CHAPTER XVII.
"_Pol_. Very like a whale." _Shakespeare._
Notwithstanding the object of their expedition was of a public nature,the feelings which had induced both Griffith and Barnstable to accompanythe Pilot with so much willingness, it will easily be seen, wereentirely personal. The short intercourse that he had maintained with hisassociates enabled the mysterious leader of their party to understandthe characters of his two principal officers so thoroughly, as to inducehim, when he landed, with the purpose of reconnoitering to ascertainwhether the objects of his pursuit still held their determination toassemble at the appointed hour, to choose Griffith and Manual as hisonly associates, leaving Barnstable in command of his own vessel, toawait their return, and to cover their retreat. A good deal of argument,and some little of the authority of his superior officer, was necessaryto make Barnstable quietly acquiesce in this arrangement; but as hisgood sense told him that nothing should be unnecessarily hazarded, untilthe moment to strike the final blow had arrived, he became graduallymore resigned; taking care, however, to caution Griffith to reconnoiterthe abbey while his companion was reconnoitering ---- house. It was thestrong desire of Griffith to comply with this injunction, which carriedthem a little out of their proper path, and led to the consequences thatwe have partly related. The evening of that day was the time when thePilot intended to complete his enterprise, thinking to entrap his gamewhile enjoying the festivities that usually succeed their sports; and anearly hour in the morning was appointed, when Barnstable should appearat the nearest point to the abbey, to take off his countrymen, in orderthat they might be as little as possible subjected to the gaze of theirenemies by daylight. If they failed to arrive at the appointed time, hisinstructions were to return to his schooner, which lay snugly embayed ina secret and retired haven, that but few ever approached, either by landor water.
While the young cornet still continued gazing at the whale-boat (for itwas the party from the schooner that he saw), the hour expired for theappearance of Griffith and his companions; and Barnstable reluctantlydetermined to comply with the letter of his instructions, and leave themto their own sagacity and skill to regain the Ariel. The boat had beensuffered to ride in the edge of the surf, since the appearance of thesun; and the eyes of her crew were kept anxiously fixed on the cliffs,though in vain, to discover the signal that was to call them to theplace of landing. After looking at his watch for the twentieth time, andas often casting glances of uneasy dissatisfaction towards the shore,the lieutenant exclaimed:
"A charming prospect, this, Master Coffin, but rather too much poetryin it for your taste; I believe you relish no land that is of a harderconsistency than mud!"
"I was born on the waters, sir," returned the cockswain, from his snugabode, where he was bestowed with his usual economy of room, "and it'saccording to all things for a man to love his native soil. I'll notdeny, Captain Barnstable, but I would rather drop my anchor on a bottomthat won't broom a keel, though, at the same time, I harbor no greatmalice against dry land."
"I shall never forgive it, myself, if any accident has befallen Griffithin this excursion," rejoined the lieutenant; "his Pilot may be a betterman on the water than on terra firma, long Tom."
The cockswain turned his solemn visage, with an extraordinary meaning,towards his commander, before he replied:
"For as long a time as I have followed the waters, sir, and that hasbeen ever since I've drawn my rations, seeing that I was born while theboat was crossing Nantucket shoals, I've never known a pilot come off ingreater need, than the one we fell in with, when we made that stretch oftwo on the land, in the dog-watch of yesterday."
"Ay! the fellow has played his part like a man; the occasion was great,and it seems that he was quite equal to his work."
"The frigate's people tell me, sir, that he handled the ship like atop," continued the cockswain; "but she is a ship that is a nateralinimy of the bottom!"
"Can you say as much for this boat, Master Coffin?" cried Barnstable:"keep her out of the surf, or you'll have us rolling in upon the beach,presently, like an empty water-cask; you must remember that we cannotall wade, like yourself in two-fathom water."
The cockswain cast a cool glance at the crests of foam that werebreaking over the tops of the billows, within a few yards of where theirboat was riding, and called aloud to his men:
"Pull a stroke or two; away with her into dark water."
The drop of the oars resembled the movements of a nice machine, and thelight boat skimmed along the water like a duck that approaches to thevery brink of some imminent danger, and then avoids it, at the mostcritical moment, apparently without an effort. While this necessarymovement was making, Barnstable arose, and surveyed the cliffs with keeneyes, and then turning once more in disappointment from his search, hesaid:
"Pull more from the land, and let her run down at an easy stroke to theschooner. Keep a lookout at the cliffs, boys; it is possible that theyare stowed in some of the holes in the rocks, for it's no daylightbusiness they are on."
The order was promptly obeyed, and they had glided along for nearly amile in this manner, in the most profound silence, when suddenly thestillness was broken by a heavy rush of air, and a dash of the water,seemingly at no great distance from them.
"By heaven, Tom," cried Barnstable, starting, "there is the blow of awhale!"
