we found his speed slackening, and we redoubled our efforts. Now
we were close upon him; now, in obedience to the steersman, the
boat sheered out a bit, and we were abreast of his labouring
flukes; now the mate hurls his quivering lance with such hearty
good-will that every inch of its slender shaft disappears within
the huge body. "Layoff! Off with her, Louey!" screamed the
mate; and she gave a wide sheer away from the whale, not a second
too soon. Up flew that awful tail, descending with a crash upon
the water not two feet from us. "Out oars! Pull, two! starn,
three!" shouted the mate; and as we obeyed our foe turned to
fight. Then might one see how courage and skill were such mighty
factors in the apparently unequal contest. The whale's great
length made it no easy job for him to turn, while our boat, with
two oars a-side, and the great leverage at the stern supplied by
the nineteen-foot steer-oar circled, backed, and darted ahead
like a living thing animated by the mind of our commander. When
the leviathan settled, we gave a wide berth to his probable place
of ascent; when he rushed at us, we dodged him; when he paused,
if only momentarily, in we flew, and got home a fearful thrust of
the deadly lance.

All fear was forgotten now--I panted, thirsted for his life.
Once, indeed, in a sort of frenzy, when for an instant we lay
side by side with him, I drew my sheath-knife, and plunged it
repeatedly into the blubber, as if I were assisting is his
destruction. Suddenly the mate gave a howl: "Starn all--starn
all! oh, starn!" and the oars bent like canes as we obeyed.
There was an upheaval of the sea just ahead; then slowly,
majestically, the vast body of our foe rose into the air. Up, up
it went, while my heart stood still, until the whole of that