiar with every ocean- 
 river, shoal, and plateau ; the resorts of the mighty octo 
 pus, and smaller sea-squid, upon which the whales fatten 
 in the quarters of the moon ; as a human gourmand 
 thrives upon his capon and his cod. 
 
 The wide, scared eyes of superstitious seamen were at 
 times seen peering in upon this mystic scene. Men 
 inured to believe that an illiterate person, like Joe Bailey, 
 could only be endowed with such supernatural wisdom 
 through evil agency. One by one, their ghostly faces 
 flitted past the window, spying upon the diabolical doings 
 within, which inspired them with unaccountable terror. 
 Sneaking forward upon the knightheads, they held secret 
 conclave ; and with low voices and bated breath sought
 
 372 The Fleetwing. 
 
 to fortify one another in their pet belief that old Nick 
 abode among them, in the homely guise of a " durned one- 
 eyed niggar." 
 
 Raymond had spent his evening with the ladies, in the 
 after cabin, taking little interest. in the witchcraft doings 
 in the forward saloon. He left the ladies on the plea of 
 writing his log. That done, he slipped out on deck to 
 sit aft, where the breeze fanned down upon his face from 
 the foot of the spanker, a nice place to cool off before 
 turning in for the night. 
 
 As the mate sat facing the east, the great yellow moon 
 came stealing up out of the sea, made big as a cartwheel 
 by unusual refraction. The eastern horizon was barred 
 with narrow bands of dark stratus-clouds, which imparted 
 a sad and solemn appearance to the rising orb, and awoke 
 a touch of home-longing in the sailor's heart. 
 
 He watched the moon climb past each of the obtruding 
 vapors, until her glittering wake at length stole forth over 
 the sea, like a breath of prayer. Saw her first coy beams 
 glint across the dark bosom of the sails, until one by one 
 they whitened to the sheen of marble. 
 
 Raymond had an innate affection for the sea, under 
 whatever guise it presented itself, whether tempestuous 
 or tranquil. As it was the moon which imparted to the 
 sea most of its varying moods of sublimity and beauty, 
 he dearly loved the lunar orb, and was familiar with her 
 every footprint upon the ocean, as well as with her subtle 
 power over the human heart, which she prompts to emo 
 tional ebb and flow at as fixed periods as the ocean 
 tides. 
 
 To-night it was with a retrospective eye that he saw
 
 Reveries of Home. 373 
 
 the lofty dog-vane glitter in the rising sheen, and wit 
 nessed the tiny sea-caps leap to kiss the moonbeams, like 
 a herd of lovers, each foam-crest tinting its bursting bub 
 bles with a score of prismatic hues. Raymond's heart was 
 far away with his girl-love to-night, she whom Luna 
 had helped to win upon that fair September midnight, 
 and had ever since prompted him to remember, as when 
 she wept, at parting, on the distant shore. 
 
 Living over that whole painful scene of separation, the 
 lover still felt the white -arms of his pretty Mary Tudor 
 clinging about his neck, as in that high cupola, overlook 
 ing the housetops and the harbor. He still heard her 
 grievous sighs and girlish sobs commingled, as when she 
 appealed to him with her great dark eyes to abjure the 
 dreadful sea. It was a piteous scene for a lover to dwell 
 upon, and yet there were priceless elements of pleasure in 
 the theme ; for only a strong, true love could thus grieve 
 over a parting. So argued the fond lover for the thou 
 sandth time. 
 
 It is the special heritage of sailors to repeatedly ponder 
 over their brief home-life, and its transient moments of 
 love, upon such nights as this. How long Raymond sat 
 there, steeped in delicious reverie, and lost to his sur 
 roundings, he knew not. 
 
 A sigh, tender as a moonbeam, fell upon his ear, fol 
 lowed by a low, soft voice at his side, which served to 
 arouse him. Alas ! it was not his Mamie, as he had first 
 conceived. He turned and saw Miss Allston watching 
 him with a look of sadness and sympathy upon her face. 
 Such an intrusion is a critical test for a lover's temper. 
 But the girl was more than a match for the man.
 
 374 The Fleetwing. 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Raymond, even you, who are so familiar with 
 the sea, are as homesick to-night as I am. I heard you 
 murmuring your dear Mamie's name so piteously that 
 tears came to my eyes, and I could not forbear proffering 
 my sympathy. How terrible such separations as yours 
 must be." 
 
 " Yes, I find it so. It's a new experience to me. But 
 I don't wish to get sentimental about it. See how sweetly 
 the moon looks yonder over the weather-bow," not 
 wishing to seem too spoony in the presence of this mat 
 ter-of-fact girl. 
 
 " Yes, it bewitches everything it shines upon. Truly, I 
 couldn't stay in the cabin another minute, when I saw 
 her. I just wished that I had wings to fly away where I 
 could find some one to love me " ; and the girl gave birth 
 to a bouncing sigh, on her own lovelorn account. Ray 
 mond would rather have been left to silence, but this 
 appeal from the girl claimed his attention. 
 
 " Moonlight is indeed very bewitching. See how it tips 
 the little wave-tops with rainbows." 
 
 " And how joyous the sleepy ship starts up to greet the 
 charming Cynthia. Ah, wouldn't you be a happy man were 
 Mary Tudor here to-night ? " A woman so hankers to 
 dabble in the love of another, if she has not a Cupid of 
 her own to hatch. 
 
 " That's the kind of joy I was picturing when you came 
 out. But 'twill be many a long year before Mary and I 
 can watch the moon together," words that were made 
 doubly sad by the manly sigh which followed them. 
 
 " I wish I could have seen and known Miss Tudor. 
 She ought to be bright, as well as beautiful, to merit such 
 love as yours."
 
 Confess ions. 375 
 
 " I believe she is all the heart of man could wish. She 
 is young, and unformed, but will make a noble woman. 
 See how the trade's have freshened since the moon came 
 up, ready to bear you to your lover at the Islands, while I 
 am torn, heart from heart, from mine." 
 
 "Oh, dear me !" said with a visible touch of impa 
 tience. " It's so long since I parted with Mr. Richards 
 that I don't know how we may be suited to each other 
 now." It was a topic which the girl did not relish with 
 Raymond. 
 
 " I believe him to be a man of character, and think he 
 will make you a good mate." 
 
 " God grant it may be so. But it's a strange adventure 
 for a girl to undertake." 
 
 " Yet, it is not uncommon for girls to go out to Hon 
 olulu, and wed their old lovers. We took out a young 
 lady with us voyage before last, and Father Damon came 
 aboard and married them before she landed." 
 
 " Oh, yes, it's done, I presume. But it is not a nice 
 thing to do. I almost wish I had gone home with Nellie 
 Lawrence, as she wished me to." 
 
 " Why didn't you ? You two are so well adapted to live 
 together." 
 
 " I felt drawn in another direction. But should have 
 gone with her, if you had. How could yon find the heart 
 to refuse such a beautiful creature ? " 
 
 "A man should trust to his own right arm in hewing his 
 way to a position in life. My new father and sister will 
 not love me the less for the independence I have shown. 
 Besides, it were best that Nellie and I should be separated 
 for a while ; that you all could see. She is a darling girl,
 
 3/6 The Fleetwing. 
 
 and I love her dearly. I am not situated so as to fulfil all 
 her requirements." This was the only explanation Ray 
 mond had given to any one but Nellie of his dealings 
 with the Lawrences. 
 
 "Oh, Mr. Raymond, I envy such a precious home-love 
 as yours. And how I hate this foreign mission that I am 
 on," and every word which the sad girl uttered was 
 steeped in tears. 
 
 " Mine is a better state of things, all but this heart 
 rending separation. Why, there's eight bells! How 
 came I to keep you out here till eleven o'clock ? " 
 
 " I guess we're both a little interested in the topic," she 
 said, indulging in a silly, girlish giggle ; which is the 
 usual accompaniment of such love-talks by moonlight. 
 " Perhaps so. But it's time we were in our berths." 
 " I don't care about it's being late, if you don't." 
 " I do care. I should have thought for us both." 
 And the gallant fellow took the unwilling girl by the 
 hand, and led her down the poop stairs ; bidding her 
 good-night at his state-room door ; wholly unconscious 
 whether he returned the warm pressure of her hand, at 
 the last, or not. 
 
 Yet there were times when a person of Raymond's strong 
 virility could not help admiring almost loving the 
 lithe, slender figure and delicate beauty of Asenith All- 
 ston. Her sparkling, animated manners and piquant 
 talk never failed to charm him. And though the fellow 
 prated to himself about the robust physical charms of his 
 Mary, surely he was sufficient connoisseur to realize that a 
 trifle more contour would greatly improve Miss Allston 
 take the sharp edge from her pliant tongue ; curb her free
 
 Asenith Allston. 377 
 
 manners ; and make her a yet more enticing companion 
 for a sea-voyage, if not for the voyage of life. 
 
 Sad it is that however trifling this lack of normal devel 
 opment may be, it is all-sufficient to rob a woman of the 
 exquisite, subtle power to fix a man's affection beyond 
 recall as the polarity of the needle is irrevocable fixed 
 by the magnet. The girl's frequent confidential chats 
 with the susceptible mate, were certainly weaving a strong 
 bond of sympathy between them ; and as there is no place 
 like the lonely nights at sea, in which to put a sailor 
 under confessional, one of the chief by-laws of ship 
 board, being "No secrets off soundings," there is no 
 telling what may yet come to pass before the voyage is 
 over.
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 THE TWO JILTED MATES. 
 
 the next morning a sail hove in sight coming 
 down the Brazilian coast. The Fleetwing was headed 
 in towards the Abrolhos Islands, keeping a bright look 
 out for whales. The new-comer showed desire to speak, 
 so the courses were brailed up, and the head yards flung 
 aback, to permit the stranger to run down. The vessel 
 proved to be the Rainbow, Captain Flasket, who was an 
 old friend of Captain Talbert. She had sailed t\vo 
 months after the Fleetwing, and brought quite a mail-bag 
 for her people. 
 
 Raymond had letters from his mother, sister, and 
 several other friends, but not a word from Mary Tudor. 
 The hot blood rushed to his face as this awkward fact 
 dawned fully upon him, when Mrs. Talbert called him into 
 the cabin to give him his letters. When the sympathizing 
 woman saw how deeply he was affected by Mary's neglect, 
 she burst into tears, pushed the mate into his state-room, 
 and shut the door upon him. It was a blow to her, for 
 the Talberts had introduced them. It was a stain upon 
 the womanhood of New Bedford, for the number of its 
 infidelities during the long whaling voyages was so 
 numerous that a truthful woman was a rare enigma in 
 that sink of iniquity. 
 
 378
 
 The Jilted L over. 379 
 
 Raymond did not open any of his letters, but locked 
 them up in his chest, and sat down upon it ; dazed and 
 oblivious to all about him. It is so hard to realize such 
 an unexpected blow. It is so dreadful to blot out of ex 
 istence such an ideal creation, as that which Raymond 
 had reared around the callow semblance of Mary Tudor. 
 It was a strong man's first glimpse of Elysium, and he had 
 lavished his richest emotions at the alluring shrine. 
 
 Sitting there with his eyes fixed upon vacancy, he 
 arrayed the pros and cons in judgment before him. He 
 argued : The Tudors live in New Bedford, and knew that 
 the Rainbow would bring letters to the Fleetwing. How 
 could my Mary fail to write ? What could induce such 
 neglect, two months after such earnest assurance of love ? 
 
 But then, per contra, he argued : No news may not 
 mean bad news. I should keep up hope till the next ship 
 follows. The Peacock sailed a week before ; perhaps 
 Mamie has written by that vessel. The dear girl could not 
 mean to neglect me, who love her so dearly ! 
 
 Such arguments ought to have lifted the weight from 
 his heart, but they did not. He would have struck down 
 a person, at that moment, who should have hinted at Miss 
 Tudor's infidelity. He had not yet mastered that fact 
 himself ; and he would have resented hasty judgment in 
 another. It was a long time dawning upon him that the 
 Talberts must have all the facts in their letters, and he 
 could have these facts for the asking. But he would not 
 ask. It awakened his ire to think of one of those life 
 long friends waiting at his door to announce : 
 
 " Poor fellow ! So you are jilted." 
 
 He feared to hear the base slur shouted from the mast-
 
 380 The Fleetwing. 
 
 head, as one listens to hear, There she blows ! He had 
 twice heard the low voice of Mrs. Talbert, forbidding 
 Braybrook, or the steward, intruding upon his privacy. 
 It at length dawned upon him that he must face this 
 thing ; as he would face a fighting whale. It was a fore 
 gone conclusion that he was a jilted lover. He had faced 
 deadlier perils, and he came to think he could survive 
 this , and he went out on deck and ordered a pull at the 
 jib-halyards, and the weather royal sheet. 
 
 The two captains were old friends. Flasket brought 
 the mail aboard himself, and, upon invitation, concluded 
 to spend the day. It was agreed that the ships should 
 " mate," if they lowered in the same school together. 
 Flasket asked Raymond to go aboard the Rainbow and 
 spend the day with Mr. Gifford, who was an acquaintance 
 of his. 
 
 Glad to get clear of his own ship for a while, the lar 
 board boat was lowered away, and Raymond tried to en 
 liven up a little, and have a pleasant gam with his old 
 friend ; who was now on his fourth voyage mate. A man 
 of large experience with whales, but who was not known 
 to be a teetotaller. The two mates met, with hearty 
 greetings. Gifford could hardly believe his own ears, 
 when told that the Fleetwing had taken over a thousand 
 barrels of sperm oil. He came near swallowing his cud, 
 in concocting a suitable expletive for the occasion ; and 
 remarked : 
 
 " Well, Charlie, I s'pose Dave Braybrook done ar good 
 part o' yer whalin'? I teld your Agent thet he did ar big 
 thing when he shipped Dave as second fiddle in your 
 craft."
 