"Ay, ay, sir," returned the cockswain with undisturbed composure; "hereis his spout not half a mile to seaward; the easterly gale has driventhe creatur to leeward, and he begins to find himself in shoal water.He's been sleeping, while he should have been working to windward!"
"The fellow takes it coolly, too! he's in no hurry to get an offing!"
"I rather conclude, sir," said the cockswain, rolling over his tobaccoin his mouth very composedly, while his little sunken eyes beganto twinkle with pleasure at the sight, "the gentleman has lost hisreckoning, and don't know which way to head to take himself back intoblue water."
"Tis a finback!" exclaimed the lieutenant; "he will soon make headway,and be off."
"No, sir, 'tis a right-whale," answered Tom; "I saw his spout; he threwup a pair of as pretty rainbows as a Christian would wish to look at.He's a raal oil-butt, that fellow!"
Barnstable laughed, turned himself away from the tempting sight, andtried to look at the cliffs; and then unconsciously bent his longingeyes again on the sluggish animal, who was throwing his huge carcass, attimes, for many feet from the water, in idle gambols. The temptationfor sport, and the recollection of his early habits, at length prevailedover his anxiety in behalf of his friends, and the young officerinquired of his cockswain:
"Is there any whale-line in the boat, to make fast to that harpoon whichyou bear about with you in fair weather or foul?"
"I never trust the boat from the schooner without part of a shot, sir,"returned the cockswain; "there if something nateral in the sight of atub to my old eyes."
Barnstable looked at his watch, and again at the cliffs, when heexclaimed, in joyous tones:
"Give strong way, my hearties! There seems nothing better to be done;let us have a stroke of a harpoon at that impudent rascal."
The men shouted spontaneously, and the old cockswain suffered his solemnvisage to relax into a small laugh, while the whale-boat sprang forwardlike a courser for the goal. During the few minutes they were pullingtowards their game, long Tom arose from his crouching attitude in thestern-sheets, and transferred his huge form to the bows of the boat,where he made such preparations to strike the whale as the occasionrequired. The tub, containing about half of a whale-line, was placed atthe feet of Barnstabie, who had been preparing an oar to steer with inplace of the rudder, which was unshipped, in order that, if necessary,the boat might be whirled round when not advancing.
Their approach was utterly unnoticed by the monster of the deep, whocontinued to amuse himself with throwing the water in two circularspouts high into the air, occasionally flourishing the broad flukes ofhis tail with a graceful but terrifi
c force, until the hardy seamenwere within a few hundred feet of him, when he suddenly cast his headdownward and, without an apparent effort, reared his immense body formany feet above the water, waving his tail violently, and producing awhizzing noise, that sounded like the rushing of winds.
The cockswain stood erect, poising his harpoon, ready for the blow; butwhen he beheld the creature assume this formidable attitude, he wavedhis hand to his commander, who instantly signed to his men to ceaserowing. In this situation the sportsmen rested a few moments, while thewhale, struck several blows on the water in rapid succession, the noiseof which re-echoed along the cliffs, like the hollow reports of somany cannon. After this wanton exhibition of his terrible strength, themonster sank again into his native element, and slowly disappeared fromthe eyes of his pursuers.
"Which way did he head, Tom?" cried Barnstable, the moment the whale wasout of sight.
"Pretty much up and down, sir," returned the cockswain, whose eye wasgradually brightened with the excitement of the sport; "he'll soon runhis nose against the bottom if he stands long on that course, and willbe glad to get another snuff of pure air; send her a few fathoms tostarboard, sir, and I promise we shall not be out of his track."
The conjecture of the experienced old seaman proved true; for in a fewmoments the water broke near them, and another spout was cast intothe air, when the huge animal rushed for half his length in the samedirection, and fell on the sea with a turbulence and foam equal to thatwhich is produced by the launching of a vessel, for the first time, intoits proper element. After this evolution the whale rolled heavily, andseemed to rest for further efforts.
His slightest movements were closely watched by Barnstable and hiscockswain, and when he was in a state of comparative rest, the formergave a signal to his crew to ply their oars once more. A few long andvigorous strokes sent the boat directly up to the broadside of thewhale, with its bows pointing towards one of the fins, which was, attimes, as the animal yielded sluggishly to the action of the waves,exposed to view. The cockswain poised his harpoon with much precision,and then darted it from him with a violence that buried the iron in theblubber of their foe. The instant the blow was made, long Tom shouted,with singular earnestness:
"Starn all!"
"Stern all!" echoed Barnstable; when the obedient seamen, by unitedefforts, forced the boat in a backward direction beyond the reach ofany blow from their formidable antagonist. The alarmed animal, however,meditated no such resistance; ignorant of his own power, and of theinsignificance of his enemies, he sought refuge in flight. One momentof stupid surprise succeeded the entrance of the iron, when he cast hishuge tail into the air, with a violence that threw the sea around himinto increased commotion, and then disappeared with the quickness oflightning, amid a cloud of foam.
