poop. Thither Colin followed him and told him all the story of the
whale. The captain, who was an old friend of Colin's father when they
both lived in a lumbering town in northern Michigan, was greatly taken
aback when he found how dangerous the boat-trip had been, but he did not
want to spoil the boy's vivid memories of the excitement.

"I suppose," he said, "that you want to go out as gunner next time."

Colin shook his head.

"I'm generally willing to try anything, Captain Murchison," he replied,
"but I'm content to let Hank look after that end."

"Hank's an unusual man," the captain said quietly. "I rather doubt if
any other man on the Pacific Coast could have won out with a gray whale.
I'd rather have him aboard than a lot of mates I know, and as a gunner,
of course, he's a sort of petty officer."

The canvas began to shake as the boat turned on its course after the
whales, catching the skipper's eye, and he roared out orders to shorten
sail.

"Clew up fore and main to'gans'ls," he shouted; "take in the tops'ls.
Colin, you go and furl the fore to'gans'l, and if the men are still busy
on the tops'l yards, pass the gaskets round the main to'gans'l as well."

"Aye, aye, sir," the boy answered readily, for he enjoyed being aloft,
and he clambered up the shrouds to the fore-topgallant yard and furled
the sail, taking a pride in having it lie smooth and round on the top of
the yard.

"What's the difference between a 'finback' and a 'humpback,' Hank?"
asked the boy, after the canvas had been stowed, the vessel under
auxiliary steam having speed enough to keep up with the cetaceans, "are
they 'right' whales?"

"Neither of 'em," the gunner replied: "there's two kinds of right whale,
the bowhead and the black, and both have fine whalebone, an' that, as
you know, is a sort of strainer in the mouth that takes the place of
teeth. Humpbacks an' finbacks are taken for oil, an' they look quite
different. A humpback is more in bulk an' has only a short fin on the
back, it's a clumsy beast an' throws the flukes of the tail out of the
water in soundin'. Now, a finback is built more for speed an' has a big
fin on the back--that's where it gets its name. The big sulphurbottom is
a kind of finback, an' is the largest animal livin'. I've seen one
eighty-five feet long!"

"Where does the sperm whale come in?" asked Colin.

"It's got teeth, like the gray whale," was the reply, "but you never
find it in cold water. Sperm whali