 The Deuce he is ! 381 
 
 " Mr. Braybrook hasn't been as fortunate as was ex 
 pected. But he's a first-class man, nevertheless ; and I 
 like him as a shipmate." 
 
 " How's diet ? Dave allus made himself heard when 
 we were together. How many on um has he tuck ? " 
 
 " Out of fifteen whales taken to the ship, Braybrook 
 counts two to his boat." 
 
 " Who'n thunder did tuck 'em, if Dave didn't? " 
 
 " Joe Bailey and I had the luck to strike among school 
 whales, arid Braybrook did good service in saving the 
 extra whales, some of which ought to count to the waist- 
 boat. But our friend is a little touchy on that point, and 
 wouldn't reckon anything he didn't strike at first hand." 
 
 So the time whiled pleasantly away between the mates, 
 though Raymond would neither wine it, nor smoke, nor 
 chew the universal weed with his friend ; who was 
 addicted to all the graces. About mid-afternoon, Gifford 
 mentioned among other home news, the arrival of the 
 barque Skipjack, Captain Bonney ; and casually added: 
 
 "They say Bonney is goin' to marry Mary Tudor, of 
 Purchase Street, Cap'n Jim's da'ter." 
 
 " The deuce he is ! " exclaimed Raymond, with un 
 feigned surprise ; for Captain Bonney was a very inferior 
 sort of man. 
 
 " Oh, yes, I think thet splicin' bus'ness wus all settled 
 'fore we sailed." 
 
 " Why, Gifford, that girl was engaged to me." 
 
 " The devil an' Tom Walker ! Come ter think uv it, 
 Chaulie," exclaimed the old mate, with a look of commis 
 eration creeping into his face, " I did hearn say thet you 
 had the little craft in tow, while at home. Nuthin' ser'ous,
 
 382 T/ie Fleetwing. 
 
 I hope. For, sartinly, she wouldn't gin up a spruce 
 young mate, like you, for sich ar lopsided old Ballyhoo as 
 Bonney " ; and Gifford leisurely blew away the cloud of 
 smoke from before him, and gave a sly, abashed leer into 
 the face of his companion. 
 
 " We were engaged to be married, my friend, and I had 
 no reason to doubt that the girl loved me dearly." 
 
 " Sorry to hear thet, Chaulie. Twas said widder Tudor 
 druv the barg'in. She said : ' Ar bird in hand is the 
 p'int fur wimin ter look arter.' She tuck the helm, an' 
 forced the gal on. Bonney had made ar good v'y'ge, an' 
 wuz minded ter gin up the sea. Thet wuz the bait what 
 tuck the gal." 
 
 "Well, Gifford, if Mary Tudor finds herself better 
 suited with Captain Bonney, I ought not to complain." 
 
 " Tell yer what, maty, Bedford am ar cussed bad place 
 ter house yer best bower. Female critters is like ar 
 broken-backed ship ; the damage is under water, an' yer 
 don't see it. But e'en amost all wimin folks is hogged in 
 the keel, an' unsound in the heart. Some on um will run 
 well 'nough when goin' free, an' in ballast; but jus' put em 
 close haul, an' load em up with yer hopes an' yer happi 
 ness, an' they'll sartinly founder every feller they take in 
 tow." 
 
 "There's a great lack of fidelity among the Bedford 
 women, I believe. This is my first experience, and the 
 last." 
 
 " Fidelity ! There ain't no sich wimin folks in the place. 
 Why look yer, boy ! Geordie Gifford has bin tuck in 
 eleven times by the critters " ; and the grave old mate 
 dwelt seriously on the eleventh invisible finger, to see if
 
 The Eleven Jilts. 383 
 
 there were not twelve unfaithful loved ones ; as he 
 solemnly numerated the Sallies, Follies, Mollies, etc., 
 who had jilted him during the past forty years. 
 " And were you never married in all that time." 
 " Nary a time, my lad. One o' my last girls came the 
 nearest to stickin' of any on um. For yer see, bub, I 
 courted two at a lick thet time home." 
 
 "Why, Gifford, you wretch, how did you do that ? " 
 "One ter time didn't succeed with me, an' as double 
 tops'ils wuz jus comin' in fashion on ships, I applied 
 double gals to the shore-craft. It kept a feller thunderin' 
 busy, makin' and takin' in sail. One wuz ar Bedford gal, 
 an' t'other wuz ar Fairhaven widder. I courted the gal 
 durin' the full run o' the flood ; an' played spoony with 
 the widdy from the ebb to half-tide. 
 
 " Widdy Loveum had 'nuther feller a sort o' second 
 fiddle ter me. He came across the bay frum Dartmouth 
 to do his courtin'. Loveum wuz squar' with me; she 
 'lowed thet Bill Wiggin wuz the best feller for her, bein' 
 ar shore chap ; but she didn't think he'd stick ; an if Bill 
 sloped, she'd splice with me. I thought Bill's chance wuz 
 better nor mine, so I toted over ter Bedford every flopd, 
 ter court Susie Brown durin' high water. 
 
 " Sue wuz ar bloomer! A craft what could sail by, or 
 large ; an' tow ar half dozen sich as me, without strainin' 
 sheet, tack, or bowlin'. I'd ruther have got spliced ter 
 Sue than the widdy ; so I shined my own boots, an' per 
 fumed my ha'r with cajapugy ile, an' tuck the best of the 
 tide ter win her. I left home engaged ter two on um. 
 But I didn't truly 'spose thet I should marry more'n one 
 o' the critters." He took a whiff at his pipe, and fell into
 
 384 The Fleetiving. 
 
 a reverie, from which it required a nudge from Raymond 
 to arouse him. 
 
 "Well, George, which one of the ladies did you select ? " 
 " Nuther one on em. Sue Brown shifted her anchorage 
 a month arter I sailed, an' married an outfittin' son of a 
 gun durin' the year ; an' has got ar blubber-room full o' 
 young uns now. Wicldy Loveum kept up her hyfalutin' 
 love letters till the ship wuz homeward bound, full to the 
 carlines. I brought lots of presents, ter have a jolly good 
 weddin'. I shaved my face all the home passage, an' put 
 cocoanut ile on my ha'r, tryin' ter look sweet an' youngish 
 for the 'casion. But law bless yer, Chaulie, Loveum 
 turned to Bill Wiggin long 'fore I arriv' home, an' I found 
 her nussin' ar small Wiggin when I called on 'er. So I 
 gin 'er the presents, all the same ; stood granther to the 
 brat, let my beard grow, sold my ha'r ile to ar barber, an' 
 never left my best bower at home arter thet, you bet." 
 " Ah, Gifford, you have had a hard time of it." 
 "Yes, Chaulie, it's ar tarnal crooked way o' doing 
 things. But sailor-chaps git hardened to it arter a while : 
 then, 'any port in ar storm ' for the rest o' life." 
 
 "What excuse did the New Bedford girl make, Gifford? " 
 hoping to glean some little glimpse of reason why an 
 honest girl should thus jilt her lover. 
 
 " Oh, she teld ar good story. They all duz. She said 
 she'd hearn tell o' my tipplin' in foreign ports think o' 
 thet an' she feared the habit mought grow onter me. 
 Blame it ! I signed the pledge thet time home, jist to 
 quiet the gal ; an' I never tuck more 'n four glasses ar day 
 arter thet, on ship or shore. Durned onreasonable critters, 
 wimin folks is."
 
 Among Whales. 3$ 5 
 
 Just then the deck officer called down the cabin gang 
 way to say that the Fleetwing had hauled aback, and made 
 a signal of recall at the gaff. The mates shook hands 
 heartily at parting, for a new bond of sympathy had 
 sprung up between them, which Gifford tenderly ex 
 pressed by his looks and the strong grip of his hand at 
 parting. 
 
 The breach of a large whale had been seen far to wind 
 ward, and as the Fleetwing was expected to outsail the 
 Rainbow, both captains thought best to end the gam. 
 When the larboard boat was fairly on the cranes, all sail 
 was made, and the yards braced up sharp for a close 
 haul. 
 
 Nearly an hour passed before further signs of the whales 
 were seen. It was then found that the school was heading 
 with the ship, on a course a little more off from the wind. 
 When the whales went down, the ship tacked to the south 
 for half an hour, and then went in stays again, heading 
 nearly in the wake of the school. 
 
 The Fleetwing had gained two miles to windward of the 
 Rainbow when the whales came up near enough for lower 
 ing. The three larboard boats were sent down, and got a 
 good position, while the school was sounding. Raymond 
 had purposely given Braybrook the lead, and when the 
 whales came up near at hand, the waist-boat went on and 
 struck first. The school appeared confused for a time, 
 and both the mate and Uncle Joe ran among them and 
 fastened. 
 
 The whales went down before any of them could be 
 lanced. They ran slowly off to leeward, so that the four 
 boats from the Rainbow were ready to take a chance at
 
 386 The Fleetwing. 
 
 them when they came up. Captain Flasket and Gifford 
 got fast, which sent the school running to windward at top 
 speed. 
 
 The five fast whales kept among the loose ones, 
 which were too much scattered for the boats to secure any 
 more. Raymond killed his whale first, his example being 
 followed by the four other boats in rapid succession. 
 Both ships took their whales alongside just before sunset, 
 and the next day was busily spent in cutting. 
 
 As no other whales were seen while the boiling and 
 stowing were going on, the ships gave up their afternoons 
 and evenings to pleasant gams, Captain Flasket almost 
 always coming aboard the Fleetwing. 
 
 Twice Mr. Gifford came to visit Raymond. The poor 
 fellow was so much smitten with Miss Allston, he declared 
 that he did nothing but dream about her, and asserted, 
 honestly, that if she would take passage in his ship, he 
 would break his vow, and " buckle down an' count the 
 twelfth gal, in spite o' thunder." 
 
 The five whales made three hundred barrels, and as the 
 ships were mated, the Fleetwing had to give thirty barrels 
 of her oil to Captain Flasket, making a hundred and fifty 
 barrels for each. This catch made the Fleetwing's total 
 one thousand one hundred and fifty-two barrels.
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 THE PHANTOM KISSES. 
 
 A FORTNIGHT passed since the last whales were 
 ** taken, before another was seen. The day had. been 
 so nearly calm that the Rainbow was unable to approach 
 for her usual gam. The whale was a large, lone one, and 
 took fright from hearing the captain's boat approaching in 
 the calm sea. He went down heading toward the other 
 ship, but was not seen again by the lookouts on either 
 vessel. 
 
 As evening set in, the mild trade-winds ventured timidly 
 in toward the land again. There was just sufficient 
 breeze to set the young waves galloping over the glassy 
 surface. The mimic billows purled up into little plumy 
 crests as they ran romping after each other, breaking with 
 a low ripple of laughter like the voices of children when 
 playing on the village green. 
 
 A modest streak of new moon tinted the evening sky 
 with mild radiance, in delicious keeping with the tranquil 
 night. It was a timid tropic moon, coyly borrowing the 
 tiniest thread of light from the departed sun. The moon 
 hung so clear in the western sky that the whole circle of 
 the shadowed orb was seen limned about with a faint rim 
 of gold, meet cincture for a vestal at her evening prayers. 
 
 The sun went down a little to the north of Luna, 
 387
 
 388 The Flcclwing. 
 
 leaving the gorgeous drapery of his couch undrawn during 
 the brief vespers of a tropic twilight. The crimson 
 bars of stratus-clouds lingered longer than usual ere they 
 donned their accustomed purple, and were lifted above 
 the moon by the influence of the land-wind beyond. \Yith 
 folded hands the meek-faced Cynthia sat throned in the 
 west on a pearl-gray pyramid of zodiacal light itself an 
 unsolved mystery of the stellar world. 
 
 When the last ray of refracted sunlight had fairly 
 departed, there was not sufficient light reflected from the 
 young moon to illuminate the deepening shades of night. 
 What light there was was of the kind that tends to people 
 the dusky solitude of the sea with grim phantoms ; impal 
 pable apparitions, shaped according to the varying texture 
 of the individual brain. 
 
 A keen observer might easily trace the psychal effect 
 of this sudden sea-change upon all on board. Among the 
 sailors, who had been dancing merry jigs and singing 
 roistering songs on the forecastle, the change was magical. 
 The dancing ceased, as by a mandate. The singing was 
 confined to a few sentimental groups, whose low-voiced 
 songs were aptly keyed to the sad and solemn hour. A 
 group of the older seamen instinctively gathered about 
 the windlass-bitts and knightheads, urging one of their 
 number to relate some dismal sea-yarn, while they sni 
 about the speaker smoking their everlasting pipes. As the 
 hoarse, sepulchral voice of the story-teller peopled the 
 dusky gloom with spooks and other uncanny creatures, he 
 aroused the superstitious fears of his illiterate audience, 
 till one by one they gathered nearer and nearer about 
 him ; as if the author of these ghostly sea-yarns had the
 
 The Lonely Hour. 389 
 
 power to protect them from the terrors which he had 
 created. 
 
 The officers, who had briskly walked the quarter-deck 
 till the sun went down, were now seen gathered about the 
 weather-rail, amidships. There was a tone of tender 
 solicitude in their voices, while they talked of home and 
 planned projects of improvement for the future happiness 
 of their dear ones, should the voyage continue as pros 
 perous as it had begun. This home-sentiment, on ship 
 board, becomes the strongest incentive for officers and 
 boat-steerers to each do his best for the general good of 
 all ; while the homeless shellback of the forecastle knows 
 no higher interest than the debasing allurements of one 
 port after another not only throughout the voyage, but 
 during his whole aimless life. Yet, on these lonely nights, 
 one and all are greatly dependent on companionship for 
 their very existence. 
 
