CHAPTER TEN.
WHALING AND FIGHTING.
The _Dolphin_, after her first ill-success at privateering, stood awayfrom the coast towards a part of the ocean where it was expected thatwhales would be found. Look-outs were at the mast-head.
I was sitting with Dick forward, for as Mrs Podgers was sunning herselfon deck, I was keeping out of her way. Miss Kitty was reading, and MrFalconer was pacing up and down, as officer of the watch, taking carenot to approach her till Mrs Podgers should dive below. Most of thecrew were knitting and splicing, spinning yarns, or performing otherwork, of which there is always plenty to be done on board ship, whilesome few of them were lying lazily about, doing nothing.
I have not before mentioned a personage who was dubbed the officer ofmarines, Lieutenant Pyke. His figure was tall and thin, as thecaptain's was short and broad, and though their noses were much of thesame colour, being as red as strong potations and hot suns couldpossibly make them, Lieutenant Pyke's was enormously long. He was nowengaged in drilling twelve of the most ruffianly and ill-conditioned ofthe crew, whom he called his jollies. They were of various heights anddimensions, and though they wore red coats and belts, knee-breeches andgaiters, and carried muskets, they were, as Dick, who held them insupreme contempt, declared, "as unlike sodgers as they could well be."Lieutenant Pyke, however, was proud of them, and boasted that they wouldfollow him to the cannon's mouth, whenever he led the way.
"Likely enough they will," observed Dick, "because, you see, there'slittle chance of the lieutenant ever getting there."
He had for some time been drilling these troops of his, as he alsooccasionally designated the fellows, making them march up and down, andpointing every now and then to an imaginary enemy, whom he ordered themto charge and annihilate, when there came a shout from aloft, "There sheblows!" In a moment all the crew jumped to their feet. Our stoutcaptain tumbled up from below, crying out, "Where away!" and four boatsbeing lowered and manned, off they pulled, led by Mr Falconer in thedirection in which the look-out pointed. We could see, about a quarterof a mile from the ship, a huge hump projecting three feet out of thewater, while from the fore part of the monster's enormous head arose atthe end of every ten seconds a white jet of foam.
"There again! there again!" shouted the crew. Away dashed the boats atfull speed.
"His spoutings are nearly out," said Dick.
"He is going down," cried others.
Again a spout rose, and we could see the small, as it is called, of hisback rise preparatory to his descent.
"His tail will be up directly," said Dick, "and they will lose him, Ifear;" but at that moment Mr Falconer's boat dashing on, as he stood upin the boat with his glistening harpoon raised above his head, away itflew with unerring force, and was buried in the side of the huge animal.A loud cheer rose from the men in the boats and those on deck, and thewhale, hitherto so quiet, began to strike the water with his vast tail,aiming with desperate blows at his advancing enemies. Now his enormousbottle-nose-shaped head rose in the air--now we saw his flukes lashingthe water, his body writhing with the agony of the wound the sharp ironhad inflicted. The water around him was soon beaten into a mass offoam, while the noise made by his tail was almost deafening.
Kitty stood eagerly watching the scene, and looking somewhat pale, forit seemed as if the boat could scarcely escape some of those desperateblows dealt around.
I had felt very anxious about my friend.
"Never fear," said Dick; "he knows what he is about. See, it's `sternall.'"
The boat backed out of the way; the monster's tail rose for an instantand disappeared.
"He has sounded," cried Dick.
Away ran the line. An oar was held up in the boat.
"That means that the line has run out," said Dick.
The nearest boat dashed up, and a fresh line was bent on. That sooncame to an end, and another, and yet another was joined to it.
"He has eight hundred fathoms out by this time," shouted Dick, "and ifhe does not come up soon, he will be lost. But no, it's `haul in theslack;' he is rising; they are coiling away the line in the tubs."
Directly afterwards the blunt nose of the animal rose from the sea, anda spout was projected high into the air. Mr Falconer's boat was beinghauled rapidly towards it. A long lance with which he was armed wasquickly buried in the side of the huge creature, going deep down into avital part. The other boats gathered round it, from each a lance wasdarted forth, the whale rolling over and over in his agony, and coilingthe rope round him, when suddenly, with open jaws, he darted at one ofthe boats, and then attacked another. Kitty shrieked out with fear, forit was Mr Falconer's boat which was overtaken, and was seen, shatteredto fragments, flying into the air, while the other was capsized; and nowthe whale went so swiftly along the surface, that it seemed he mustafter all escape. Two of the boats were not yet fastened, and, withoutstopping to help the men in the water, away they dashed in chase of thewhale. Impeded by the shattered boat he was dragging after him, and byseveral drogues fastened to the lines, he was soon overtaken, whenanother harpoon and several more lances were darted into his body.Still unconquered, away the animal again went, and up rose his tail: hewas attempting to sound, but this his increasing weakness prevented himfrom doing. Then he stopped, and his vast frame began to writhe andtwist about in every possible way, beating the surrounding sea intofoam, and dyeing it with his blood. The boats backed out of his way.The captain had sent another boat to the assistance of the men in thewater, when it was seen that the one upset was righted, and that thepeople belonging to the shattered boat had been taken on board her. Shesoon joined those which were fast to the whale, and when the monster atlength lay motionless on the water, assisted them in towing it up to theship.