"Snub him!" shouted Barnstable; "hold on, Tom; he rises already."
"Ay, ay, sir," replied the composed cockswain, seizing the line,which was running out of the boat with a velocity that rendered such amanoeuvre rather hazardous, and causing it to yield more gradually roundthe large loggerhead that was placed in the bows of the boat for thatpurpose. Presently the line stretched forward, and rising to the surfacewith tremulous vibrations, it indicated the direction in which theanimal might be expected to reappear. Barnstable had cast the bows ofthe boat towards that point, before the terrified and wounded victimrose once more to the surface, whose time was, however, no longer wastedin his sports, but who cast the waters aside as he forced his way, withprodigious velocity, along the surface. The boat was dragged violentlyin his wake, and cut through the billows with a terrific rapidity, thatat moments appeared to bury the slight fabric in the ocean. When longTom beheld his victim throwing his spouts on high again, he pointed withexultation to the jetting fluid, which was streaked with the deep red ofblood, and cried:
"Ay! I've touched the fellow's life! it must be more than two foot ofblubber that stops my iron from reaching the life of any whale that eversculled the ocean!"
"I believe you have saved yourself the trouble of using the bayonet youhave rigged for a lance," said his commander, who entered into the sportwith all the ardor of one whose youth had been chiefly passed in suchpursuits: "feel your line, Master Coffin; can we haul alongside of ourenemy? I like not the course he is steering, as he tows us from theschooner."
"'Tis the creatur's way, sir," said the cockswain; "you know they needthe air in their nostrils, when they run, the same as a man; but layhold, boys, and let's haul up to him."
The seamen now seized the whale-line, and slowly drew their boatto within a few feet of the tail of the fish, whose progress becamesensibly less rapid, as he grew weak with the loss of blood. In a fewminutes he stopped running, and appeared to roll uneasily on the water,as if suffering the agony of death.
"Shall we pull in, and finish him, Tom?" cried Barnstable; "a few setsfrom your bayonet would do it."
The cockswain stood examining his game with cool discretion, and repliedto this interrogatory:
"No, sir, no--he's going into his flurry; there's no occasion fordisgracing ourselves by using a soldier's weapon in taking a whale.Starn off, sir, starn off! the creater's in his flurry!"
The warning of the prudent cockswain was promptly obeyed, and the boatcautiously drew off to a distance, leaving to the animal a clearspace, while under its dying agonies. From a state of perfect rest, theterrible monster threw its tail on high, as when in sport, but its blowswere trebled in rapidity and violence, till all was hid from view by apyramid of foam, that was deeply dyed with blood. The roarings of thefish were like the bellowing of a herd of bulls; and to one who wasignorant of the fact, it would have appeared as if a thousand monsterswere engaged in deadly combat behind the bloody mist that obscured theview. Gradually, these effects subsided, and when the discolored wateragain settled down to the long and regular swell of the ocean, thefish was seen, exhausted, and yielding passively to its fate. As lifedeparted, the enormous black mass rolled to one side; and when the whiteand glistening skin of the belly became apparent, the seamen well knewthat their victory was achieved.
"What's to be done now?" said Barnstable, as he stood and gazed with adiminished excitement at their victim; "he will yield no food, and hiscarcass will probably drift to land, and furnish our enemies with theoil."
"If I had but that creatur in Boston Bay," said the cockswain, "it wouldprove the making of me; but such is my luck forever! Pull up, at anyrate, and let me get my harpoon and line--the English shall never getthem while old Tom Coffin can blow."
"Don't speak too fast," said the strokesman of the boat; "whether he getyour iron or not, here he comes in chase!"
"What mean you, fellow?" cried Barnstable.
"Captain Barnstable can look for himself," returned the seaman, "andtell whether I speak truth."
The young sailor turned, and saw the Alacrity bearing down before thewind, with all her sails set, as she rounded a headland, but a shorthalf-league to windward of the place where the boat lay.
"Pass that glass to me," said the captain, with steady composure. "Thispromises us work in one of two ways: if she be armed, it has become ourturn to run; if not, we are strong enough to carry her."
A very brief survey made the experienced officer acquainted with thetrue character of the vessel in sight; and, replacing the glass withmuch coolness, he said:
"That fellow shows long arms, and ten teeth, besides King George'spennant from his topmast-head. Now, my lads, you are to pull for yourlives; for whatever may be the notions of Master Coffin on the subjectof his harpoon, I have no inclination to have my arms pinioned by JohnBull, though his majesty himself put on the irons."