 Miss Allston had watched the bewitching sunset scene 
 from her cabin window, and more than all others felt the 
 sudden sense of solicitude for companionship when the 
 encroaching darkness crept like an eerie into her soul. 
 When she went up into the cabin, Mrs. Talbert was just 
 ordering lights ; then she and the captain devoted them 
 selves to a frolic with their child ; wholly oblivious of the 
 lonely girl, who stood looking upon the pretty domestic 
 scene. 
 
 It suddenly occurred to Asenith Allston that there was 
 no niche in any human heart open to receive her. Then 
 she thought of Raymond, with this great weight of new 
 found sorrow to bear, through such a lonely hour. With 
 tremulous lips and tearful eyes she stole out upon deck,
 
 390 The Flcctwing. 
 
 hoping to exchange a word of condolence with one for 
 whom her heart had ached through all the long day. The 
 busy scenes of boiling, and visiting back and forth with 
 the other ship, had debarred their meeting alone for two 
 weeks ; but the warm-hearted girl had daily reflected and 
 mourned over his sufferings with more profound sympathy 
 than any other. 
 
 She groped her way aft to the taffrail, and stood alone 
 in the silence ; peering about her, she unconsciously 
 drank in the weird influence pervading the night. The 
 girl's back was to the moon ; and she reverently turned 
 her eyes to the stars, which gemmed the cloudless canopy. 
 The fore and mainsails were hanging in the brails, so that 
 the girl could just distinguish, with ear and eye, the 
 group of officers in the waist ; and dimly discern the 
 phantom-like clusters of men on the forward deck. A 
 sense of loneliness and awe crept over her ; a feeling of 
 utter desolation, lest none should ever love and care for 
 her. 
 
 When Asenith turned, and discovered the delicate 
 crescent in the west, a great sigh of relief escaped the 
 homesick girl. She was startled, to hear her sigh echoed 
 back from the dismal gloom. Hearkening, she heard 
 numerous responsive expirations coming from another 
 lonely soul, somewhere in the solemn darkness. 
 
 Peering sharply about her in the starlit gloom, she dis 
 covered Raymond, seated alone in the weather quarter 
 boat. With a cry of relief, she asked with mock humility 
 if she might keep him company. The mate answered by 
 rising and giving the girl his hand; steadying her care 
 fully into the boar,.,where he had hoped to seclude him 
 self from all intrusion.
 
 Raymond and Asenith. 391 
 
 " Dear me ! " sighed the half weeping girl, well knowing 
 that her company was not wanted, " what a sad and lone 
 some time this is ; I never felt so forsaken before." 
 
 " It is a precious hour to me ; in keeping with my 
 thoughts, as I have sat here brooding over the past, and 
 called up the loved faces to people the ghostly gloom." 
 
 "What delicious home-plans are you contemplating? 
 Come, be kind, and take me into your confidence ; for I 
 feel so lonely and unloved at this moment that I wish I 
 had never been born." It was the cry of a drowning 
 soul ; and for a moment Raymond aroused from his selfish 
 mood of grief to lend the girl a helping hand. 
 
 "And did you, too, receive unpleasant news from 
 home ? " As if unhappiness could only be doled out to a 
 jilted lover. 
 
 " Oh, no ; my home-news was all I could ask. Let me 
 hope, Mr. Raymond, that you are not brooding over the 
 one sad event which lies most heavily upon your heart." 
 All unconsciously the girl laid her hand gently upon Ray 
 mond's arm, a natural gesture, intended to impress him 
 with her profound sympathy. 
 
 " Ah, Miss Allston, this is an hour when the saddest 
 experience of our lives is sure to find us out, and fasten 
 upon us with tooth and nail, whether we will or no " ; and 
 the sad fellow sighed lustily, as if the confession had 
 given relief. 
 
 " I feared as much. But, dear friend, it is not good for 
 us to dwell upon the irrevocable. Come, please talk to 
 me about some of the future plans you spoke of." 
 
 The sympathetic fingers upon Raymond's arm slid 
 quickly down upon his hand, as it lay on the gunwale of
 
 392 The Fleetwing. 
 
 the boat ; pressing it tenderly, as if to further impress the 
 girl's plea for his confidence. 
 
 " Bless you ! The great charm has suddenly gone out 
 of all my ambitious schemes. I can't find an instant's 
 pleasure groping into the future, as before this hateful 
 news came to me." The grieved fellow gripped the gun 
 wale, which lay beneath his imprisoned hand, with a 
 clutch of strong agony that horrified his companion at 
 this evidence of his suffering. 
 
 " Oh, oh ! Mr. Raymond, they have told me that you 
 were strong, and had the iron resolution to put this decep 
 tive girl out of your memory forever. Will you, must you, 
 cling to that sweet delusion ; that hateful, unreal dream, 
 whose subject you ought to hate for her infidelity ? " 
 The girl's hand clutched the mate's as strongly as his 
 grasped the gunwale. 
 
 " Never fear, I've strength and latent resolution enough 
 to master this matter as you would wish in time. But 
 there is an element of mystery in this affair, which 
 prompts curiosity, and tempts a philosophic mind to 
 ponder and explore the nature of this girl. It horrifies 
 me to think of her passionate love being so easily turned 
 into indifference, if not hate." 
 
 " It is an element of great unhappiness to you, and of 
 deep regret to all who love you. Do, please, cast all 
 thought of that hateful creature from you." 
 
 "Ah, my little friend, that's easier said than done. I 
 deem it best to explore this hateful problem ; lest I find 
 myself at enmity with the whole universe of women, be 
 cause of the foul blot this one base girl has put upon the 
 integrity of her sex."
 
 The Girl's Appeal. 393 
 
 " Dear me ! has the poisoned arrow struck so deep as 
 that?" 
 
 " Yes, it rankles to the core. The incision must be 
 deep and thorough to probe to the bottom of such a 
 wound as this." 
 
 " Will you not let me help you to solve this grave 
 problem ? " 
 
 " Not to-night. There may be questions I shall wish to 
 ask you and Mrs. Talbert ; but not yet. The capital 
 operation is suicidal, and can be done by no other hand 
 than mine." 
 
 " Well, so be it. Captain Talbert has been telling us 
 this afternoon that you are to have the ship when we 
 arrive at Honolulu. He will return home, and you are to 
 continue the voyage as master." 
 
 " Ah, that is news to me. I knew that I was to have 
 the ship after we have filled her." 
 
 " His statement was very explicit. So you see, dear 
 friend, that you should plan your plans anew. The future 
 is bright and beautiful before you." 
 
 " Yet ambition is now as dead within me as the 
 wooden gunwale beneath my hand." 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Raymond, be strong, be noble ! It is your 
 nature, and your birthright, to be brave and good. For 
 get this corroding grief, and tell your little friend where 
 you will make your voyage when you become captain of 
 the beautiful ship " ; but she could elicit no reply. 
 
 All unwittingly, the girl's hand stole into the cold palm 
 of her sad and silent companion. Raymond clasped the 
 warm, soft fingers, without a thought of what he was doing. 
 His perceptions were sluggish, for the moment ; and his
 
 394 The Fleetwing. 
 
 heart so pre-occupied that he did not even note the quick, 
 pleasurable thrills that ran riot through his frame, im 
 parted by the sympathetic touch of the winsome girl. 
 
 For a long half-hour they remained in the boat, dumb as 
 statues. Tireless and tongueless, Asenith sat clinging to 
 Raymond's hand, trebly content with her situation at his 
 side ; with the solitude and the fostering shelter of the 
 darkness ; and with the oblivious mood of her companion, 
 though he ignored her very existence. 
 
 It seemed to the bewildered girl almost like a full con 
 summation of her wishes. Her heart was full to the brim 
 with affection for Raymond at that moment ; exulting to 
 the glad timbrel of the mimic seas ; beating in unison with 
 the bell-music of the little waves as they purled up into 
 tiny crests, and ran romping after each other. Above all, 
 she was entranced with the roguish smacks of the kissing 
 billows, as they leaped in childish rapture against the 
 smooth copper of the ship. 
 
 The girl's eyes and ears became attuned to every sight 
 and sound about her. While noting the alternate sighs 
 and tumultuous breathing of her loved companion, she 
 lent an ear to the soft rising breeze as it gently careened 
 the vessel, till ship and moon leaned tenderly over toward 
 each other, like lovers seeking a good-night greeting. 
 
 She watched the slow westing of the baby moon as it 
 sank to rest, and saw her waning light glimmering its 
 farewell sheen on the dusky sails. Saw the vast pyramid 
 of canvas clinging like a ghostly mist about the invisible 
 masts, as unreal as clouds, floating along with the ship, 
 while the vessel glided on into the impenetrable gloom. 
 
 The moon had nearly set when Raymond aroused to
 
 Phantom Kisses. 395 
 
 the conviction that he had a companion at his side. 
 Realizing that the hour was late, he admonished Asenith 
 that it was time she were in bed. As the fond girl still 
 clung fast to his hand, without offering to move, mechani 
 cally he gave voice to his thoughts. Pointing to the last 
 little finger-tip of the crescent lingering above the sea, he 
 said : 
 
 " That streak of moon is a fateful thing, more ominous 
 to us than we know. It points us onward to the south, 
 away from the dear home-land, for which we long, but 
 which we shall not see for many a long year." 
 
 And again he dropped into silence. It seemed as if his 
 thoughts had been of home, and, tiring of the hateful 
 problem which he had failed to solve, he now wished that 
 he might return, and confront pretty Mary Tudor, and ask 
 of her a thoughtless girl's reason for a heartless girl's act. 
 
 When the moon disappeared over the ocean-rim, and 
 left the ship and sea in darkness, a dual sigh came rust 
 ling down out of the quarter-boat, then low voices were 
 heard exchanging a tender good-night in the sudden 
 gloom. If the listening ears are capable of vouching for 
 what they hear competent to distinguish between the 
 kisses of purling waves and the flesh-and-blood kisses of 
 human lips then a kiss, one or more, was heard taking 
 advantage of the darkness, as many a maiden's first-time 
 kiss has been known to do before. 
 
 To just what category of osculation these phantom lip- 
 greetings belong, is most difficult to determine. The re 
 spondent kiss, which was the louder of the two, evidently 
 came from an overladen heart ; one too grief-stricken to 
 admit being in love with the charming girl at his side. On
 
 The Fleetwing. 
 
 the other hand, none can doubt but the initial kiss meant 
 more in Asenith Allston's heart than she designed, for she 
 was a free, but not a forward girl. 
 
 May it not be that the pretty minx had so long 
 watched the moon kissing the sails, and heard the waves 
 kissing the ship, that her little head got bewildered with 
 the delicious smacks seen and heard about her, until at 
 length her impulsive heart leaped to her mouth, and laid 
 bare her love upon the lips of the man she adored ? A 
 catastrophe that has happened to many another maiden, 
 when lured on by opportunity and darkness, a most 
 alluring pair.
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 THE BATTLE OF THE GIANTS. 
 
 TOURING the afternoon of the third day's cruising off 
 *-' River La Plata, a sail hove in sight, far to windward, 
 heading out from the land. The vessel was supposed to be 
 a Monte Video craft by her sluggish movement, coining from 
 Rat Island, and no interest was taken in her. But after a 
 while she squared away and ran down before the wind, 
 to the surprise of all, as if she wished to speak the Fleet- 
 wing. Even then, little notice was taken of the clumsy 
 old tub, until the officer aloft called out to say that she 
 was a whaler. 
 
 Captain Talbert ordered the mainsail up, and backed 
 the mainyards. The ship proved to be the Emerald, 
 C iptain Bunkum, a century-old vessel from Nantuckct. 
 She was homeward bound, forty months out, with but two 
 thousand barrels of sperm-oil. They had seen whales 
 enough to fill four ships, but drunkenness and mismanage 
 ment were at the bottom of their ill-luck. 
 
 Captain Bunkum, and his profane brother Bill, the sec 
 ond mate, came aboard and spent the evening. Bunkum 
 \vns going to cruise there a month, hoping to add some 
 thing to his poor voyage. He could hardly believe his 
 ears when told of the Fleetwing's success. Unlucky as 
 he was, he was nevertheless a wise old sperm-whaler. He 
 
 397
 
 398 The Fleetwing. 
 
 advised to cruise toward the shore in the forenoon, and 
 head offshore in the afternoon, to keep the sun at the back 
 of the lookouts. Bunkum had seen whales thereabout 
 several times, but had got none. Something had happened 
 to prevent, he said, his rummy breath was sufficient hint 
 of what it might have been. When the captains separated, 
 Bunkum promised to run off five miles during the night, 
 that one ship should not interfere with the other's chance 
 the next day. 
 
 Raymond was not well pleased with what he had seen 
 aboard the Emerald, nor the drunken company he found 
 there. It was a scene of filth and indolence ; everything 
 hanging with fag-ends. Tidy old Ben and Tom were also 
 disgusted. Buntline said : " Sweepin' decks, 'board o' 
 there, means ter hide yer dirt 'hind casks, an' under Chip's 
 work-bench. An' poor whiskey was tuck at meal times, 
 'stead o' coffee an' t'a." 
 
 Early the next morning, when the hands were called 
 out to make sail, it was discovered that the Emerald had 
 played sharp practice on the Fleetwing. Instead of 
 running off five miles to leeward, as agreed upon the night 
 before, she had taken position four miles ahead of the 
 Fleetwing, leaving the latter to follow over the grounds 
 which the former had overlooked. 
 
 There was a howl of indignation among the men, while 
 making sail ; and they wove in an angry chorus about the 
 contemptible Bunkum, every sail they hoisted. Raymond 
 was so piqued at the unfair transaction that he ordered 
 every drawing sail set. Bracing up sharp, and keeping 
 near to the wind, yet rap-full, the fine sailing qualities of 
 the ship soon took her abeam of the Emerald, and about two
 
 Lowering for Whales. 399 
 
 miles to windward. This course was held until after 
 breakfast, when the ship was two miles ahead, and three 
 miles to windward of her companion. 
 
