ubber.
When not otherwise employed, Tom and I and Horner attacked them with the
spades and killed great numbers. We worked away until night, but did
not finish even then, as it takes twelve hours to strip the blubber off
a large whale. We commenced again at daylight, and it was dark before
we began to cut into the second whale. We had still a third to operate
on, but as each was worth nearly a thousand pounds, no one complained.

Fortunately the weather remained fine, and we got the blubber of the
third whale on board by the end of the next day. We had also boiled the
spermaceti oil out of the head, with small buckets at the ends of long
poles. This is the most valuable production of the whale, and is used
for making candles.

For night work the ship's company was divided into two watches, from six
to one, and from one to six. The instant the last piece of blubber was
on board, the carcasses were cast loose to be devoured by fish and fowl.

We began the operation of trying-out, as boiling the blubber is called,
by first putting some wood under the try-pots. As soon as the blubber
was boiled, the scraps which rose to the surface were skimmed off with a
large ladle, and after being thrown into a pot with holes in the bottom
to drain off the oil remaining in them, were used as fuel for boiling
the remainder of the blubber.

The appearance our decks presented, with huge fires blazing away under
our pots, and the men with the ladles skimming off the scraps, or baling
out the oil into the coolers, was strange and weird in the extreme. Had
I been suddenly introduced among them, I should not have recognised them
as my shipmates, begrimed as they were with smoke and oil. I was,
however, much in the same condition. Dr Cockle had become accustomed
to it, but I cannot fancy that it was very pleasant to him.

The doctor told me that he should be glad, whenever I could, if I would
go below and talk to poor Miles Soper.

I willingly did so. He was suffering occasionally great pain, but in
the intervals it cheered him to have some one to speak to. I found that
he was even more ready to talk than listen, and I accordingly got him to
tell me about himself. He happened to ask my name. I told him.

"Peter Trawl!" he exclaimed. "Trawl! That's curious. I remember a
chap of your name aboard the _Lapwing_ brig-of-war."

I at once was deeply interested.

"He must have been my brother Jack," I exclaimed. "Do tell me wh