The men well understood the manner and meaning of their commander; and,throwing aside their coats, they applied themselves in earnest to theirtask. For half an hour a profound silence reigned in the boat, whichmade an amazing progress. But many circumstances conspired to aid thecutter; she had a fine breeze, with smooth water, and a strong tide inher favor; and, at th
e expiration of the time we have mentioned, it wasbut too apparent that the distance between the pursued and thepursuers was lessened nearly by half. Barnstable preserved his steadycountenance, but there was an expression of care gathering around hisdark brow, which indicated that he saw the increasing danger of theirsituation.
"That fellow has long legs, Master Coffin," he said, in a cheerful tone;"your whale-line must go overboard, and the fifth oar must be handled byyour delicate hands."
Tom arose from his seat, and proceeding forward, he cast the tub and itscontents together into the sea, when he seated himself at the bow oar,and, bent his athletic frame with amazing vigor to the task.
"Ah! there is much of your philosophy in that stroke, long Tom," criedhis commander; "keep it up, boys; and if we gain nothing else, we shallat least gain time for deliberation. Come, Master Coffin, what thinkyou! We have three resources before us, let us hear which is jourchoice; first, we can turn and fight and be sunk; secondly, we can pullto the land, and endeavor to make good our retreat to the schooner inthat manner; and thirdly, we can head to the shore, and possibly, byrunning under the guns of that fellow, get the wind of him, and keep theair in our nostrils, after the manner of the whale. Damn the whale! butfor the tow the black rascal gave us, we should have been out of sightof this rover!"
"If we fight," said Tom, with quite as much composure as his commandermanifested, "we shall be taken or sunk; if we land, sir, I shall betaken for one man, as I never could make any headway on dry ground; andif we try to get the wind of him by pulling under the cliffs, we shallbe cut off by a parcel of lubbers that I can see running along theiredges, hoping, I dare say, that they shall be able to get a skulkingshot at a boat's crew of honest seafaring men."
"You speak with as much truth as philosophy, Tom," said Barnstable, whosaw his slender hopes of success curtailed by the open appearance of thehorse and foot on the cliffs. "These Englishmen have not slept the lastnight, and I fear Griffith and Manual will fare but badly. That fellowbrings a capful of wind down with him--'tis just his play, and he walkslike a race-horse. Ha! he begins to be in earnest!"
While Barnstable was speaking, a column of white smoke was seen issuingfrom the bows of the cutter; and as the report of a cannon was waftedto their ears, the shot was seen skipping from wave to wave, tossing thewater in spray, and flying to a considerable distance beyond them. Theseamen cast cursory glances in the direction of the passing ball, but itproduced no manifest effect in either their conduct or appearance. Thecockswain, who scanned its range with an eye of more practice than therest, observed, "That's a lively piece for its metal, and it speaks witha good clear voice; but if they hear it aboard the Ariel, the man whofired it will be sorry it wasn't born dumb."
"You are the prince of philosophers, Master Coffin!" cried Barnstable;"there is some hope in that; let the Englishmen talk away, and, my lifeon it, the Ariels don't believe it is thunder; hand me a musket--I'lldraw another shot."
The piece was given to Barnstable, who discharged it several times, asif to taunt their enemies; and the scheme was completely successful.Goaded by the insults, the cutter discharged gun after gun at the littleboat, throwing the shot frequently so near as to wet her crew with thespray, but without injuring them in the least. The failure of theseattempts of the enemy excited the mirth of the reckless seamen, insteadof creating any alarm; and whenever a shot came nearer than common, thecockswain would utter some such expression as:
"A ground swell, a long shot, and a small object, make a clean target;"or, "A man must squint straight to hit a boat."
As, notwithstanding their unsuccessful gunnery, the cutter wasconstantly gaining on the whale-boat, there was a prospect of a speedytermination of the chase, when the report of a cannon was thrown backlike an echo from one of the Englishman's discharges, and Barnstable andhis companions had the pleasure of seeing the Ariel stretching slowlyout of the little bay where she had passed the night, with the smoke ofthe gun of defiance curling above her taper masts.
A loud and simultaneous shout of rapture was given by the lieutenant andall his boat's crew, at this cheering sight, while the cutter took inall her light sails, and, as she hauled up on a wind, she fired awhole broadside at the successful fugitives. Many stands of grape, withseveral round shot, flew by the boat and fell upon the water near them,raising a cloud of foam, but without doing any injury.
"She dies in a flurry," said Tom, casting his eyes at the little vortexinto which the boat was then entering.
"If her commander be a true man," cried Barnstable, "he'll not leave uson so short an acquaintance. Give way, my souls! give way! I would seemore of this loquacious cruiser."
The temptation for exertion was great, and it was not disregarded by themen; in a few minutes the whale-boat reached the schooner, when the crewof the latter received their commander and his companions with shoutsand cheers that rang across the waters, and reached the ears of thedisappointed spectators on the verge of the cliffs.