 Braybrook was aloft, and hailed the deck to say that 
 the Emerald was keeping away a little ; and that several 
 extra men had gathered at her mastheads, some of whom 
 were pointing spyglasses down off their lee-bow ; but as 
 yet nothing could be seen. 
 
 The mate had the best eyesight in the ship, and at a 
 hint from the captain he caught up his glass and went 
 aloft to help Braybrook scan the ground closely. The 
 whales were down, and nothing could be seen ; yet both 
 officers were satisfied that whales had been seen from the 
 Emerald and advised the ship's being kept boldly away; 
 taking the chance of being up with the school in time to 
 lower with the Emerald. This was done. Yards were 
 squared in, spanker and mainsail brailed up, and the 
 course laid so as to bisect the Emerald's track two miles 
 ahead of her present position. 
 
 After the Fleetwing had run off a mile and a half, a 
 small breach was seen right ahead, about three miles 
 distant. The Emerald kept away, heading for the whales, 
 she being about half a mile the nearest ; and as the wind 
 was dropping, she hoisted her boats, ready to lower at a 
 moment's notice. The two ships ran down within a mile 
 of the whales, which proved to be a large school of cows 
 and calves ; and promised a good catch for both ships, 
 whichever boats should fasten first. 
 
 The three larboard boats were lowered from both ships. 
 The two captains remained on board to direct matters. 
 The Emerald's boats imprudently took oars, as well as
 
 400 TJie Fleetwing. 
 
 sails, which compelled the Fleetwing's boats to do the 
 same, even at the risk of startling the whales. This 
 incident showed a spirit of desperation, if not unfairness, 
 in Bunkum, at the start. It said, plain as words : If we 
 can't catch the whales, you sha'n't. 
 
 By shooting his boat out from under the lee-bow quickly. 
 Bailey got the start of the others, and kept the lead to the 
 end. The old man's movements were more sprightly and 
 aggressive than usual, and it was afterwards made known 
 that he knew, at the start, that the day was his. The 
 bow-boat was the best puller on board. Thus the other 
 two officers were well satisfied to pit Joe Bailey, and his 
 fast boat, against the boastful Bill Bunkum, who had 
 grossly insulted their venerable old shipmate the day 
 before. 
 
 This disagreeable Bunkum purposely strayed away 
 from among his own boats, and sidled over toward the 
 Fleetwing's ; with the malicious intent of pulling in ahead of 
 Uncle Joe, and depriving him of all chance at the whales. 
 This seemed all the more aggravating when there were 
 countless numbers of whales directly under the lee of the 
 Emerald. This incident engendered bad blood at the 
 start, but the sequel proved more than satisfactory. 
 
 Though all the six boats dashed along at a spanking 
 rate, the two antagonistic boats easily kept the lead, and 
 seemed well matched for speed, keeping about equidistant 
 from the whales. Just when all eyes aboard the ships 
 were eagerly watching to see Bailey and Bunkum fasten, 
 up popped a school of big killers, sea bloodhounds of 
 the whale species, and dashed furiously among the 
 whales. This so alarmed the motherly cows for their
 
 Bunkum and Bailey. 401 
 
 calves, that they hastily secured their young, and ran 
 heads out, fast as they could bolt, to leeward. The ships 
 kept away and followed on after the boats, which could 
 look for no chance to fasten at present. 
 
 After an hour's hard harrying of the school, the 
 killers devoured their fill of calves, and gave up the chase. 
 The whales soon began to slow up, and run at a more 
 moderate pace ; not quite so fast as the boats could sail. 
 During the fracas with the killers, Bunkum and Bailey 
 kept along nip-and-tuck, within easy hail, neither per 
 mitting the other to get the lead ; and without any special 
 incentive to buckle to their oars in such a long-winded 
 race. 
 
 Soon after the killers left, a large cow, having a small 
 calf which could no longer hold on to her back, straggled 
 out astern of the school, right ahead of Uncle Joe. After 
 pulling a few strokes and observing that Bunkum did not 
 attempt to deprive him of his chance, the old veteran 
 peaked his oars and endeavored to approach the whale 
 carefully under sail. 
 
 Bunkum kept straight on ahead with his oars, as if 
 innocently intent upon his own business, and wholly 
 oblivious of the bow-boat's chance. But when his boat 
 had gained about three times her length in advance of 
 Bailey's, and he saw that he could sheer quickly off and 
 steal the lead from his black brother, he could not resist 
 the temptation, and wheeled and pulled for Uncle Joe's 
 whale like a madman. 
 
 Finding himself tricked by the white wretch, fired Joe 
 Bailey with righteous indignation ; and he took to his 
 oars, determined to regain his lost ground. The Nan-
 
 402 TJic Fleetwing. 
 
 tucket crew had been long inured to pulling during their 
 forty months' voyage, and they handled their oars with 
 consummate skill. Their well limbered boat was as pliant 
 on the water as an eel, yielding easily to the sinuous rise 
 and fall of the sea. These were great advantages over 
 Bailey's firm new boat, and the lack of uniform motion in 
 his less practised crew. 
 
 But Bailey's boat was longer ; built upon finer lines ; 
 and was handled at the steering-oar with much greater 
 intelligence than Bunkum's. The Bedford boat was the 
 fastest of all the cedar shells of the Fleetwing, and, if 
 equally well handled, would outspeed the other. 
 
 As to the boat-headers, it was 'Tucket against 'Tucket, 
 as to their birthright, and any other prestige except 
 color that the famous sand Island could impart of merit 
 to her skilled race of whalemen. 
 
 However evenly balanced the boats might be, Joe 
 Bailey was steadily gaining on his opponent, though it was 
 questionable if there was sufficient time to pass Bunkum 
 before he could strike the whale. But a new element of 
 vantage now arose. The excitable 'Sconset man grew so 
 fidgety at the steady gain of his black rival that he soon 
 checked the speed of his own boat by stamping, swearing, 
 and dancing round the stern-sheets while importuning his 
 crew to greater exertions. 
 
 On the contrary, Uncle Joe kept time to every move 
 ment of the boat, as she surged clown over the long loping 
 seas ; thus helped, rather than deterred her speed, with 
 the rhythmic swaying motion of his ungainly body. This 
 vantage was so evident to the Nantucket spouter, that he 
 fairly boiled with rage ; hurtling his vile maledictions upon 
 his men, in most unseemly manner.
 
 Nip-and- Tuck. 403 
 
 " What, 'Tuckets ! Is we uns to be beaten by ar damned 
 right-whaler ? Pull, you infernal devils!" shouted the 
 bilious brute, as he threw down his seedy hat, and jumped 
 on it. " Will yer let thet durned one-eyed niggar pass us? 
 Buckle to yer oars, yer low-lived cusses ; if there's ar drop 
 o' white blood in yer veins " ; and he danced and swore to 
 the tune of his own vituperations. 
 
 " Doan yer min' dem yar wicked white folks, chilun," 
 exclaimed the saintly old man, who had become soft as 
 pussy-down, while Bunkum's oaths rattled about his ears. 
 " Pull har-r-d, honeys. A lon-n-g, lubly stroke. Eh, ar, 
 dat's um ! See 'er scoot, on de top ob dat sea ; " and the 
 sweet-tempered old darkey grew brimful of fun as he 
 witnessed the rage of his white brother; who, having 
 stolen another man's chance at a whale, showed an amaz 
 ing dislike at being chased as a thief. 
 
 " Do yer hear thet niggar ? Blast him ! he's laffin at 
 we old sparm- whalers ; 'cause we can't pull ar boat. 
 Confound yer. wake up ! Pull, an' yer shall have plum- 
 duff fur dinner every day." The poor fellows rarely got it 
 once a week. Bunkum had purposely changed his tune 
 experimentally, aping the soft words of his ebony 
 brother in the other boat. 
 
 " Pull hard, Jose boy ; an', honey, ke'p yer port eye on 
 yer ole farder. When dis yer one peeper winks, den, sah, 
 peak de oar queek ; and put in de irons." Jose scowled 
 ferociously, and nodded assent ; somewhat as a mastiff 
 might show his teeth, and growl. 
 
 " Blast yer souls ! See thet niggar gain on us." The 
 fickle Bunkum had relented of his good streak, and again 
 fell back upon his oaths ; tuning up to the highest notes
 
 404 The Fleetwing, 
 
 in his gamut. " Who is it what don't pull in this ere 
 boat? I'm twiggin' yer; an', by hokey ! I'll punch ther 
 head of any cuss what lets up a ha'r." 
 
 " Dat's um, chilun ! Let out nuther link, honey dears. 
 Dar we scoot ! Dar we lap enter 'im. Sorry fur dat po' 
 Nan-Tucket pusson. How de 'Sconset folks wul laf at Mm, 
 fur gittin' beat by ar spec'ble culled genlem. How lubly 
 dat ar Misser Bunkum mus' feel ; he swar' so dreffly." 
 
 Just then the school dipped under water for a few min 
 utes. While the whales were down, the bow-boat gained 
 so as to lap half her length forward on the Nantucket 
 boat. When the whales came up, the boats had ap 
 proached quite near to them ; but instead of the amiable 
 white sinner keeping out on his side of the whale s wakt, 
 he crowded over upon the ebony saint, so as almost to 
 lock oars. Bunkum kept square behind the whale, until 
 close upon her flukes, and then attempted to thrust his 
 boat over between Uncle Joe and the whale. This rude 
 act riled the saintly old man beyond endurance ; and 
 prompted him to something desperate. 
 
 " Stand up, Coffin ! " yelled Bunkum with a ringing 
 oath. " Take her, soon ez yer can reach the hump. Put 
 one iron inter the whale, an' t'other inter thet damned 
 niggar ! " 
 
 The bow of Bunkum's boat was just then ranging up 
 over the flukes, in his mad attempt to go forward on the 
 starboard side of the whale. Coffin peaked his oar, 
 leaped to his feet, clutched his iron, and glared savagely 
 around at the black boat-steerer, just then drawing up 
 abreast of him ; as if meditating the murderous act which 
 he was ordered to do.
 
 Stovcn F>oat. 40$ 
 
 "Pull hard, honeys. Few mo' strokes, an' dat whale 
 am ourn. Neber min' dat wicked Misser Bunkum. Ef et 
 cum ter harpoonin' niggars, hyah ! dar's two genlem can 
 play et dat game." 
 
 The old man grinned with a comical chuckle, as he 
 took in the delicate situation of his opponent and saw the 
 other boat lapped well up on the flukes; Coffin standing 
 there with his iron drawn back, ready for the word to dart. 
 The Christian brother could wait no longer for the bap 
 tismal act which he contemplated. The one lone peeper 
 blinked like a setting star. 
 
 Up leaped the ferocious Jose, and grasped his harpoon. 
 Bending his long snakish body back over the bowman, he 
 let fly his huge iron over the head of the other boat, pierc 
 ing home among the bone and sinews of the whale's 
 small ; the wickedest of all places to induce kicking. 
 
 Quick as a flash, the wounded whale let fly a tremen 
 dous up-cut with her flukes, cutting off six feet of the Emer 
 ald's boat at the bow ; and sending the long gaunt boat- 
 steerer flying fifty feet in the air. The whale stopped 
 short, and Bailey's boat shot forward sufficiently for Jose 
 to drive home his second iron under the hump of the kick 
 ing whale. 
 
 No one was seriously hurt among the Emerald's crew, 
 but an acre of sprawling legs and arms came tumbling 
 from aloft : followed by the mast and sail, which covered 
 the uninjured Coffin, as with a white shroud, where he lay 
 sprawling on the water, upheld by an oar. 
 
 Bunkum's end of the stoven boat filled, and rolled bot 
 tom up. Upon this, the big- bellied officer climbed ; after a 
 deal of puffing, swearing, and spluttering water as pro-
 
 The Fleetwing. 
 
 fanity seemed to be his chief propelling power in swim 
 ming, as well as rowing. The crew were floating around 
 on oars and paddles, endeavoring to pick up some of their 
 personal wreckage of hats and coats. 
 
 " Eh, ar, dat's um, Jose Verd ! T'ank de Lawd fur 
 h'istin' dat ere po' sinner ! " exclaimed Uncle Joe, in the 
 pious fervor of his heart, when he saw no one had been 
 killed. 
 
 " Peak de oars, chilun. Wet de line, tub-oarsman. 
 Dem yare white folks mus'n't wenture 'tween dis ole nig 
 an' him Dinah whale. 'Tain't ar pruper ting ter do ; no 
 sah-ee ! " 
 
 The school felt the shock as well as Bunkum, though 
 they did not swear ; but they sounded straight downward, 
 leaving the bow-boat's people a much needed breathing- 
 spell in which to look about them. Uncle Joe's risibles 
 were gleefully affected by the lively aquatic scene wit 
 nessed about a ship's length astern of his boat. 
 
 " Mussy seks ! How butiful dose yar 'Tucket folkes 
 duz swim. Hyah ! ef dare ain't dat wicked old brudcler 
 Bunkum, shinin' up atop ob 'is yallar-bottom boat ; zactly 
 like ar seal on de rock." Just here Uncle Joe's soliloquy 
 was interrupted by a yell, akin to that of a famished 
 wolf : 
 
 " Blood an' thunder ! Here, you durned infernal nig- 
 
 gar ! Slack out yer line, an' pick me up; or by " 
 
 Bunkum's unholy demonstrations were terminated sud 
 denly. Though he did not explode, as one might expect, 
 he expanded with such violent combustion that he jostled 
 the boat, and was soused over backwards into the sea. 
 This made him so mad that it required the utmost exer-
 
 Bill BJs Wrath. 407 
 
 tion of his stern propellers and side-wheels to get him 
 safely back upon the yellow-bottomed boat again. 
 
 Much to the surprise of all, the water-soaked Mr. Bun 
 kum seemed just as profane as his counterpart the dry- 
 clad, swearing Bill B. for even after a second rescue 
 from the wet water about him, the dripping Bill rattled off 
 a string of oaths long as the main-bowline. 
 
