hich was at no great distance; and strange as the
sight was, we watched it with but a languid interest, as soon as our
safety appeared to be no longer involved. The whale must have been
badly hurt for the water which it threw up on coming to the surface and
spouting, was tinged with blood. After this I saw no more of the
sword-fish and his associate; they had probably abandoned the attack.
[See note.] As nearly as I can recollect, we did not, either during the
progress of the fight, or after it was over, exchange a single word on
the subject, so dumb and apathetic had we become. After a while the
school of whales appeared to be moving off, and in half an hour more, we
lost sight of them altogether.

All this while, Johnny had continued to sleep soundly, and his slumbers
seemed more natural and refreshing than before. When at length he
awoke, the delirium had ceased, and he was calm and gentle, but so weak
that he could not sit up without being supported. After the
disappearance of the whales, several hours passed, during which we lay
under our awning without a word being spoken by any one. Throughout
this day, the sea seemed to be alive with fish; myriads of them were to
be seen in every direction; troops of agile and graceful dolphins;
revolving black-fish, chased by ravenous sharks; leaping albatross,
dazzling the eye with the flash of their golden scales, as they shot
into the air for a moment; porpoises, bonito, flying-fish, and a hundred
unknown kinds which I had never seen or heard of. At one time we were
surrounded by an immense shoal of small fishes, about the size of
mackerel, so densely crowded together that their backs presented an
almost solid surface, on which it seemed as if one might walk dry-shod.
None, however, came actually within our reach, and we made no effort to
approach them.

From the time of our wonderful escape from being destroyed by the whale,
until the occurrence which I am about to relate, I remember nothing
distinctly--all seems vague and dream-like. I could not say with
confidence, from my own knowledge, whether the interval consisted of
several days, or of only a few feverish and half-delirious hours; nor
whether the sights and sounds of which I have a confused recollection,
were real, or imaginary. I think, however, that it must have been in
the afternoon of the same day, (Arthur is confident that it was), that
Morton came to me as I lay in the bottom of the boat in a state of