the men on deck, I saw a
brown object appear in the sea, not twenty yards from the side of the
ship; before I had time to ask what it was, a whale's head rose to the
surface, and shot up out of the water. The part of the fish that was
visible above water could not have been less then thirty feet in
length. It just looked as if our longboat had jumped out of the sea,
and he was so near that I could see his great mouth quite plainly. I
could have tossed a biscuit on his back easily. Sending two thick
spouts of frothy water out of his blow-holes forty feet into the air
with tremendous noise, he fell flat upon the sea with a clap like
thunder, tossed his flukes or tail high into the air, and disappeared.

I was so amazed at this sight that I could not speak. I could only
stare at the place where the huge monster had gone down.

"Stand by to lower," shouted the captain.

"Aye, aye, sir," replied the men, leaping to their appointed stations;
for every man in a whale-ship has his post of duty appointed to him,
and knows what to do when an order is given.

"Lower away," cried the captain, whose face was now blazing with
excitement.

In a moment more three boats were in the water; the tubs, harpoons,
&c., were thrown in, the men seized the oars, and away they went with a
cheer. I was in such a state of flutter that I scarce knew what I did;
but I managed somehow or other to get into a boat, and as I was a
strong fellow, and a good rower, I was allowed to pull.

"There she blows!" cried the man in the crow's-nest, just as we shot
from the side of the ship. There was no need to ask, "where away" this
time. Another whale rose and spouted not more than three hundred yards
off, and before we could speak a third fish rose in another direction,
and we found ourselves in the middle of what is called a "school of
whales".

"Now, lads," said the captain, who steered the boat in which I rowed,
"bend your backs, my hearties; that fish right ahead of us is a
hundred-barrel whale for certain. Give way, boys; we _must_ have that
fish."

There was no need to urge the men, for their backs were strained to the
utmost, their faces were flushed, and the big veins in their necks
swelled almost to bursting, with the tremendous exertion.

"Hold hard," said the captain in a low voice, for now that we were
getting near our prey we made as little noise as possible.

The men at once threw their oars "apeak", as they say; that is, rai