 There he sat astride of the wrecked boat, from which 
 he drove all others of the crew, poking the long wet hair 
 from his pimpled face and lobster-colored nose ; shaking 
 his pondrous fist at Joe Bailey, the merry man of peace, 
 who replied gleefully to Bunkum's impotent rage : 
 
 " Why, bress yer, brudder Bunkum, dis niggar did hope 
 yo' uns would hab ar change ob heart arter two baptisms. 
 Mus' be, brudder Bill, dat yo' uns am ar dreffle wicked, 
 hard-shell baptis', sah. But p'raps yo' won't steal no mo' 
 whales. Eh, brudder Bill ? " 
 
 " You slack out, an' pick us up ; or blood an' blazes ! ef 
 I don't bung yer udder eye wus'n Mocha Dick ever 
 did." 
 
 "Tut, tut, sah; yo' am preachin' frum de wrong tex. 
 P'raps yo' wud like ter harpoon dis brack brudder ? Tell 
 yer what, Bill Bunkum, yo' sartinly makes ar werry 
 spect'ble lookin' puffin' pig, histed up atop ob dat ar 
 yallar boat." 
 
 And the old darkey laughed with a malicious relish 
 over the sad pickle of the unrepentant spouter who had 
 feloniously attempted to defraud him of his whale. And 
 Uncle Joe actually let his boat drift back within easy 
 talking distance of the pugnacious Bill, that he might 
 taunt the profane wretch with his sins of omission, rather
 
 408 Tlie Fleetwing. 
 
 than commission, because of his ill-success in stealing the 
 whale of a poor old nigger man. 
 
 Just then the school " milled " short round, under wa 
 ter, and started to windward, the fast whale among them. 
 The two ships lay hove to about a mile off. The boats, 
 with the exception of the Emerald's third mate who 
 was pulling for the stoven boat were keeping the 
 weather-gauge of the fast whale, waiting for the school to 
 come up. 
 
 Uncle Joe called his boat-steerer aft, and went forward 
 to prepare for work. " Cum aft, heah, Jose, yo' lubly 
 niggar, what did yo' work so butiful. Clar de lance dar, 
 niggar Jim. Dere dey cums up, chilun. Hitch on, an' 
 haul de line." 
 
 As the boat started ahead, Mr. Bailey turned to take a 
 mock farewell of the man whom he so greatly despised. 
 Lifting his palm-leaf hat gracefully, he bowed politely to 
 the enraged blubber-hunter on the stoven boat, whose 
 hatless head and purple face seemed ready to burst at the 
 mock courtesy of his black brother. The whales came 
 up, and these doughty whaling knights parted forever. 
 
 The last seen of the demoralized Bill Bunkum, there 
 was a brimstone-colored cloud hovering about his impious 
 head, which emitted flashes like a volcanic eruption. Pos 
 sibly this was but a yellow gleam reflected from the 
 bottom of his boat, and not sulphur fumes, as was sup 
 posed. But the bow-boat's crew never ceased to believe 
 that it was the natural effect of Bunkum's terribly pungent 
 oaths, which must have ignited like tinder, when he con 
 templated the joyous' success of the " durned one-eyed 
 niggar " whom he had failed to outwit.
 
 Uncle Joe in the School. 409 
 
 " Coil de line clar, Jose, 'cause dish chile gwine ter 
 grease cle lance in sum dose critters. Dish yere cullud 
 pusson am 'spected to do suffin fur de caus' ob de 'suited 
 brack man." 
 
 The jolly old whaleman chuckled at the good things 
 which he contemplated. His sagacity and experience led 
 him to behold all the elements of a successful whale-hunt 
 in a school of cows and calves which had been thor 
 oughly frightened by killers. Before the line could be 
 hauled in, the fast whale had wiggled herself and calf into 
 the middle of the school. 
 
 As the whales approached the ships, the two captains 
 lowered their boats, and lay on their oars, hoping to strike 
 as the school passed. The other boats were to leeward, 
 pulling lustily after the fast boat, which had just got 
 among the hindmost whales. 
 
 " Here we is, honeys, rite 'mong de schule. Dat'll 
 do de line, chilun. Clar de third iron, an' gimme ar 
 drug." 
 
 Bending the two implements on to a five-fathom 
 warp, Uncle Joe watched his chance to fling a deadly iron 
 into a loose whale. Gathering quickly in on the line, the 
 boat ran alongside of a large cow. and Bailey let fly into 
 her life. Blood followed, and the whale slacked back, 
 until Braybrook caught up with it and fastened, holding on 
 till she turned up, so that he could waif her. 
 
 Seeing the mate close astern, Uncle Joe lanced a loose 
 whale and brought blood. Raymond pulled up and 
 secured her. This second whale followed after the school 
 till she died, leaving the mate in good position for 
 another,
 
 4IO The Fleetwing. 
 
 The captains met the school just then. Their boat- 
 steerers stood up, irons in hand, apparently sure of a 
 chance. But some sharp-eyed cow caught sight of the 
 boats, and down went the whole body, running to wind 
 ward of the ships while they were sounding. The bow- 
 boat took that time to prepare two other drug irons. To 
 one iron was attached a paddle, and to the other a large 
 sealskin buoy. 
 
 When the school came up, the fast whale still led the 
 herd, but there were two fat cows, with small calves, strag 
 gling a little one side of the trailing line. An inexpe 
 rienced person could not conceive how the boat could be 
 made to reach them. Uncle Joe eyed the fat prizes a 
 moment, and saw that the two captains were pulling 
 quickly up astern of him. Saintly old darkey that he was, 
 he felt an unchristian desire to possess both whales ; at 
 least he would deprive the man Bunkum from catching 
 either of them : 
 
 " Jose ! yo' seed dem yare two mudder cows ? " 
 
 " Yis, ob course I duz," growled the black barbarian. 
 
 "An' duz yer seed dat are ole Cap'in Bunkum pullin' 
 up dar fur one on um ? " 
 
 For answer, the surly boat-steerer showed his rows of 
 white teeth, and snarled like a terrier. 
 
 " Well, den y tek yo' oar and put dish niggar rite ober 
 'tween dem critters; same ez yo' put 'lasses 'tween two 
 flapjacks." 
 
 Jose's eyes lit up like two burnt holes in a blanket. 
 Grappling his steering-oar, he thrust it hard over to port. 
 The boat swerved well to starboard, near enough to reach 
 one of the whales; but that was not satisfactory, as was 
 manifest from a deeply muttered oath in Portuguese.
 
 Po CJiile, Doan Swar. 411 
 
 "Well, well, honey dear; doan yer sw'ar, like dat ole 
 Bill Bunkum ; 'cause, Jose, de Lawd am wid us ter-day." 
 
 But a glance behind showed that Captain Bunkum 
 would be upon them in five minutes. This brought 
 another rumble of profanity from Jose. 
 
 "Tut, tut, po' chile ; duz yo' wanter hab dish yere boat 
 stove fur sw'arin' ? Joe Bailey wull help yer do dat lee- 
 die job." 
 
 Taking out the chock-pin, Uncle Joe bowed the line 
 over to the port cleat ; and in an instant the boat swerved 
 fairly in between the two cows. Captain Bunkum's crew 
 were pulling hard for the starboard whale. Into that one, 
 Bailey flung a drug-iron, which brought thick blood ; and 
 secured the whale just as the Emerald's boat-steerer was 
 called up to take his iron. 
 
 Catching up his lance, the old darkey turned and thrust 
 it into the port whale, bringing good blood just as Captain 
 Talbert pulled up and fastened. The two cows, which 
 had been so friendly in life, continued to run together till 
 they died. 
 
 This double transaction caused the school to sound and 
 run briskly, dropping Bunkum's two loose boats quickly 
 astern. An event which induced Captain Bunkum to dis 
 close the family traits of profanity, and brotherly love for 
 the black race ; Joe Bailey in particular. 
 
 Raymond and Braybrook had waifed their dead whales, 
 and were now tugging hard at the oars to overtake the 
 school while it was down. The Emerald's two boats were 
 in a line with the Fleetwing's, so matters were approach 
 ing a crisis ; but Uncle Joe was yet master of the situa 
 tion. Slacking out his line, he took Raymond's boat in
 
 412 The Fleet-wing. 
 
 tow, and again hauled back over the running school ; tak 
 ing the occasion to borrow a couple of harpoons and 
 drugs from the mate. 
 
 When the school came up, the larboard boat was 
 dropped, and took to her oars, having a quarter of a mile 
 lead of the other boats. There was a pod of ten whales 
 about the fast cow; the rest of the school were widely 
 scattered. Uncle Joe hauled in among the pod and 
 lanced three whales in as many minutes ; two of which he 
 secured with the mate's drug-irons, and Raymond secured 
 the third one by fastening to it. 
 
 The whales again went down ; the two drugged whales 
 going with the school. Braybrook sprang ahead and was 
 taken in tow by the fast boat, which gave a needed rest to 
 his men. Uncle Joe secured one more drug-iron from 
 the waist-boat, and in a few minutes was among the school 
 again. At that time, he lanced two whales, throwing a 
 drug-iron into one ; and Braybrook secured the other. 
 
 There were now five other loose whales running with 
 the fast one. Bailey had but one more drug-iron the 
 one with a paddle attached and to lance the loose 
 whales would be to kill them for the hated Bunkum and 
 his mate ; then tugging away close astern, ready to seize 
 upon any lawful prize a whale not harpooned. 
 
 The Fleetwing's boats were fully occupied for the time 
 and still there were three drugged whales spouting blood, 
 and following after the school, which required looking 
 after, while the Emerald's boats were around. For a 
 while Uncle Joe forbore lancing other whales lest they 
 should accrue to the benefit of the Bunkum family ; but 
 fearing they would steal some of his drugged whales, he
 
 One More Whale. 413 
 
 finally deemed it expedient to employ the pilfering set in 
 looking after whales of their own, honestly come by. 
 
 With this cunning policy in mind, the old whaleman 
 again hauled into the pod, lanced two whales, and watched 
 them slack slowly back until the Emerald's two boats 
 grappled to them, almost with the relish of taking stolen 
 property ; for they could not quite believe that the old 
 darkey contributed them for a purpose. 
 
 Then Uncle Joe hauled in between his own whale and 
 another, threw his last drug-iron into the loose whale, and 
 lanced and killed the fast one, meaning this to end his 
 day's whaling. 
 
 While the bow-boat was slacking astern, glad of obtain 
 ing a moment's rest after their long, laborious slaughter 
 ing, up popped a large cow close along the opposite side 
 of the fast whale. The instinct of the old whaleman was 
 too strong to forbear a chance so tempting. Uncle Joe 
 ordered the boat forward again, and reluctantly flung his 
 lance into the fourteenth whale of that day's killing; 
 almost relenting, when he saw that it must fall into the 
 hands of the thievish Bunkum, for want of a harpoon to 
 secure it. 
 
 As if Bailey's thought became parent to Bunkum's act, 
 the latter soon after cut from his whale, and sprang ahead 
 on his oars, to secure another. This so riled the old 
 darkey that his inventive genius was soon brought to 
 bear. Hauling quickly up to the fast whale, which was 
 in a too moribund condition to have much feeling, he 
 seized his spade and proceeded to cut out the second iron, 
 which was imbedded in the thin blubber under the hump. 
 Bunkum saw what was going on, and hove at his after oar 
 with the utmost desperation, savage for another prize.
 
 414 Th g Flcetiving. 
 
 Bailey was none too quick, for hardly had he got the 
 crooked iron out, and straightened and bent on to his line 
 ready for a fling, before Bunkum's boat dashed up to the 
 whale, ready for action. Just as the Emerald's boat- 
 steerer sprang up and took his iron, Uncle Joe let fly his 
 harpoon having to dart far over the fast whale to reach 
 the loose one and secured his whale. But this did not 
 prevent Bunkum's boat from fastening, ten seconds after, 
 much to the amazement of Joe Bailey, whose iron stood 
 straight up in the whale's back, before the very eyes of the 
 boat-steerer. 
 
 " Here, you damned niggar ! That's our whale. My 
 iron was in fust. Cut off, an' begone with yer; or I'll 
 punch yer head ! " yelled the belligerent captain, intent 
 upon a bluff game with the meek-looking, decrepit old 
 darkey ; who did not disclose the full force of his char 
 acter on the surface, as his reply denoted : 
 
 " Hyah ! yo', Cap'n Bunkum. What's yo' up ter, sah ? 
 'Pears like, ter dish chile, dat dose yar brudder Bunkums 
 am 'bout ob ar size fur stealin'. Dar's Misser Bill ; him 
 tried leedle too hard ter rob dish niggar ob dat whale ; 
 an' de Lawd punished 'im fur it ; an' now heah's Cap'n 
 Ben am gwine ter gobble up dish one." 
 
 During this angry confab, the bow-boat was being 
 drawn up close to the new whale, the Emerald's boat 
 following close astern. Bailey reached down with a boat- 
 hook and grappled Bunkum's line ; hauled it up and cut 
 the Nantucket thief adrift from the whale. This brought 
 a howl, like that of a trapped wolf : 
 
 " Damn yer black soul ! How dare you cut off my line ? 
 I'll maul vour life out if I eret hold on yer."
 
 De Debbie s Own Niggar! 415 
 
 " See yere, yo', Cap'n Bunkum, dish cullud pusson, dat 
 yo' is sassin', am de Lawd's niggar ; de man ob peace, 
 sah ; one dat lubs him brudder-man wid all de heart. But, 
 sah ! dere's nudcler niggar in dish yere boat ; de debble's 
 own niggar ! Dat udder Joe Bailey, what doan b'long to 
 de Lawd. A wicked niggar, sah, dat lubs ter lock horns 
 wid Satan. A niggar dat jist wanter dart ar lance fru any 
 ole Bunkum-man dat lubs ter steal whales. Hyah ! yo' 
 lyin' ole Bunkum ! Pull up dish way, queek ; an' come an' 
 lock horns wid de debble's niggar, in dish boat. Slack 
 line dere, Jose ! an' lemme git ar dart at dat ole scallowag 
 Bunkum." 
 
