hould not give a
false alarm, struck out lustily for the ship. Mr Griffiths, who was on
deck, seeing his danger, at once hove him another rope, and shouted at
the top of his voice to keep the shark off. Still the monster came
nearer and nearer. I saw Jim, to my great relief, get up to the side,
but as he took hold of the rope, from its being covered with grease, it
slipped through his fingers. The mate shouted to the other men on deck
to come and assist him in hauling Jim up. I slid down on deck as fast
as I could. On came the shark. Jim was still in the water, and I
expected to see my old friend caught.

With all our strength we hauled at the rope, but still Jim couldn't hold
on by it, and I feared that it would slip through his fingers
altogether, when, as it turned out, there was a knot at the end. This
enabled him to hold on, and we hauled him up, more dead than alive from
fright, just as the shark, showing the white of its belly, shoved its
snout out of the water and made a snap at his feet, not six inches from
them.

Jim was saved, and I never in my life felt more inclined to cry for joy
than when I saw him out of danger. While the shark was still alongside
looking for its prey, one of the Marquesas islanders who came on deck,
taking a knife in his hand, leapt right down, feet first, on the
monster's back, which so scared it that away it went like a flash of
lightning.

I have mentioned these circumstances just as they occurred to show the
sort of life led by the crew of a whaler. I have more interesting
events to narrate in the following chapters.

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO.

A TYPHOON, AND HOW WE GOT THROUGH IT.

The crew of a whaler had need to exercise much patience. Sometimes they
watch for weeks and weeks together, but watch in vain, for fish. At
others so many are caught that they have not a moment to rest between
the time that one is tryed out and another is brought alongside.

We had at first been very successful, but a week or more having passed
without a whale being seen, Captain Hawkins ordered a course to be
steered for the Japan whaling ground. The very first day that we
arrived in the latitude of these islands, which were, however, far out
of sight, we caught two whales.

We had tryed out the first and had the other alongside when another
whaler made her appearance. As she got within half a mile of us it feel
calm. Soon afterwards a boat was lowered from her, which came pulling