so sudden, dramatic and complete had been the justice dealt out to pepe that it made quite an imperceptible ripple in the steady current of the ship’s routine. in the mind of the beaten man there was, of course, a deep and deadly hatred for his chastiser as well as for c. b., and schemes of revenge chased one another through his brain continually. but he came of a race that understands and appreciates a good thrashing and has no respect for gentle humanitarian methods, and so pepe’s respect for mr. merritt’s prowess was very real and sincere. also his compatriots in the half-deck were perceptibly less sympathetic than they had been. in fact, they were quite ready to throw him over and openly condemn him for doing that which any one of them would have done given a favourable opportunity.
in only one thing did they now agree with him, and that was in their hatred of c. b. it is a melancholy fact that in an assemblage of bad men anything will be condoned but goodness, and the perfectly blameless life led by c. b. was a constant offence to men whose only virtues were high courage in the performance of their dangerous duties, and endurance in the most tremendous labours that can be imagined when the circumstances called for them. but c. b. was now far happier than he had[pg 121] been since he first came on board. he had almost unconsciously been craving for some human sympathy and fellowship, and now he was in a fair way to get both. he felt himself drawn to his saturnine chief in a most intimate and affectionate way, while he could not but respect and admire him for his effectual punishment of the dastardly offence committed by pepe. for c. b. had nothing in common with those curious christians among us whose sympathies are entirely with the criminal and never with the victim, who shudder at pain being inflicted upon the guilty but are quite callous to the agonies of the innocent. to his simple ideas these folk would have seemed to be madmen.
various quiet warnings were conveyed to him to keep a wary eye upon pepe, who would be certain to do him a shrewd turn at the earliest opportunity, but he only laughed cheerily and said—
“i’m not losing any sleep over this matter. if he kills me i am ready to die, and shall not be worse off, but better. if he attacks me openly, he will, i think, get some more sore bones. and that’s all i care about it.”
and then he would change the subject, for he was gradually becoming able to talk about the pure and noble life of his island home to the captain and officers and sometimes to the men, who listened fascinated: as they would, for although most of them had at one time or another heard the gospel preached in some fashion, they had always looked upon the preacher as one who was paid to say certain things which he did not believe, but which were designed to keep the poor man quiet while the rich man preyed upon him.
some of them had dim recollections of holy lives lived by their parents, of prayers repeated in lisping[pg 122] tones at a mother’s knee and recalled occasionally in moments of solitude, but none of them had ever met before a man in the spring of life, strong, eager, and able to do all that might become a man, who spoke of god and christ and love that rules the whole creation as if they were matters of intimate knowledge and infinite importance to him. and while they wondered they admired, and speculated among themselves in blind fashion as to what this portent could mean.
then suddenly an incident occurred that raised c. b. in the estimation of all hands more than anything else could have done. it was when the ship was on the southern edge of the off-shore ground and slowly working north. the weather was what we call dirty; low ragged clouds shedding rain at frequent intervals, with strong winds and irregular lumpy sea. c. b. and one of the portuguese harponeers were working together, when c. b. accidentally dropped a serving mallet upon the other man’s bare foot. with a horrible exclamation in his own language louis spat in c. b.’s face, and at the same time struck him a violent blow in the jaw. not content with that the maddened man drew his knife and was in the act of driving it into c. b.’s chest when the latter seized the upraised wrist in his left hand, caught at the broad leather belt worn by the portuguese with his right, and with a movement deft as that of an acrobat twirled him into the air and out over the side into the tormented sea. all hands who witnessed the slight scuffle stood aghast, helpless for the moment, as c. b., calmly springing on to the rail, gave a searching glance at the spot where the harponeer was struggling in the foam, and then shouting “lower away a boat,” sprang after his late enemy.
[pg 123]
a few vigorous fish-like strokes brought him to the side of the portuguese, who was evidently in great pain and only feebly endeavouring to keep himself afloat, although these men are all splendid swimmers. throwing himself upon his back, c. b. seized the man by the collar of his strong serge shirt and held him easily head to sea, rising and falling on the waves like a piece of drift-wood. there was no delay in picking the pair up; indeed, in ten minutes from the time that louis went flying overboard they were on board again, and c. b. sprang lightly on deck and assisted his aggressor down.