 And true enough, there did seem to be a half-dozen 
 strange-acting negroes in the bow of that boat, as Joe 
 Bailey got out his two lances, ready for action. His 
 usually saintly looking face was contorted like a demon's; 
 and his one lone eye was flashing like a madman's ; while 
 his long lank body writhed, and swayed backward and 
 forward, as if with savage impatience to get a dart at the 
 thievish Bunkum. Captain Ben might have been a man 
 of passable courage under some more favorable circum 
 stances ; but a more scared looking wretch never was 
 seen than the man Bunkum, who suddenly took to his 
 oars, and pulled for his ship ; frequently sending a furtive 
 glance behind, as if in mortal fear that the infuriated 
 negro was on his track. 
 
 The Fleetwing's boats had pulled up and secured all 
 the whales but the three with Uncle Joe. Soon as the 
 demonized old man could get cooled down a little, he 
 undertook the task of heading his trio of whales round to 
 leeward. Beginning with the fast whale, he made shallow
 
 416 The Flcctwing. 
 
 lance-thrusts near around the starboard eye, which soon 
 had the effect of heading the cow off toward the other 
 boats. As but one of the other whales followed after, the 
 remaining whale had to be left behind, for the ship to 
 keep run of, till it died. 
 
 When the bow-boat passed to leeward of the other 
 boats, the ship was just coming to pick up the windward 
 group of nine dead whales. By the time Bailey's two 
 whales turned up, the ship was seen coming down before 
 the wind with her nine fat prizes in tow. Braybrook had 
 been sent to windward for the twelfth whale, which died 
 soon after; then the waist-boat hooked on, and towed 
 toward the ship, assisted by a crew of shipkeepers sent 
 off in the captain's boat. 
 
 The sun was getting low when the last of the twelve 
 whales was secured alongside. But it required many 
 tacks for the loggy old Emerald to beat up to her two gift- 
 whales, from Joe Bailey's lance, and the sun was fairly 
 set before she reached them. She was about a mile to 
 the south of the Fleetwing when she fluke-roped her two 
 prizes. 
 
 As the weather promised fair, sail was shortened, and 
 the Fleetwing lay by her whales till early dawn. It was a 
 good two day's work before the last carcass was cut adrift, 
 and ten clays before the oil was wholly taken care of. 
 The largest of the fat cows made forty-five barrels; but 
 several of the smallest did not exceed twenty ; yet the 
 total sum was good, as the twelve stowed down four hun 
 dred and twenty barrels, which was an average of thirty- 
 five. 
 
 It was reported by the boat-watchers that the Emerald
 
 The Last of Bunkum. 41 ^ 
 
 kept up a brilliant flare with scraps during the night ; and 
 it was thought, by the numerous lanterns seen flitting 
 about, that she cut in her whales before midnight. Before 
 morning, the profane and thievish Bunkums had taken 
 themselves off to parts unknown ; and it would not have 
 been pleasant for two of their officers to face Joe Bailey, 
 after that eventful day's work.
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 DOUBLING CAPE HORN. 
 
 TT was the last day of January when the Fleetwing ap 
 proached the most southern of all straits, the Le Maire. 
 While coasting south along the land from River La Plata, 
 the ship had been favored with strong, fair winds and 
 pleasant weather. There was now a fair promise of soon 
 doubling Cape Horn, and going on their way into the 
 Pacific. Captain Talbert had intended looking for right 
 whales while passing the " Main Bank"; but as the con 
 tinuous strong winds would have prevented lowering the 
 boats, the ship was kept on her course. 
 
 At noon, January 31, the meridian latitude was found 
 to be 54. While striking eight bells, land was raised 
 from the topsail-yard. It was Terra del Fuego, the high 
 land near its eastern point. The ship was just forty-one 
 miles due north of the Straits of Le Maire, through winch 
 she would pass on her way to the Cape, the captain 
 having prudently avoided going to the east of Staten 
 Island the old beaten track where the weather is 
 more boisterous, and a strong head-current ever meets a 
 south-bound ship. 
 
 It was now blowing a clear sunny gale from the north 
 west, and the proximity to the Patagonian coast prevented 
 the seas running large. The ship was going merrily under 
 
 418
 
 /g Lc Maire. 419 
 
 double-reefed topsails, courses, and inner jib, steering 
 south by east, which course headed her fair for the Straits, 
 as there is one point western variation of the compass to 
 be allowed for. At half-past two in the afternoon the ship 
 passed Cape San Diego and entered Le Maire. The Fleet- 
 wing had made seventeen miles an hour since meridian, as 
 verified by the noon latitude, and the observed distance 
 from the land ; a trifle of this speed might be attributed to 
 a little southern current. 
 
 The gale piped on very hard while the ship was running 
 through the Straits, and it took the fleet thing just two 
 hours to pass clear into the dread Southern Ocean. The 
 course, as was carefully noted, when coasting close along 
 the west shore, was found to be due south (by compass), 
 which differs greatly from the trend of the land as given 
 on the charts of that day. These exact observations came 
 to be providential in the near future. 
 
 During several days back, the officers had noticed that 
 when the moon set, the gale shifted from northwest to 
 west, and sometimes to the southwest. This phenomenon 
 now happened again. The moon set three hours after the 
 ship passed Le Maire, and the gale shifted suddenly 
 round to the southwest, dead ahead for the ship, and 
 before midnight it had hauled to the south. Cape Horn 
 was like to prove tricky as ever, for this shift of wind 
 brought the ship on a lee-shore. The night was dark and 
 rainy, with heavy seas, and a strong Antarctic current run- 
 ing to the east. 
 
 This situation required a press of sail to be kept on 
 the ship, to hold her off the land till daylight. When day 
 broke, matters were no better, for a drizzly rain had
 
 420 The Fleetwing. 
 
 shut down upon them, and land could not be seen a hun 
 dred fathoms away. But the vessel was still kept on the 
 western tack, that she might lee-bow the eastern current 
 and make less drift towards the land. It was an anxious 
 time for all ; the old croakers were silent and sullen, and 
 would have relished making a sacrifice of a certain saintly 
 resident of the cabin. Working thus, in a current-way, 
 there was no certainty of the ship's position from one 
 hour to another. 
 
 In the midst of the anxiety and gloom, the Fleetwing 
 came up to a large black merchantman, four times the 
 tonnage of the whaler. Companionship at such a time is 
 pleasant ; it seems to lessen the danger by dividing it. 
 It gave a lift to the hearts of the Fleetwings to see that 
 they could outwind and outsail this huge merchantman, 
 whose crew looked on with amazement to see the little 
 whaler leave them behind in the dismal gloom. It 
 shocked their officers, and impressed them with the belief 
 that they were drifting faster upon the land than they 
 were. They began immediately to make sail, though the 
 vessel had previously been crowded hard as she could 
 bear. 
 
 It was about three o'clock in the afternoon before the 
 rain ceased, and then only for a moment. A narrow rift 
 cleared to the land, and then, shut down thicker than ever, 
 the gale piping on furiously. The sharp eyes of Raymond 
 and Bailey had discovered a well remembered headland of 
 the Straits. It was less than five miles off, under their 
 lee, and was not visible more than a minute and a half. 
 
 The captain was hastily called out, and the situation 
 made known to him. At the present rate of drift, the
 
 On a Lee-Shore. 421 
 
 ship would go ashore before midnight, if the wind did not 
 change. It was deemed best to make a dash through the 
 rain, and take the chance of running back through the 
 Straits. The main spencer and reefed mainsail were taken 
 in, the after yards squared, and the ship put dead before 
 the gale, venturing to run back through Le Maire upon 
 that one brief glimpse of the land. 
 
 After running for half an hour, soundings were got with 
 the deep-sea lead ; giving thirty fathoms, with gravel 
 bottom ; which fully confirmed the ship's supposed position 
 in the Straits. They had now only to steer a north course, 
 by compass with a little easting, by way of precaution 
 to go fairly through the Straits, where they could haul up 
 west, and find smooth water and good shelter under the 
 land. 
 
 At the end of two hours and a half, the yards were 
 braced up, and the ship's head put to the west, though 
 raining and blowing hard. In less than half an hour the 
 ship ran under the Fuego shore, the rain let up, and the 
 weather became clear. The whaler George Washington, 
 and their old friend the Rainbow, were there found 
 snuggled under the Cape ; waiting for fair weather to pass 
 the Straits. Captain Flasket had not taken any oil 
 since the ships separated on the Abrolhos. The Wash 
 ington, which sailed two weeks before the Fleetwing, 
 hailed four hundred and fifty barrels of sperm, and two 
 hundred barrels of humpback oil, all taken near around 
 the Falklands. 
 
 The gale continued two days, followed by a day of calm. 
 The three captains went ashore on a gunning expedition, 
 bringing off half a boatload of fat duck, and a number of
 
 422 TJic Flcctwing. 
 
 kelp geese ; together with rabbits, and a fine fur seal, 
 which was shot by Captain Talbert. Edwards, of the 
 Washington, gathered nearly ten bushels of penguin eggs, 
 being the only one of the three captains having a fondness 
 for such provender a mixture of a little egg and much 
 sawdust. 
 
 Early the following day, a light air sprang up from the 
 northwest, but as a strong northern tide was running 
 through the Straits, which the ships could not stem, they 
 were obliged to wait for a strong wind or a turn in the 
 tide. The wind freshened up quickly with the young 
 ebb, and the three vessels steered south through Le 
 Maire ; the Washington being five miles ahead, by catch 
 ing a more favorable start of wind. When about half way 
 through the passage, the Washington was seen to brace up 
 her yards, and haul square in to the land ; and she soon 
 after lowered two boats, which pulled for the shore. 
 
 When the Fleetwing came up to her companion, a 
 large merchantman was seen wrecked against the cliff. 
 Dead bodies were strewn high among the rocks, and 
 entangled among broken spars and bales of goods. From 
 the smoke seen rising out of a little cove near at hand, 
 Captain Edwards had concluded that some of the sur 
 vivors might be found. Each of the other ships sent in a 
 boat, to render such assistance as was needed. Only 
 three men and a child were found alive ; the mate, two 
 seamen, and the captain's little daughter, twelve years of 
 age. The vessel was the ship Goethe, of Bremen, for 
 Valparaiso. Captain Edwards took all of the survivors 
 aboard of his ship, as he designed to stop at Conception 
 for recruits. At that port the noble ship was burnt, set
 
 The Wrecked SJiip. 423 
 
 on fire by one of her crew. While burning, the Washing 
 ton was run upon a shoal in the harbor. The crew dis 
 closed the criminal, who was severely flogged in the 
 rigging, on the burning wreck, and then delivered to the 
 Spanish authorities ; so that the George Washington was 
 never seen by her companions after that day. 
 
 Again the ships squared away through the Straits, the 
 wind breezing up fresh, and the weather clear. As they 
 came out into the stormy ocean, they saw several partly 
 disabled merchantmen ; among them was the big black 
 ship which the Fleetwing had passed during the gale. 
 Foretopmast, maintopgallant-mast, and jib-booms were 
 carried away. Her crew were hard at work sending out 
 new booms, and hoisting a new topmast aloft. One ship 
 had carried away her rudder, and had got it on deck 
 trying to repair it. Another vessel was trying to fish a 
 broken topsail yard aloft ; splintering the spar with split 
 stunsail booms, and serving over the whole with hemp-rope. 
 They were mishaps which draw largely upon the sympa 
 thies of seamen, but serve to cast a ghostly gloom over 
 all on board for a while. 
 
 At daylight the Fleetwing was abreast of Barnevelt 
 Island, and Cape Horn was in sight. The Rainbow was 
 fifteen miles astern, and the other ship was nowhere to 
 be seen. At noon, the latitude was 56 03', just four 
 miles south of the Horn, which was then twelve miles 
 distant, to the westward. The ship was making nine 
 knots, but there was a three-knot current to stem, and it 
 was two o'clock before Cape Horn Island bore north, two 
 miles away, and the ship edged away into the great 
 Pacific Ocean. A furious surf was beating against the
 
 424 The Flectwing. 
 
 sharp black rocks of the dread Horn the most famous 
 turning-point in ocean navigation. 
 
 A score of merchantmen were seen far away offshore. 
 Scared navigators, who' timidly house their light spars, 
 and shudder with superstitious fears as they approach the 
 treacherous cape. Wrongfully keeping a wide offing from 
 the land ; not knowing, or not heeding, that the closer in 
 one keeps on the green water, the less current and 
 smoother sea are found ; not to speak of the smaller circle 
 and shorter track sailed when very near in with the land. 
 
 Says wise old Uncle Joe : Never go off of green water 
 by day, or outside of the gull-cries in the night ; birds 
 that rarely go beyond the edge of green-water soundings. 
 The old veteran had spent many years among the islands 
 thereabout, and could make a good harbor in any gale 
 that blows, if the weather be clear. 
 
 The ship kept to her west course, passing north of the 
 San Diegos; the north rock lying in latitude 56 25'. 
 False Cape Horn, in latitude 55 43', was left twenty 
 miles to the north. St. Ildefonso and York Minster 
 were passed before night; and the ship began to edge 
 away to the northwest, carrying a fresh breeze from the 
 north-northeast. 
 
 It was midsummer, and the weather held good, as it 
 ought, for several days. The wind gradually worked 
 round to the east and the south, and finally settled in the 
 southwest. By that time the ship had got where she 
 could keep away to the north, as Captain Talbert was in 
 tent upon keeping to the edge of green water until the 
 ship reached the islands of Htiafo and Mocha, both of 
 which are great resorts of sperm-whalers.
 
