"Look out for her!" quoth old Tom Anderly. "She'll be ugly, sir--with
that kid beside her. Better think twice of it, Mr. Gibson."

"Think we're going to have the other boats give us the yah-yah because
we pass up a fifty-foot she whale, eh?" demanded the young second
officer. "Just step forward here, old timer, and see if you can stick
your fork into her."

After all, the mate's word was law even to the old boat-steerer. They
quickly changed places and Tom took up the iron. The calf was playing on
the far side of its mother, and so we could easily come up upon the nigh
side without being observed.

In a few moments Tom had her pinned. Then there was the Old Harry to pay
and no pitch hot, as the sailors say!

The other two whales I had seen killed merely thought of running away
from the thing that had hurt them. But the one we now were fast in had
her baby to care for. She set off running, but would not swim faster
than the calf could travel. We did not put out the full length of one
line.

"Haul in! haul in!" cried Ben Gibson, excitedly. "I'll get a lance in
her."

"You be careful, sir," whispered old Tom, from the stern again, to which
he had gone after throwing the iron. "There ain't nothing wickeder than
a she whale with a sucking calf, when she's roused."

We had drawn in rather close and could see that the calf was falling
behind. The mother noticed it as well. She feared the thing that had
stung her; but, mother-like, she clung to her little one. She swerved
around and the line fell slack.

"Look out, now, sir!" cried Tom Anderly again. "She's mad, and she's
scared, and she's looking for us. If she once gits her tail under our
bottom its good-bye Jo for all hands--and the water's mighty wet
today."

Almost as he ceased speaking the wicked eye of the great creature
blinked at the boat, and she came rushing down upon it. Tom threw
himself upon the great steering oar, while Ben shouted:

"Pull! Pull, you lubbers! Do you want to be swamped by the critter?"

We bent our backs to the struggle and the whaleboat shot ahead; but the
maddened cow-whale came on, as big as a brick warehouse, and bent on
running us under!

CHAPTER XVII

IN WHICH I COME VERY NEAR GOING OUT OF THE STORY

Our boat escaped the collision with the mad whale on her first attack.
She rushed by us like a steamer, throwing up a wave from her jaws and
just "humping herself." Old Tom swerved us about swiftly in her wake and
w