“what does this mean, christmas?” sternly demanded the captain, who had seen the whole affair. in brief, unimpassioned words c. b. told what had happened, and then turning to louis the skipper demanded his version. foolishly but naturally the portuguese lied, making c. b. out the aggressor, at which the skipper smiled sardonically, saying—
“ah, i thought so. you portagees are as bad as they make ’em. but what’s wrong with yer hand?” seeing that he held it tenderly and was evidently in pain.
“i doan know, sir, feels all broke.” an examination proved that the wrist was dislocated, and the skipper’s rough-and-ready surgery was immediately put in force, after which the groaning and completely discomfited man retired below, too miserable to curse his bad luck as he called it.
“now, christmas,” said the skipper severely when they were alone, “i don’t know what t’ say t’ ye. you really mustn’t go heaving my harponeers overboard like rubbidge, nor yet get t’ breaking ’em all up. nor yet you mustn’t let ’em go sticking knives in you. confound you, why[pg 124] are you always in the right and yet getting into some scrape or another? i shipped a handful of hot stuff when i took you aboard, i can see, and i wish i hadn’t, yet i’m beginning to feel that i’d rather lose anybody than you, you ’mazing muscular christian.”
“i’m sorry i hurt the man, sir,” modestly replied c. b., “and i didn’t intend to do so. but if i hadn’t been quicker than he was, he would have probably put me out of action for longer than he’ll be now, while i only thought of defending myself, and a dip overboard can’t possibly do anybody any harm.”
with a cross between a grunt and a laugh the skipper turned away, leaving c. b. standing quietly to receive the curt congratulations of mr. merritt, and be the centre of admiring glances from all the crew that were on deck. the matter formed the principal, in fact almost the only topic of conversation on board for the next three days, during which c. b. went on his simple accustomed way, except that he was assiduous in his attention to the suffering man, who, in addition to the pain of his wrist, had sustained a severe rick to his spine, making it very painful for him to get in and out of his bunk. and as none of his compatriots thought of doing anything for him, he would have fared very badly but for the man he intended to kill.
by the time that louis was able to resume work they had been nearly three weeks on the ground and no spout of sperm or right whales had been seen. it was just the fortune of the fishery, but as usual it bred a good deal of peevishness among the crew, whose monotonous life grew very irksome. i know of few conditions more trying to the active[pg 125] mind than to be on board of a clumsy old whaleship always on a wind tacking from side to side of a great lonely expanse of sea, shortening sail every night to a close-reefed main topsail and fore topmast staysail and making sail again at daylight. no books to read, no new topics to talk about, nothing to do but the same things over and over again, week in week out, with never another sail in sight. it is a life that unless a man has mental resources of no common kind tends to stultification of the intellect, and especially makes him peevish, irritable and intolerant even of himself.
the usual bounty had been doubled, and the men were so keen that they hardly cared to go below when their turn came to do so. the only men on board who seemed unmoved by the long spell of inaction were captain taber and c. b. the first was that fine type of man, as i hope i have suggested, that is even now, thank god, to be found in many new england towns, who, though not making any special profession of religion, are in a very real sense not far from the kingdom of god. honest, brave and honourable; combining in a curious way the astuteness of the man of the world with the sweet simplicity of a little child, they are the salt of the united states, and their lives and work stand out in brilliant contrast to those of the money-grubbers and professional politicians who are making the noble name of the great republic a byword and a hissing among the nations.
as captain taber used to say so frequently, “this thing” (the scarcity of whales within an area where they should be found) “runs in streaks; we’ll get all we want and more also dreckly.” he was a highly educated man but loved the vernacular, and occasionally lapsed into it from his grave elizabethan[pg 126] english. and so it proved, for one morning before it was light he came on deck, and sauntering up to c. b., who was enjoying a pannikin of coffee and biscuit, he said casually—
“now you fellers ’at don’t smoke are supposed to have the sense of smell more highly developed than us misbul degenerates who do, don’t yer nose tell yer nothin’ now?”