 The Sub-current. 425 
 
 But two men in the ship knew that this was another 
 new-fangled notion of Uncle Joe ; for not a soul on 
 board had ever coasted the storm-lashed shores of western 
 Patagonia. It was not supposed to be a safe cruising- 
 ground, or a place where ships could find much weather 
 suitable for lowering their boats. 
 
 It was left for this illiterate old whaler, sealer, and 
 prophet, to teach navigators that, whereas, there is a 
 strong and dangerous influx of currents on the west coast 
 of Africa, which drifts many vessels ashore when be 
 calmed, and helps to wreck them in a gale, yet the very 
 reverse is the case along the whole South American coast. 
 
 It happens in this wise : In the Atlantic, the warm 
 eastern drift is an equatorial surface-current ; located in a 
 belt of calms, sweeping landward whatever it grapples ; 
 and thus wrecks many vessels in the Bight of Biafra, and 
 elsewhere on the dread African coast. While in the 
 Pacific, the cold Antarctic current which dashes in against 
 the Spanish Main, being at a temperature of 40 and 
 under, keeps ever tolhe ocean-floor, and strikes the coast 
 line as a sub-current ; thence welling upward to the surface, 
 with a constant rebound from the land ; and thus becomes 
 a wonderful safeguard to shipping. 
 
 Keeping on up the coast, the Fleetwing passed near in 
 off Tres Monies (three mountains), where abundant evi 
 dence of sperm whales was seen ; such as blackfish, por 
 poises, and pieces of half-masticated squid. This induced 
 the captain to order up the cutting tackles; which were 
 overhauled, refitted, and lashed to the masthead, ready for 
 reeving the cutting-falls. The lookouts were increased, 
 and the boats put in prime condition ready for use.
 
 426 The Flcetwing, 
 
 While off Cape Taytao, in latitude 46, it fell flat calm. 
 The ship was left drifting about, less than five miles out 
 from the land. The wind had been fresh from the south 
 west several days, which created a long heavy undulation 
 that hove in on the shore with a thundering crash, creating 
 considerable anxiety among the uninitiated. 
 
 Throughout the night, the ship was swept up and down 
 the shore by the tides, rolling and pitching uneasily in 
 the swell. The chains had been bent, and a tackle got 
 up ready to lift the anchors from the bows, in case of 
 need. The boats were fitted with extra provisions, and 
 the officers had tucked their valuables under the stern- 
 sheets, half expecting to have to leave the ship before 
 morning. 
 
 But at daylight the ship was found eight miles out from 
 the land, and Joe Bailey's strange statement of an outflow 
 ing current began to be credited. The ^mystery was 
 made greater in those days, as nothing was then known 
 about a sub-current. Yet Uncle Joe had known about the 
 outflow for fifty years, and attributed it to the constant 
 flow of snow-water from the shore. 
 
 Before the lookouts fairly reached the cross-trees that 
 morning, they began to cry out about whales. The ship 
 was in the midst of a vast school of seventy-barrel sperm 
 whales. Breakfast was hastily served while the boats 
 were being got ready by the shipkeepers, and the four 
 boats went down among them. 
 
 Captain Talbert soon struck an eighty-barrel whale, 
 which started the school offshore. The loose boats fol 
 lowed to the edge of green water, where the whales stilled 
 down and all three boats fastened to seventy-barrel
 
 Sperm Whales. 427 
 
 whales. The captain's whale sounded to the bottom of 
 shoal water, and was easily killed when he came up. 
 
 As the ship still lay becalmed, Captain Talbert went 
 aboard ship and sent Mr. Antoine back to lie by the 
 whale. About ten o'clock a light breeze came off from 
 the land, and the ship fanned slowly along to the whale, 
 and took him alongside. The ship was then headed off 
 shore after the boats, which had disappeared ; and were 
 not in sight even from the masthead. 
 
 Late in the afternoon, the top of a boat-sail was discov 
 ered far away over the horizon. It proved to be the 
 mate's boat, with a blue waif flying high above the mast, 
 which was not visible until the white sail beneath it was 
 seen. Soon after, the other two boats were raised up, all 
 three lying by whales, not far from each other. Before 
 sunset the whales were safe alongside, and a good two 
 days' cutting was before the crew. Though the ship was 
 in a stormy latitude, all hands were sent below until an 
 hour before daylight, when breakfast was served, and cut 
 ting began in earnest. 
 
 While boiling was going on, the ship worked in and off 
 from the edge of green water, some thirty miles out, to the 
 shore. When about sixty miles to the north of Taytao, 
 close in off Hamblin Island, whales were again seen ; 
 probably the same school, as they were seventy-barrel 
 whales. The three larboard boats were sent down. Mr. 
 Antoine remained aboard to keep up the boiling. The 
 mate and second mates got fast, and killed their whales 
 without trouble ; and two hours after, they were taken 
 alongside, and the ship made ready for cutting. 
 
 Before the two whales were fairly cut in, it came on to
 
 428 The Fleetiving. 
 
 blow a smart gale, directly onshore. This mishap made 
 it necessary to hoist in the last head whole, as there was 
 not time to separate the case and junk, with the ship 
 making a dead drift upon the land. The head of a 
 seventy-barrel cachalot is an enormous weight to put upon 
 a ship's mainmast. But two tackles were hooked to it, all 
 hands sent to the windlass, and the head was hove in. It 
 was placed between the weather-rail and the mainmast, 
 and lashed with double lashings to mast, rail, and ring 
 bolts. 
 
 Storm sails were then got upon the ship, and she began 
 slowly to claw offshore. The tryworks had to be cooled 
 down, as the spray began to fly into the pots and blacken 
 the oil. 
 
 The change of the moon, her perigee, and a high southern 
 declination now coincided a combination of the three 
 worst signs for bad weather. The barometer was low, 
 and falling fast, evidence that a tremendous gale would 
 follow. Before there was time to see whether the ship 
 could claw off from the land or not, a drizzly rain shut out 
 every vestige of the shore. The deep-sea lead was kept 
 going hourly, throughout the night, but no bottom was 
 found at a hundred fathoms ; which served to relieve the 
 anxiety of the deck-watch. 
 
 At daylight the ship was in blue water, heading west- 
 northwest, which was a good enough offing for such a ship 
 to hold to. Sail was shortened, and the ship labored less. 
 Finding that she made easy work of the gale, and that the 
 seas had become regular, an awning was rigged over the 
 trypots, and the works started up again. The boiling was 
 driven hard, as the thrashing about of the blubber in the
 
 Among Right Whales. 429 
 
 'tvveen-decks was pressing the oil from it, and much would 
 be lost. 
 
 It remained stormy for a week, at times blowing very 
 hard, so that the tryworks had to be cooled down for 
 many hours. The deck was getting greatly cumbered 
 with oil ; yet it was difficult stowing it in the hold while the 
 heavy seas were boarding the vessel. When the wind 
 dropped, and the sun came out at the end of the week, 
 to the surprise of all, the ship was found to be two hundred 
 miles offshore. She was headed round for the land, and, 
 without making sail, all hands applied themselves to stow 
 ing away the several hundred barrels of oil which lum 
 bered the deck ; and the work had to be carried far into 
 the night. 
 
 The next morning the ship ran among a body of right 
 whales, on what is known as the Chili Ground, located on 
 the southern edge of the great plateau which extends 
 more than a thousand miles out from the coast. Juan 
 P'ernandez and Massafuero are the only islands upon it ; 
 though the depth of water does not vary much from four 
 teen hundred or fifteen hundred fathoms over many thou 
 sand square miles. 
 
 All the officers of the Fleetwing but Mr. Bailey were 
 right whalers, and they now scented their old game and 
 begged Captain Talbert to let them go down and tackle 
 the coal-black fellows. The three larboard boats were 
 sent down, and Raymond and Braybrook soon fastened to 
 two fat cows, about one hundred and twenty barrels each. 
 
 Braybrook's whale brought round to, and was easily 
 killed. The mate's whale ran to windward like a race 
 horse. Here was game of a different calibre from the
 
 43 The Fleetwing. 
 
 cachalot. A right whale can make no fight with his head. 
 A penknife thrust into his nose will send him under 
 water stern-foremost head over heels. But his tail is a 
 wonderful fighting implement. While a sperm usually 
 strikes up and down, the right whale can sweep over a 
 half-circle, more than his own length in diameter. Thus, 
 bowing on is much more dangerous than with a sperm 
 whale. Raymond nearly chopped the tail off of his whale 
 so that she could not kick, and then hauled forward and 
 killed her without danger. The whales were found so 
 numerous, and so easily caught, that Captain Talbert con 
 cluded to try and make up his voyage among them. The 
 result was that at the end of two months' whaling the 
 Fleetwing was full, with a deckload besides. She had 
 taken seventeen whales, that averaged ninety barrels ; 
 which, with her sperm oil, comprised three thousand 
 seven hundred and thirty barrels, all told. 
 
 Sail was made for Valparaiso. During the passage 
 there was just time to wash the ship clean, and give her 
 hull a coat of paint inside and out. Captain Talbert 
 hoped to find a ship in port that would freight home the 
 oil. That accomplished, he would give Raymond the 
 ship, and embark for home with his family. 
 
 The winds baffled, and proved so light that the ship was 
 ten days reaching Valparaiso. Early one morning she 
 doubled round the big headland, ran in off the stone 
 pier and dropped anchor. When sails were furled, the 
 larboard watch were given liberty on shore ; and during 
 the month the watches alternated day after day; the 
 seamen being daily allowed money enough to raise a 
 breeze in the "foretop," or the "cross-trees," high up in 
 the sailor cockloft of the town.
 
 At Valparaiso. 431 
 
 The captain and ladies took up their residence ashore. 
 Early in the day the boat returned with the ship's mail 
 and fresh provisions, and fruit for all on board. Raymond 
 received letters from his mother's family, together with 
 one from Mr. Lawrence, and two from Miss Nellie. 
 
 His mother and sisters were delighted with the ship's 
 early success ; and full of wonder at the friendliness ex 
 pressed by his new-found friends, the Lawrences. They 
 had not only visited the family, but had entertained them 
 all for a week at their Boston home. 
 
 Mr. Lawrence's letter was full of warm, paternal affec 
 tion. While sending much wholesome advice to his 
 adopted boy, he begged him to contemplate his future 
 through other eyes ; give up the sea, and come home to' 
 those dear ones who had learned to love him so well. 
 The dear old man ended by saying : " Charles, I shall 
 claim the privilege of looking after your mother and 
 sisters during the voyage, for I have found them worthy 
 of the noble son of my adoption." 
 
 Ardent little Nellie's letters were purposely reserved to 
 the last. Of course, curiosity and other human interests 
 were thumping at Raymond's heart, eager to know the 
 contents of the precious missives. Still the mate delayed, 
 and read their strange superscription C. Raymond 
 Lawrence over and over, before he ventured to open 
 them ; fearing lest the dear girl should persuade him from 
 the iron-bound path which he had tracked out for himself. 
 It need not be concealed how wildly his heart beat while 
 he examined the dates, and took the earliest one to open. 
 Not till that moment did Raymond know how deeply the 
 beautiful girl had wormed into his affection.
 
 432 The Flcctwing. 
 
 It was evidently a sweet, ardent epistle, for Raymond 
 read it through twice in succession, with tears in his eyes 
 to the last. Folding the eloquent missive, he put it 
 tenderly back into its envelope, with a degree of pains 
 taking which expressed the value he put upon it. 
 
 Taking up the second letter, this strong, well bal -.need 
 man again hesitated before opening it, as if he felt it 
 possible that Nellie might induce him to give up his well 
 ordered plans for the future. He had got accustomed to 
 the girl's endearments in the first letter, and now ventured 
 to read some paragraphs of the second one aloud to him 
 self, for the pleasure it might yield his aural nerves 
 an egotistical habit of bachelors : 
 
 DEAR, DEAR RAYMOND, My noble, my darling 
 brother, if you knew how we all yearn for you here at 
 home, you would not stay out on the hateful sea any 
 longer. 
 
 What do you think ? Every soul in our circle is just 
 wild to make your acquaintance, and show you the homage 
 which your manly acts deserve. Lots of girls have set 
 their caps for you already. But, dear Raymond, we know 
 something, don j t we ? which we sha'n't tell any one, at 
 present. Yet, I am not a bit jealous, for I want every 
 body to love you, almost as much as I do. 
 
 Do you know, dear brother, that I have recited that 
 dreadful shipwreck so often to the hundreds of new 
 comers every day that the adventure grows daily upon 
 me, until it is now twice as much of a story as when it 
 happened. I fear I have inbibed a sailor's way of story 
 telling. Do, pray, tell it lots of times yourself, so that
 
 Nellie s Letter. 433 
 
 your recital may seem almost as wonderful as mine ; that 
 my story may not seem to others deceptio visus. 
 
 And, dearest, something of that sort is taking place in 
 my ever increasing affection for you. As you will remem 
 ber, I used to tell you that I loved you. How tame such 
 an expression seems to me now. Oh, oh ! I can now 
 find no words of endearment good enough to express how 
 dear you have become to me. I can only say that your 
 little Nellie's life must remain a dreary blank while you 
 are absent. So, do, do come home to me, my more than 
 brother.
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 BOUND FOR THE LAST PORT. 
 
 T^HE Fleetwing lay idling a month at Valparaiso, hop- 
 ing some vessels might arrive which could be char 
 tered for home freight. Mr. Nye, the New Bedford 
 agent, sent word up and down the coast, south to Val- 
 divia, and north to Callao, trying to secure a ship for 
 the purpose. 
 
 Despairing of success, recruits were taken aboard, 
 anchor weighed, and sail made for the Sandwich Islands. 
 After a month of pleasant sailing across the unvarying 
 trades, the majestic snow-peaks of Hawaii were discerned 
 one morning, and early on the following day the Fleetwing 
 ran down along the beautiful reef off Waikiki, to Hono 
 lulu, flying her signal for a pilot. 
 
