CHAPTER XIX
_In which the Chase is Kept up and the Captain Promises Himself a Kill_
THE number of whales was less than the captain of the _Viking_ hadthought. When the vessel came up with the school, however, there weretwenty or more fin-backs to pick and choose from. They lay on everyhand, wallowing at the surface of the sea and spouting thick, lowstreams of water with evident delight: whales far and near, big andsmall, in pairs and threes, rising and gently sinking, blowing and_hon-g-king_, and, at last, arching their broad, finned backs for thelong dive.
The breathing spell was of two or three minutes' duration, the diveof five or ten, and might last much longer. Billy was told that asthe whales went thus, rising and diving, they travelled in a circle,feeding on young caplin and herring, squid and crustaceans. He hadnever thought to admire the grace of a whale; but his admiration wascompelled: the ponderous, ill-proportioned monsters were so perfectlyadapted to the element they were in that the languor and grace withwhich they moved was a delight--particularly when they arched theirglistening black backs and softly, languidly vanished.
But meantime the _Viking_ was lying silent and still; and--
"_Hon-g-k!_" from off the port bow.
"Ha!" exclaimed the captain.
A big whale had risen. The long "_Hon-g-k!_" as he had inhaled a smallcyclone of breath was sufficient to tell that. He was big and he wasnear.
"Full speed!" quietly from the captain in Norwegian.
The steersman had already spun the wheel without orders. The _Viking_swung in a half circle and made for the whale at top speed. Therewas just a quiver of excitement abroad--a deepening glitter in theeyes of the crew, and silence. The rush was upon the whale frombehind--instant, swift, straight: the engines chug-chugged and thewater swished noisily at the bows. There was no lying in ambush, nostalking: it was sight your game and make for him.
The captain leaned lazily on the gun, which he had not yet swung intoposition for firing; his legs were crossed, though the whale was not ahundred yards away, and he was placidly smoking his pipe. The fin-backlay dead ahead now, apparently unconscious of the _Viking's_ approach,and she was soon so near that his escape seemed to Billy to be beyondthe barest chance. The captain waved his hand, calmly looked over thesea, and fell again into his careless position, with one eye on thewhale.
At once the engines stopped and the _Viking_ slipped softly on withdiminishing speed. When she was within thirty yards of the whale,each separate muscle of Billy's body was tight with excitement--butthe whale arched his back and slipped down deep into the water with acontemptuous swing of his broad, strong tail.
"Psh-h!" exclaimed the captain, giving one slippered foot a kick withthe other. "Psh!"
They were running over a stretch of frothy, swirling water, where thewhale had lain a moment before.
"_Hon-g-k_!" from off the starboard quarter.
The captain signaled the steersman, who shouted "Full speed!" down thewheel-house tube. In a flash they were chug-chugging in haste afteranother whale--which eluded them at once, with no more fuss than thefirst had made: no blowing and frantic splashing; just a lifting of theback and a languid swing of the tail. Thus the third, the fourth, thefifth: again and again, through the hours of that quiet morning, theygave chase; but all to no purpose--on the contrary, indeed, with thebad effect of alarming the whole school. The whales made sport of them;the flash of their fins, as they slipped away beyond pursuit, was mostaggravating.
Soon the captain's "Psh!" became guttural, and communicated itselfto the man in the crow's-nest and the engineer who was off duty; theelusive fin-backs were too much for the patience of them all. But forhours the "old man" leaned on the gun and smoked his pipe, intent onthe chase through every moment of that time. He kicked his right footwith his left; his broad back shook with rage; strange ejaculationsdrifted back with the clouds of tobacco smoke: that was all. Repeateddisappointment but heightened the alertness and eagerness of the crew.Every lost whale was dismissed with a "Psh-h!" and quite forgotten inthe pursuit of the next one.
Nine hours out from Snook's Arm and six with the school withoutpointing a gun!
"Agh!" the captain exclaimed, jumping from the gun platform, at last,"the whale captain have the worst business of all men. Agh! but I wishfor rough seas. But I wish I had my harpoon in the back of some whale."
All days are not blue. Before the summer was over, Billy Topsaillearned there were times when the _Viking_ put out from the shelter ofSnook's Arm to a sea that _is_ rough. A gale from the northeast, grayand gusty, whips up the white horses, and frost gives new weight to thewater. Wind and fog and high seas and sleet make the chase perilousas well as bitter. She stumbles through the waves and wallows in thetrough with a clear-cut duty before her--to catch and kill a whale: thelittle niceties of dodging breaking waves cannot be indulged in whenall manoevering must be directed towards coming up with the quarryfrom the proper firing-quarter.
But Billy's first day was clear and quiet; and the whales were having aglorious innings with the enemy.
* * * * *
By noon the prospects for a kill had faded to a bare possibility; theschool had been well scattered. Down the coast and up the coast, out tosea and far away across the bay, puffs of spray made known the variousdirections the whales had taken. About two o'clock--ten hours out fromSnook's Arm, with no let up in duty--the crew were attracted by thedeep, long _hon-g-k_ of a big fellow out to sea and by the spouting ofhis two companions: a group of three, male and female, doubtless, witha well-grown young one. They gave chase. Captain and crew had come tothat pass when fury gets the better of patience.
It was determined to hunt that little school to the death or until deepnight put an end to the chase.
"I get 'im," said the captain between his teeth. "He is big. I gethim--or none."
It was not easy to get him. They were led twenty miles to sea in shortrushes, each of which ended in disappointment and elicited a storm ofguttural ejaculations; they were lured inshore, where submerged rockswere a menace; they were taken up the coast and back again towards theislands of the lower shore and once more to sea. Mile after mile--hourafter hour! They came near--they could have hit the beast with astone. Occasionally the captain swung the gun into position and put ahand on the trigger; but the arching back always gave notice, in goodtime, that he had been balked again. They tried to guess the pointwhere the quarry would rise; they steamed near that point, and laythere waiting.
"_Hon-g-k_!" from half a mile astern.
"Agh!" cried the captain, chagrin twisting his face. "The whale captainhave pos--ee--tiv--lee the worst----! Full speed!"
Off again in persistent chase. Meantime the sun had declined; eveningwas drawing on, with gray clouds mounting in the west, and a breezerising inshore. The sea was spread with shadow, and all the ripplesgrew to little waves, which, hissing as they broke, obscured the swishof water at our bows. The opportunity was better, and the whales, itmay be, had acquired the inevitable contempt that familiarity breeds.The _Viking_ crept nearer. Each time, a little nearer; and, by and by,when she had come within range--within range for the first time thatday--and was running at half speed, with the grayish-black backs mosttemptingly exposed, the captain dropped the muzzle of the gun, tookswift sight, and--swung the gun around with impatient force! The whalewas gone on the long dive before a vital spot had been exposed.
There was no impatience of action aboard the _Viking_: the harpoonmight even then have been fast in the whale's back, but the captain hadcoolly withheld his stroke until the opportunity should be preciselywhat he sought. And this display of patience after a fruitless chase offifteen hours! Billy Topsail gasped his disappointment. But the captainlaughed.
"I get him yet," he said. "Soon, now," after a look at sea anddarkening sky.