“yes, sir,” brightly replied c. b., “it’s been telling me ever since i came on deck at eight bells that we’re in the thick of either a big shoal of fish or a school of whales of some sort. the air’s quite heavy with fish smell.”
“ah! an’ i suppose you couldn’t indicate the kind o’ whale that’s possibly around, could ye?” inquired the skipper drily.
“hardly, sir, although i’ve heard of it being done,” replied c. b. “but i’ve never believed it. i feel sure, though, that the fellows who are stealing up to the crow’s-nest now, sir—look at ’em—will start their music at the first streak of dawn.”
“so long as they see sperm whales i’m willing, or even right whale,” murmured the skipper, “for this thing’s growing quite monotonous to me. i want the boys to get some amusement too. oh well, i must go below and fill my pipe again. however a grown man like you can get along without tobacco i don’t know.” and he glanced quizzically at c. b., who only smiled and resumed his eager watch to windward.
there was not a cloud in the sky from horizon to horizon, nor as far as could be seen was there a trace of haze. so that when the first tremulous throbbings of dawn made themselves felt it was as if an indefinite weight had been lifted, the displacement of shadow by light. and then the whole[pg 127] dome above began to glow in sombre tones, at first duplicated below a shade or two deeper. it was like the birth of colour, and even the eager watchers poised in mid air forgot their desire for a moment at the amazing sight. then, as at a celestial signal, the sea-rim in the east brimmed with liquid gold, a blazing disc appeared, and it was day.
simultaneously with the upward leap of the sun four voices rang out in the thrilling cry of “blo-o-o-o-w.” indeed it was a stirring sight. far as the eye could reach from horizon to horizon there appeared to be bursting from the sea an endless succession of jets of smoke, each one denoting the presence of a monster sperm whale. only twice in my life have i ever seen such a sight, once off the solander rock, foveaux straits, new zealand, and there the horizon was restricted by land on two sides, and once when on a passage to gibraltar from london in the p. & o. ss. arabia, captain parfitt, who, if he sees these lines, will doubtless remember that the previous day at dinner we had had a slight controversy about the quantity of whales now to be seen at sea. i held that whales were more plentiful than ever, he asserted that they were nearly extinct, and the next morning the splendid ship steamed for an hour at sixteen knots through one immense school of sperm whales which must have numbered many thousands.
the captain only took one glance round at the mighty concourse, then shouted, “’way down from aloft. mr. winsloe, we’ll lower all five boats to-day, and each one act independently of the rest. these whales are all feeding and i don’t anticipate any trouble, but the first boat that kills, stick a wheft in the whale and get back to the ship. she’ll want handling and that smartly too. shipkeepers[pg 128] keep her to windward, that’s all you’ve got to do, and look out for boats coming back. now then, away for good greasy money.”
whirr, whirr, splash went the five boats, and as soon as they struck the water each boat pushed out from the ship using paddles only, for the whales were quite near, and each singling out a whale for themselves. within fifteen minutes every boat was fast, that is, the barbed harpoon had established a connexion between boat and whale that would only cease by accident or design when the whale was dead. and then that placid sea became the scene of a titanic conflict, wherein the puny men in their frail craft joined battle with the mightiest of god’s creatures on most unequal terms. to and fro they flew, those pigmy boats amidst the crowding hundreds of leviathans, who, filled with wild dismay at this sudden calamity, knew not whither to flee and moved aimlessly and harmlessly. and owing to the immense spaces in which they wallowed they were not now even as dangerous as a herd of bullocks would be in a field, for there a man might get crushed to death by accident; here, although to a novice the scene appeared dangerous, the older hands knew that an accident was now far less likely than when whales were few and far between.
to add to the confusion and apparent danger existing, the sea appeared to be alive with immense sharks, who in some mysterious way had gathered to that stupendous feast. in fact, the enormous amount of marine life peopling that remote ocean breeds a feeling of dismay in some minds, a sense of being out of place, weaklings in the midst of unimaginable forces of destruction. not, of course, that this thought occurred to the old whalemen. they revelled in the gigantic slaughter, and incurred [pg 129]unnecessary danger by being unable to resist the temptation to lance loose whales passing by. the frenzy of killing was upon them, and they lunged right and left indiscriminately, heedless of consequences.
