all
tempers sorely. But Captain Slocum knew his business, and his scowling,
impassive face showed no signs of disappointment, or indeed any other
emotion, as day by day we crept farther north. At last we sighted the
stupendous peak of Comoro mountain, which towers to nearly nine thousand
feet from the little island which gives its name to the Comoro group
of four. On that same day a school of medium-sized sperm whales were
sighted, which appeared to be almost of a different race to those with
which we had hitherto had dealings. They were exceedingly fat and lazy,
moving with the greatest deliberation, and, when we rushed in among
them, appeared utterly bewildered and panic-stricken, knowing not which
way to flee. Like a flock of frightened sheep they huddled together,
aimlessly wallowing in each other's way, while we harpooned them with
the greatest ease and impunity. Even the "old man" himself lowered
the fifth boat, leaving the ship to the carpenter, cooper, cook, and
steward, and coming on the scene as if determined to make a field-day of
the occasion. He was no "slouch" at the business either. Not that there
was much occasion or opportunity to exhibit any prowess. The record of
the day's proceedings would be as tame as to read of a day's work in a
slaughter-house. Suffice it to say, that we actually killed six whales,
none of whom were less than fifty barrels, no boat ran out more than
one hundred fathoms of line, neither was a bomb-lance used. Not the
slightest casualty occurred to any of the boats, and the whole work of
destruction was over in less than four hours.

Then came the trouble. The fish were, of course somewhat widely
separated when they died, and the task of collecting all those immense
carcasses was one of no ordinary magnitude. Had it not been for the
wonderfully skilful handling of the ship, the task would, I should
think, have been impossible, but the way in which she was worked
compelled the admiration of anybody who knew what handling a ship meant.
Still, with all the ability manifested, it was five hours after the last
whale died before we had gathered them all alongside, bringing us to
four o'clock in the afternoon.

A complete day under that fierce blaze of the tropical sun, without
other refreshment than an occasional furtive drink of tepid water, had
reduced us to a pitiable condition of weakness, so much so that the
skipper judged it prudent, as soon as the fluke-chains were passed, to
g