Kitty could scarcely conceal her joy when she saw Mr Falconer steeringone of the boats. I shouted with satisfaction.
The whale was soon alongside, and the operation of cutting off theblubber, hoisting it on board, and boiling it down in huge caldronsplaced on tripods, commenced.
As night came on, the fires lighted under the pots shed a bright glareacross the deck on the rigging and on the men at work. I thought themwild and savage-looking enough before, but they now appeared more likebeings of the lower world than men of flesh and blood.
"I have no fancy for this sort of work," observed Dick, who was athorough man-of-war's man. "The decks won't be fit to tread on foranother week."
However, we had the decks dirtied in the same way many a time forseveral weeks after that, being very successful in catching whales.
At last the fighting part of the crew, who were not accustomed towhaling, began to grumble, and wished to return to the coast, to carryon the privateering, or, as Dick called it, the pirating work, whichthey looked upon as the chief object of the voyage.
Lieutenant Pyke was especially urgent about the matter, and proposedthat a descent should be made on some of the towns, which he and hisbrave troops, he asserted, could capture without difficulty.
On reaching the coast, we brought up in a small bay with a town on itsshore.
We had not been long at anchor, when in the evening a boat came off,manned by natives, with three Spaniards in her. The captain receivedthem very politely, and introduced them to his wife and Kitty. Theyseemed highly pleased, and said they had come to trade, taking the_Dolphin_ to be a smuggler, many English vessels visiting the coast forthe purpose of landing goods free of the high duties imposed on them bythe Spanish Government. As many pieces of cloth and cotton as could befound were shown to them as samples. The captain told them that if theywould return on board with their dollars, the goods should be ready forthem.
Mr Falconer, when he heard of the shameful trick which it was proposedto play the unfortunate Spaniards, was very indignant, and I believewould have warned them if he could. The captain, hearing what he hadsaid, backed by Lieutenant Pyke and one of the other officers, declaredthat he would shoot him through the head if he did a
ny such thing.
During the night, two boats came off with our former visitors and fourothers, all bringing a large supply of dollars. On going down below,great was their dismay on finding that they were prisoners, and that,when released, they would have to leave their money behind them and gowithout the goods.
In the morning, another boat appeared with two more merchants, who weretreated in the same way. Altogether, ten thousand dollars were thusstolen from the Spaniards.
"They are breaking the laws of their country," observed Dick to me, "andthey deserve punishment. For my part, I don't like this way of doingthings; but if Mr Pyke is as good as his word, and was to land with hismarines and attack the town, it would be more ship-shape andhonourable."
I mention the circumstance to show the abomination of the privateeringsystem, but people generally did not see it in the same light in thosedays.
A suspicious sail appearing in the offing, the Spaniards were allowed togo on shore, though Lieutenant Pyke declared that if he had his way theyshould all have been made to pay a heavy ransom first. The anchor washove up, and we stood out to sea. We were becalmed during the day,while still at a distance from the stranger. As evening approached, abreeze springing up, she neared us, with a black flag flying from herpeak. From the cut of her sail and the appearance of her hull, she wasan English vessel, fully as large, if not larger, than the _Dolphin_;but there could be no doubt of her character--she was a pirate. Thedrum beat to quarters, and preparations were made to give her a warmreception. Mrs Podgers and Kitty were sent down into the cockpit,where they might be out of harm's way. It was by this time nearly dark,but still the stranger could be seen gliding towards us through thethickening gloom. Dick took me up and carried me to them, in spite ofmy entreaties to be allowed to see the fun.
"It will be no fun, Charley, if yonder scoundrels do as they intend, andtry to take the ship," he remarked. "At all events, there will be somedesperate fighting, and a shot may carry your head off, my boy--so belowyou must go, whether you like it or not."
Kitty took my hand and drew me towards her as soon as I appeared,thankful that I was not to be exposed to danger.
"I should think the little brat might be made useful, sitting on anammunition tub," exclaimed Mrs Podgers. "Why should he be more pettedthan the other boys?"
"No, no!" cried Kitty, holding me fast. "He is younger than they are,and it would be cruel to let him run the risk of being hurt."
We waited for some time, no one speaking; for Mrs Podgers was too muchfrightened, and Kitty too anxious, to do so. At length there came thedull sound of a gun fired from the other vessel, followed by louder,clearer reports of several discharged by the _Dolphin_. The enemyreplied with a still greater number, and several broadsides were soonafterwards rapidly exchanged between the combatants. The firing nowceased. We waited almost breathless to hear it begin again.