in half an hour from the time of leaving the ship captain taber had his whale dead, and sticking a wheft (a small flag with a pointed end to its staff) in the carcass he bade his crew give way for the ship with all speed. arriving on board he took charge, and as there was a good working breeze he was able so to handle his ship as to keep well to windward of the whole flotilla of boats, which soon began to hoist their whefts in token of having killed each one his whale. there was no need to discriminate, for all had done well, five big whales had been killed in less than two hours; and now came the hardest part of the great day’s work, and one calling for the greatest amount of seamanship. for when once the first whale had been secured to the ship, she became sluggish in her movements, as indeed she well might with a floating mass of some eighty tons attached to her. those boats that were farthest away, realizing the difficulty, attempted to tow their prizes, an immense task in itself, but now, hampered as they were on every side by the bewildered monsters, who wallowed aimlessly, as having lost all sense of direction or power of flight, wellnigh impossible.
yet in some strange and apparent come-by-chance fashion the whole five whales were secured to the ship, all five boats were hoisted into their places, and the utterly exhausted men went to their food, full of satisfaction with their morning’s work. and while they fed and rested the ship was left in charge of the cook and steward, who gazed over the side at the strange scene with mingled feelings, in which real alarm predominated. indeed, it was a sight[pg 130] calculated to terrify. the huge carcasses attached to the ship by hawsers floated around her like a concourse of submerged wrecks bottom up. around and between them blundered bewildered whales lost to all their usual instincts, and all the spaces in between the living and the dead monsters were thronged with hordes of sharks countless in number.
to complete the amazing scene there had drifted out of the void great flocks of sea-birds, albatrosses, mallemauks, cape hens, cape pigeons, fulmars and others, which kept up an incessant screaming, fluttering, rising and falling, all ravenous and impatient for the cutting in to begin. it was indeed a wonderful revelation of the abundance of life in mid-ocean, such as is only vouchsafed to these deep-sea wanderers, the whalemen.
two hours’ rest was allowed, and then captain taber, sauntering towards his mate, said—
“mr. winsloe, we’ve got a big thing in hand, but the best of weather for it. we’ll take each whale alongside and get the heads off first, lettin’ them all tow astern as we cut them off. then we’ll put all our vim into gettin’ the carcasses skinned, and if the boys only work as they ought, i think we might get the back of the work broken by eight bells to-night.”
winsloe only grunted, for he was a man of few words, and, slouching forrard, roared, “turn to!”
now it would be quite easy for me to take an entire chapter in the attempt to explain the nature and progress of the gigantic task that was accomplished by those forty men, toiling almost incessantly from noon until daylight the next morning; but as the great business has nothing adventurous or thrilling about it, i fear i could not make it interesting. only i feel that i would like you to realize the scene.[pg 131] the immense masses of blubber being hove inboard by the full power of the crew at the windlass, the great tackles groaning and the ship canting over under the load, the unwearying thrust and recover of the long-handled spades as the toiling officers and harponeers laboured to disjoint the huge heads or scarph the blubber so that it would strip easily from the carcasses, the fitful weird glare of the cressets of blazing “scrap” (pieces of blubber from which the oil has been boiled disposed about the ship to give light to the toilers), and just outside that tiny circle of human labour the solemn vastness of the darkling ocean, the loneliness of that untraversed sea.
but i should do scant justice to the picture if i failed to note how, within that apparently charmed circle which had the ship for its centre, the deep was alive, luminous and vivid. the ceaseless come and go of the ravenous sea-scavengers, striving with all their wonderful energy to get a share of the great feast that was spread, was in itself a sight to linger in the memory as long as life should last, had the workers but time to look at it. and to complete the uncanny interest of the whole strange scene, there was the uneasy passings and melancholy voices of the sea-birds, flitting whitely through the gloom, impatiently waiting for the day.