 Soon a hundred bare-backed Kanakas gathered down 
 on the harbor-reef to grapple the towline, as Captain 
 Meek, the pilot, sailed out in his boat, and waited to 
 windward of the " Middle Ground " for the coming ship. 
 The fresh trades were just fluttering down the Nuuanu as 
 the ship brailed her courses, swung her yards sharp up, 
 and shot through the narrow opening in the reef. In a 
 twinkling every sail was clewed up, leaving the ship to 
 shoot onward into the very eye of the wind, under bare 
 poles, and before her headway was checked a towline was 
 
 434
 
 The W'edding-Day. 43$ 
 
 in the hands of the natives, who ran the fleet thing into 
 her anchorage off Fort Point. 
 
 When the sails were clewed up, a boat was despatched 
 ashore to notify Mr. Richards that his intended had 
 arrived, and anxiously awaited his coming. He, in turn, 
 hastened a messenger to Father Damon, to catch the godly 
 man before he went to the Bethel, for it was a Sabbath 
 morning, as well as a wedding-day. 
 
 Mrs. Talbert and Raymond were to act as best man 
 and maid, and Captain Talbert accepted the paternal 
 office of giving away the beautiful bride. The meeting 
 of the lovers was all that could be expected of a happy 
 pair about to enter into the holy bonds of wedlock. 
 
 Asenith Allston never looked fresher or more beautiful 
 than on the morning of her bridal. The voyage had 
 greatly improved her appearance, having added forty 
 pounds to her slight weight, which amount of avoirdupois 
 seemed to have been most judiciously distributed for the 
 occasion. 
 
 After the ceremony, when the congratulations had been 
 offered by all present, Uncle Joe and- Braybrook being of 
 the number, it was arranged that Captain Talbert, wife, 
 and child should accompany the happy pair ashore. They 
 gladly accepted an invitation to breakfast with Mr. and 
 Mrs. Richards, at their pretty home up the Nuuanu, 
 previous to going in search of permanent quarters in the 
 vicinity of the Mansion House. 
 
 Raymond declined joining the bridal party, under the 
 plea of trying to get his letters from the post-office. Nor 
 could the obdurate fellow be made to yield to Mrs. Rich 
 ards' tearful importunity. At parting, Raymond heartily
 
 43 6 The Fleet wing. 
 
 wished Asenith all the happiness which she deserved, 
 adding that he should not fail to be a frequent visitor at 
 her pleasant home. 
 
 In reply, tears found their way to Mrs. Richards' eyes, 
 and what she said was meant for his ear alone, so that the 
 reader can only have it in strictest confidence : " Thanks, 
 dear Raymond, for all your many kindnesses to me in the 
 past. Believe me, noble man, I shall never forget you ; 
 never cease to love you. For you alone have made it 
 possible for me to keep my troth-plight to George Rich 
 ards my husband. 
 
 " If I have not attained to the highest meed of happi 
 ness to which I aspired and who could have resisted 
 the temptation ? I blame no one ; but I shall bless one 
 man with my dying words. Believe me, clear Raymond, I 
 have never failed to acknowledge, in my inmost heart, 
 that the precious guerdon which would have made a very 
 heaven for me should rightfully be reserved for beautiful 
 Nellie Lawrence, the sweetest and brightest mortal I have 
 known. May the Heavenly Father hasten your nuptials 
 with her." 
 
 The repeated calls from the deck, saying that the boat 
 was ready, interrupted the sad parting ; which was becom 
 ing very affecting for both. The young bride hastily 
 dried her tears, and, with one last agonizing look of 
 affection upon him she loved so well, dropped her veil to 
 hide her tear-stained cheeks and blushing face, and went 
 out on deck. Raymond accompanied her, and with a 
 bustling air made himself useful till the party embarked ; 
 then took another boat and went ashore by himself. 
 
 Searching out the Hawaiian official, the mate succeeded
 
 Mr. Lawrence s Letter. 437 
 
 in getting the ship's mail from the post-office. Hastening 
 aboard, he sorted out and distributed the letters to others, 
 without attempting to read any of his own during the 
 passage off; though he saw that there were two well- 
 filled letters from Mr. Lawrence, and four sweet-scented 
 missives from Nellie ; which, odd fellow that he was, he 
 deferred reading until he had thoroughly perused both of 
 her father's. 
 
 In Mr. Lawrence's last letter, the old gentleman sent 
 word that he had ordered the captain of the ship Nellie 
 Lawrence which was then discharging cargo at San 
 Francisco to stop at Honolulu on his way to China, and, 
 if a good freight offered, to accept it. He added, with 
 much show of affection : 
 
 " Now, my dear boy, if you can make use of Nellie's 
 ship as we call her for freight and passage for your 
 self, or for dear old Captain Talbert and family, you are 
 welcome to do so. I need not tell you how it would 
 gladden my old heart to hear, overland, that you were 
 coming home in the ship. 
 
 " I have ordered Captain Block to be guided wholly by 
 your instructions. He fully understands our relations ; 
 and he will not likely lose sight of the fact that he will 
 have to look to you, in the near future, for all his orders. 
 May the divine Providence which directed and over-ruled 
 your humane act on those dread days in mid-ocean, still 
 guide and protect you, my dear boy, is our constant 
 prayer, when we nightly kneel at the footstool of God." 
 
 Nellie's letter of the earliest date was upon a subject 
 familiar to us all, and may be given in full, as far as it 
 relates to the subject in question :
 
 43$ The Fteetwing. 
 
 MY DEAR RAYMOND, Oh, how my heart bleeds for 
 you at this moment. Your letter dated from Abrolhos 
 Banks has just reached me, and I have cried over it like 
 a baby. Nearly all of the tears are for you, dear Ray 
 mond ; though I suppose some of them are for myself, 
 wicked girl that I am, to weep joyful tears over your 
 dreadful mishap. 
 
 Your story about that awful Miss Tudor makes me 
 hate her. Oh, my precious, my darling brother, how could 
 she slight you one so noble and so good? Would that 
 I were there to love and console you for the loss of that 
 perfidious creature. But you will not mourn over one 
 whose act proves her unworthiness. Write and tell me 
 that you will not take it too much at heart. 
 
 Dear brother, you must feel in your deep heart that 
 there are others who can love you a thousand times better 
 than that unfaithful girl. Dear Raymond, do hasten 
 home, and let us prove to you how much you are prized 
 by pa and me your own little Nellie. Of course, you 
 won't attempt another voyage now ; will you, dearie ? 
 feeling so badly as you do about that hateful creature ! 
 Promise me in your next that you will not accept the 
 Fleetwing if she is offered you. Put the promise in the 
 very first paragraph of your letter. 
 
 I'll tell you my thought about this matter: If you 
 must go to sea, pa has such beautiful ships, any of which 
 you can have; come home in the Nellie Lawrence, my 
 ship, which will be in Honolulu in a few months, and 
 then go captain of her ; wouldn't that be nice, dear 
 brother ? Now, say, wouldn't you like to become captain 
 of the Nellie ? Pa and I would go to sea with you, I
 
 Last Word from Nellie. 439 
 
 guess, if you wished to have us. I think we could enjoy 
 ourselves so much out on the water. 
 
 Good-by, with a thousand kisses from pa and me. 
 
 P. S. Remember, Raymond dear, that I pray for 
 you (sometimes to you) every night of my life. So you 
 see that there are two little " Cherubs sitting up aloft, 
 watching over the life of my dear Jack." Lots more of 
 loving kisses ; as a postscript should end with them, as 
 well as a letter, from your loving NELLIE. 
 
 Among Raymond's package was a letter post-marked 
 New Bedford, written in a painstaking, school-girl hand. 
 When about to open it, he instinctively guessed whom it 
 might be from, and abstained from breaking the seal, 
 wh'.ch was stamped with a pair of cooing doves. 
 
 Raymond and Braybrook attended church in the after 
 noon at the seamen's Bethel, and after service the mate 
 went to the captain's rooms, while Braybrook went aboard. 
 When Mrs. Talbert was shown the unopened letter, she at 
 once declared that it was Mary Tudor's handwriting, and 
 showed Raymond a letter which she had received from 
 Mary, in which the girl pleaded her cause, and put the 
 bl une wholly on her mother. 
 
 When convinced of this fact, the mate called for an 
 envelope, and, in spite of Mrs. Talbert's entreaty, enclosed 
 and superscribed the ill-timed letter to Miss Tudor. 
 Calling for a Kanaka boy to mail the unwelcome missive, 
 he hastily sent it off, lest he should be tempted to open it, 
 as Mrs. Talbert wished, the dear lady's curiosity being very 
 much aroused upon the occasion. 
 
 Captain Talbert was very much pleased to learn that
 
 440 The Fleetwing. 
 
 the ship Nellie Lawrence would call at Honolulu, seeking 
 for a charter, as she was just the kind of ship for a safe 
 freighter, and in which he wished to go home. 
 
 On the following day the captain, officers, and boat- 
 steerers of the Fleetwing went before Judge Allen, the 
 American Consul, to ship for another voyage. Charles R. 
 Lawrence was shipped as captain, and he took this oppor 
 tune moment to go before the world under his new name. 
 
 Braybrook was shipped as mate , and it was with tears 
 in his eyes that he thanked Captain Lawrence for the 
 berth. George Morey became second mate, though Mr. 
 Bailey had been offered the berth. Uncle Joe, Mr. Joseph, 
 Hoogley, Tahiti, and Jose Verd, retained their old po 
 sitions on the new voyage ; Pico shipped to steer Mr. 
 Morey. 
 
 This much accomplished, the crew were sent ashore, 
 and told by the consul they could have their choice, to 
 join the new voyage, or be discharged at Honolulu after 
 the ship had discharged her cargo. 
 
 Headed by old Tom, Buntline, and 'Tucket, the men 
 came promptly forward and reshipped, under Captain 
 Lawrence, at a small advance in the pay of all. For the 
 next three weeks the crew were given dally liberty, taking 
 watch and watch ashore ; having horse-riding to their 
 hearts' content. While the dance-halls and grogshops 
 resounded with the merry songs of the roistering men. 
 
 Captain Lawrence took up his residence on shore with 
 the Talberts. At the end of three weeks, the Nellie Law 
 rence hove in sight, ran down off the port, and lay off and 
 on : while Captain Block came ashore to learn if his ship 
 was wanted. Strange to say, Dr. Greeville was in the
 
 TJie Freight-Ship. 441 
 
 i/o.i: .v-itii the captain. He had taken passage at San 
 Francisco for China ; and having a great desire to see 
 something of the coral islands, he gladly took passage in 
 the Fleetwing at her new captain's invitation. 
 
 Captain Lawrence met the boat at the wharf, and im 
 mediately went before the consul ; who drew up a char 
 ter for the Nellie Lawrence, binding her to take freight 
 and passengers to the port of New Bedford, which was 
 signed, and delivered in duplicate to Captain Block. This 
 accomplished, the captain took a pilot, went off, and 
 brought his ship in, and moored her alongside of the 
 Fleetwing. 
 
 Early next morning the work of discharging the oil 
 began. As great care was taken in the cooperage and 
 stowage, under the sharp eye of Braybrook, nearly three 
 weeks passed before the Fleetwing was emptied, and lay 
 with a swept hold ; waiting for the whitewashers to 
 cleanse her, over and over, from stem to stern ; till the 
 hold was sweet, and ready for the stevedores to stow a 
 ground-tier of salt water. 
 
 The ship's sea-provisions were next got aboard from the 
 storehouse on the wharf, where they had been stored in 
 bond during the trans-shipment of the oil and whalebone. 
 Then came a supply of fresh water, and recruits for a 
 cruise ; and it was announced by the mate that the Fleet- 
 wing was ready for her new voyage, seemingly under the 
 best of auspices. 
 
 As the Fleetwing's oil did not make more than half a 
 cargo for the Nellie Lawrence, Captain Block was 
 ordered to lie in port until the fall licet came in, 
 to obtain a full freight. Only about twenty whalers
 
 442 TIic I'lcctiving. 
 
 had yet straggled into port from the northern whale- 
 grounds. 
 
 The day before the Fleetwing sailed, the Talberts gave 
 a sumptuous dinner at the Mansion House, in honor of 
 Captain Lawrence, whose romantic story made him very 
 popular among the merchants and residents of Hono 
 lulu. Though there were but twenty whale-captains in 
 port at the time, yet a jolly party of fifty, including 
 the merchants and their wives, were seated at the grand 
 repast. 
 
 Among those present, were some of the old-time ship- 
 chandlers ; whose honored names must ever be linked 
 with the vast whale-fleets of that, and subsequent days, 
 when more than two hundred whale-ships have visited 
 Honolulu during a season. Of the resident merchants 
 held in greatest popularity, were Captains James Magee, 
 Tom Spencer, and Charles Brewer; together with Ben 
 Pitman of Hilo, and Gorham D. Gilman of Lahaina, well 
 favored representatives of the great mercantile houses of 
 Hawaii. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Richards had not been forgotten, as 
 Captain Lawrence was deemed an honored friend at the 
 Grotto, their pleasant home up the Nuuanu. The popular 
 Father Damon was there, with his cultured lady, to say 
 grace before the breaking of bread, and obtain a new sub 
 scriber to the " Friend " ; and finally, to proffer a kindly 
 benediction at the conclusion of the happy occasion, when 
 all gathered about the young captain to bid him God 
 speed upon his new voyage the end of which was not 
 yet.
 
 Death of Mocha. 443 
 
 The singular story of the Fleetwing's rinding the haunt 
 of Mocha Dick ; the death of the murderous whale by Joe 
 Bailey, after following thirty years upon his track ; the 
 ship's being crushed by the demon whale ; together with 
 other equally strange events of the Fleetwing's subse 
 quent voyage, form a sequel which must be deferred for 
 another narrative.
 
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