res, they seemed more like a group of demons
engaged in some diabolical work, than human beings. The midshipmen
could scarcely recognise those with whom they had been talking
familiarly the day before.

The whale, which was a large one, gave, the captain told them, eighty
barrels of oil. It took the crew upwards of two days to try out and
stow away that quantity.

"I should have to be precious hard up before I turned whaler," observed
Billy Blueblazes. "It is hot work at night, but it must be terrible in
a calm, with the blazing sun beating down on the poor fellows' heads."

Several days passed away after this before another whale was seen. A
breeze, however, having sprung up, the ship stood to the northward.
There was some sea on and the weather looked changeable, when one
afternoon, as Tom and Gerald were enjoying a read at some of the
captain's books in the cabin, Billy rushed in, exclaiming--

"Here's a school of whales close to us. Come up and have a look at
them, or perhaps they will be off."

Sure enough, when the midshipmen came on deck, they saw half a dozen or
more whales spouting together, which, as the captain told them, were
young bull whales. The crew were standing ready to lower the boats as
soon as they should get the captain's order. The weather appeared to
clear a little, and eager to obtain one or more of the frolicsome
monsters, he determined, in spite of the threatening aspect of the
weather, to go off in chase. He, as before, went in one boat, and the
first mate in the other. The boats were, however, apparently seen by
the whales, which immediately separated and went off in different
directions. One, however, after making several turns, came directly
towards the captain's boat.

"'Faith! I wish we were with him," exclaimed Desmond. "He is sure to
have that one."

The captain, making a sign to his men not to move their oars, waited
silently for the young bull, which came close up without discovering its
foe. When at length it did so, it swerved on one side, at that moment
receiving the deadly weapon just behind its hump. No sooner did the
whale feel the pain than, apparently terror-stricken, it seemed unable
to move; but as the captain was again about to fire, suddenly recovering
itself, it darted off like an arrow, spinning the boat so quickly round
that she was nearly upset.

Away went the whale dead to windward, towing the boat at a rate of
nearly fifteen miles an hour, ri