daylight saw the huge task completed, and the ship’s deck from one end to the other blocked with the mighty masses of case and junk and blanket pieces. the blubber-room, as the square of the main-hatch down to the ’tween decks and for about ten feet on either side of it is called, was choked full of blubber, not another slice could be got down, and in consequence all the rest had to be piled on deck. old whalemen will doubt the possibility of such a[pg 132] feat as the cutting in of five sperm whales in twenty hours until i explain that none of the whales were too large to have the case lifted inboard, and that, of course, makes all the difference; for i have been twenty-four hours engaged in cutting in one whale, and with a smart man in charge too. but then that whale was so huge that many time-wasting things had to be done that were unnecessary in the case i am relating.
as the last case was hove on board and secured, the skipper gave a long sigh of relief and cried—
“spell ho! all hands. mr. winsloe, give the boys three hours’ rest, good, and then we’ll start blubber watches (six hours on and six hours off); and say, you cook-man, just you see to it that the men get the best breakfast that can be scared up in the ship.” and as he turned away towards the stern the oil dripped from his hair, his clothing, and squished out of his sea-boots, for the captains of those ships, if they drove their crews, drove themselves hardest of all, and no man could say that his skipper could only drive, not lead.
now, impossible as it may seem to us, there was no attempt made to change clothing. just a perfunctory wipe of hands and face with oakum wads preliminary to a wolfish devouring of food, for all were outrageously hungry. that everything eaten and even the tobacco smoked afterwards was reeking with oil nobody minded, for in truth the product of the sperm whale when absolutely fresh as this was is as bland and pleasant as the purest olive oil: it is only when it gets stale and rancid that its unpleasant taste and odour become manifest.
the short respite worked wonders for the toilers, although those of them who had to resume work at[pg 133] 10 a.m., four bells, thought longingly of the greasy bunks in which the fortunate members of the watch below were recuperating from their heavy labours. but a spirit of emulation was aboard, and there was no cursing or driving; every man therefore did his best to reduce the chaos on deck to something like order. the huge cases were split open one after the other, the spermaceti baled out and passed into tanks below, and as each was scraped dry it was hauled to the waist and pushed through the open gangway into the sea, where, in spite of the vast banquet given them in the carcasses of the whales during the night, there were thousands of gaping candidates for more.
as the fierce sun came out and beat down upon the piles of blubber the oil exuded and filled the decks, for all the scuppers and wash-ports were closed tightly, and there was no time to bale or place to bale the oil into until the fires in the try-works should be started. but by dint of the hardest, most unremitting toil, at midday enough of a clearance had been made to start the fires and the work of boiling down began. and here i must leave the business for a while because, although it has not its parallel in any other work ashore, it is dirty, greasy, smelly; full of sordid discomforts, and difficult indeed to see the romance of except to the privileged few who have strong imaginations.
throughout the following week all hands toiled nobly to stow away their great catch, but the captain and officers had a pretty bad time, for every day small pods of sperm whales would come nosing around, quite close to the ship, as if they knew (and perhaps they did) that her crew was unable to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity through having their hands so abundantly filled. then when at last the whole catch had been reduced into the[pg 134] comparatively small compass of nearly 600 barrels, or 60 tons of oil, and the lash rails all round the ship were fully occupied by huge casks full of oil getting cool, the harponeers of each boat made haste to refit their boats, sharpen their weapons, and make all ready for the next opportunity, thinking at the same time how very unlikely it was that those visiting whales would happen along again now that they might look for a cordial reception.
i have not made any special mention of my hero in connexion with this great piece of work, because he did only what every one else did, his best, and at a time like that the slightest softness or slacking-off of a man in a position of authority is noted at once, not merely by his compeers but by his subordinates. through this really severe ordeal c. b. passed triumphantly in spite of the novelty of much of the work to him, and by the time it was over there really seemed to be a tacit agreement on the part of the men who hated him to let him alone, since he had proved in the most satisfactory way that he was entirely capable, willing and cheerful, and that the men forward would jump more eagerly at his slightest pleasantest word than they would at a bitter curse weighing a threat from one of the truculent portuguese. in fact, although no one told him so in so many words, all the circumstances attending this great catch went to place c. b. in the position in the esteem of his fellows that he deserved to occupy, and lasting peace seemed assured.