His tremendous struggles caused such a commotion that our position could only be compared to that of men shooting Niagara in a cylinder at night.How we kept afloat, I do not know.Some one had the gumption to cut the line, so that by the radiation of the disturbance we presently found ourselves close to the wall, and trying to hold the boat in to it with our finger-tips.Would he never be quiet? we thought, as the thrashing, banging, and splashing still went on with unfailing vigour.At last, in, Isuppose, one supreme effort to escape, he leaped clear of the water like a salmon.There was a perceptible hush, during which we shrank together like unfledged chickens on a frosty night;then, Then in a never-to-be-forgotten crash that ought to have brought down the massy roof, that mountainous carcass fell.The consequent violent upheaval of the water should have smashed the boat against the rocky walls, but that final catastrophe was mercifully spared us.I suppose the rebound was sufficient to keep us a safe distance off.
A perfect silence succeeded, during which we sat speechless, awaiting a resumption of the clamour.At last Abner broke the heavy silence by saying, "I doan' see the do'way any mo' at all, sir." He was right.The tide had risen, and that half-moon of light had disappeared, so that we were now prisoners for many hours, it not being at all probable that we should be able to find our way out during the night ebb.Well, we were not exactly children, to be afraid of the dark, although there is considerable difference between the velvety darkness of a dungeon and the clear, fresh night of the open air.Still, as long as that beggar of a whale would only keep quiet or leave the premises, we should be fairly comfortable.We waited and waited until an hour had passed, and then came to the conclusion that our friend was either dead or gone out, as be gave no sign of his presence.
That being settled, we anchored the boat, and lit pipes, preparatory to passing as comfortable a night as might be under the circumstances, the only thing troubling me being the anxiety of the skipper on our behalf.Presently the blackness beneath was lit up by a wide band of phosphoric light, shed in the wake of no ordinary-sized fish, probably an immense shark.Another and another followed in rapid succession, until the depths beneath were all ablaze with brilliant foot-wide ribands of green glare, dazzling to the eye and bewildering to the brain.
Occasionally, a gentle splash or ripple alongside, or a smart tap on the bottom of the boat, warned us how thick the concourse was that had gathered below.Until that weariness which no terror is proof against set in, sleep was impossible, nor could we keep our anxious gaze from that glowing inferno beneath, where one would have thought all the population of Tartarus were holding high revel.Mercifully, at last we sank into a fitful slumber, though fully aware of the great danger of our position.One upward rush of any of those ravening monsters, happening to strike the frail shell of our boat, and a few fleeting seconds would have sufficed for our obliteration as if we had never been.
But the terrible night passed away, and once more we saw the tender, irridescent light stream into that abode of dread.As the day strengthened, we were able to see what was going on below, and a grim vision it presented.The water was literally alive with sharks of enormous size, tearing with never ceasing energy at the huge carcass of the whale lying on the bottom, who had met his fate in a singular but not unheard-of way.At that last titanic effort of his he had rushed downward with such terrific force that, striking his head on the bottom, he had broken his neck.I felt very grieved that we had lost the chance of securing him; but it was perfectly certain that before we could get help to raise him, all that would be left of his skeleton would be quite valueless to us.So with such patience as we could command we waited near the entrance until the receding ebb made it possible for us to emerge once more into the blessed light of day.I was horrified at the haggard, careworn appearance of my crew, who had all, excepting the two Kanakas, aged perceptibly during that night of torment.But we lost no time in getting back to the ship, where I fully expected a severe wigging for the scrape my luckless curiosity had led me into.
The captain, however, was very kind, expressing his pleasure at seeing us all safe back again, although he warned me solemnly against similar investigations in future.A hearty meal and a good rest did wonders in removing the severe effects of our adventure, so that by next morning we were all fit and ready for the days work again.
It certainly seemed as if I was in for a regular series of troubles.After cruising till nearly two p.m., we fell in with the mate's boat, and were sailing quietly along side by side, when we suddenly rounded a point and ran almost on top of a bull-humpback that was basking in the beautiful sunshine.The mate's harpooner, a wonderfully smart fellow, was not so startled as to lose his chance, getting an iron well home before the animal realized what had befallen him.We had a lovely fight, lasting over an hour, in which all the marvellous agility with which this whale is gifted was exerted to the full in order to make his escape.But with the bottom not twenty fathoms away, we were sure of him.With all his supple smartness, he had none of the dogged savagery of the cachalot about him, nor did we feel any occasion to beware of his rushes, rather courting them, so as to finish the game as quickly as possible.
