if it had not been fixed before, and poor
Bertha would certainly have received "a hearing," or a "blowing-up," or
a "setting down," such as she had not enjoyed since the date of
Freydissa's marriage, had it not been for the fortunate circumstance
that a whale took it into its great thick head to come up, just then,
and spout magnificently quite close to the vessel.

The sight was received with a shout by the men, a shriller shout by the
women, and a screech of surprise and delight by little Olaf, who would
certainly have gone over the side in his eagerness, had not Biarne
caught him by the skirts of his tunic.

This incident happily diverted the course of Freydissa's thoughts.
Curiosity overcame indignation, and Bertha was reprieved for the time
being. Both mistress and maid hastened to the side of the ship; the
anger of the one evaporated and the tears of the other dried up when
they saw the whale rise not more than a hundred yards from the ship. It
continued to do this for a considerable time, sometimes appearing on one
side, sometimes on the other; now at the stern, anon at the bow. In
short it seemed as if the whale had taken the ship for a companion, and
were anxious to make its acquaintance. At last it went down and
remained under water so long that the voyagers began to think it had
left them, when Olaf suddenly gave a shriek of delight and
surprise:--"Oh! Oh! OH!" he exclaimed, looking and pointing straight
down into the water, "here is the whale--right under the ship!"

And sure enough there it was, swimming slowly under the vessel, not two
fathoms below the keel--its immense bulk being impressively visible,
owing to the position of the observers, and its round eyes staring as if
in astonishment at the strange creature above. [The author has seen a
whale in precisely similar circumstances in a Norwegian fiord.] It
expressed this astonishment, or whatever feeling it might be, by coming
up suddenly to the surface, thrusting its big blunt head, like the bow
of a boat, out of the sea, and spouting forth a column of water and
spray with a deep snort or snore--to the great admiration of the whole
ship's crew, for, although most of the men were familiar enough with
whales, alive and dead, they had never, in all probability, seen one in
such circumstances before.

Four or five times did the whale dive under the vessel in this fashion,
and then it sheered off with a contemptuous flourish of its tail, as if
d