CHAPTER XVIII.
"Thus guided on their course they bore, Until they near'd the mainland shore; When frequent on the hollow blast, Wild shouts of merriment were cast." _Lord of the Isles_.
The joyful shouts and hearty cheers of the Ariel's crew continued forsome time after her commander had reached her deck. Barnstable answeredthe congratulations of his officers by cordial shakes of the hand; andafter waiting for the ebullition of delight among the seamen to subsidea little, he beckoned with an air of authority for silence.
"I thank you, my lads, for your good-will," he said, when all weregathered around him in deep attention; "they have given us a toughchase, and if you had left us another mile to go, we had been lost. Thatfellow is a king's cutter; and though his disposition to run to leewardis a good deal mollified, yet he shows signs of fight. At any rate, heis stripping off some of his clothes, which looks as if he were game.Luckily for us, Captain Manual has taken all the marines ashore withhim, (though what he has done with them, or himself, is a mystery,) orwe should have had our decks lumbered with live cattle; but, as it is,we have a good working breeze, tolerably smooth water, and a dead match!There is a sort of national obligation on us to whip that fellow; andtherefore, without more words about the matter, let us turn to and doit, that we may get our breakfasts."
To this specimen of marine eloquence the crew cheered as usual, theyoung men burning for the combat, and the few old sailors who belongedto the schooner shaking their heads with infinite satisfaction, andswearing by sundry strange oaths that their captain "could talk, whenthere was need of such thing, like the best dictionary that ever waslaunched."
During this short harangue and the subsequent comments, the Ariel hadbeen kept, under a cloud of canvas, as near to the wind as she couldlie; and as this was her best sailing, she had stretched swiftly outfrom the land, to a distance whence the cliffs and the soldiers, whowere spread along their summits, became plainly visible. Barnstableturned his glass repeatedly from the cutter to the shore, as differentfeelings predominated in his breast, before he again spoke.
"If Mr. Griffith is stowed away among those rocks," he at length said,"he shall see as pretty an argument discussed, in as few words, ashe ever listened to, provided the gentlemen in yonder cutter have notchanged their minds as to the road they intend to journey--what thinkyou, Mr. Merry?"
"I wish with all my heart and soul, sir," returned the fearless boy,"that Mr. Griffith was safe aboard us; it seems the country is alarmed,and God knows what will happen if he is taken! As to the fellow towindward, he'll find it easier to deal with the Ariel's boat than withher mother; but he carries a broad sail; I question if he means to showplay."
"Never doubt him, boy," said Barnstable, "he is working off the shore,like a man of sense, and besides, he has his spectacles on, trying tomake out what tribe of Yankee Indians we belong to. You'll see him cometo the wind presently, and send a few pieces of iron down this way,by way of letting us know where to find him. Much as I like your firstlieutenant, Mr. Merry, I would rather leave him on the land this day,than see him on my decks. I want no fighting captain to work this boatfor me! But tell the drummer, sir, to beat to quarters."
The boy, who was staggering under the weight of his melodiousinstrument, had been expecting this command, and, without waitingfor the midshipman to communicate the order, he commenced that shortrub-a-dub air, that will at any time rouse a thousand men from thedeepest sleep, and cause them to fly to their means of offence with acommon soul. The crew of the Ariel had been collected in groups studyingthe appearance of the enemy, cracking their jokes, and waiting onlyfor this usual order to repair to the guns; and at the first tap of thedrum, they spread with steadiness to the different parts of thelittle vessel, where their various duties called them. The cannon weresurrounded by small parties of vigorous and athletic young men; the fewmarines were drawn up in array with muskets; the officers appeared intheir boarding-caps, with pistols stuck in their belts, and naked sabresin their hands. Barnstable paced his little quarter-deck with a firmtread, dangling a speaking-trumpet by its lanyard on his forefinger, oroccasionally applying the glass to his eye, which, when not in use, wasplaced under one arm, while his sword was resting against the foot ofthe mainmast; a pair of heavy ship's pistols were thrust into his beltalso; and piles of muskets, boarding-pikes, and naked sabres were placedon different parts of the deck. The laugh of the seamen was heard nolonger, and those who spoke uttered their thoughts only in low andindistinct whispers.
The English cutter held her way from the land, until she got an offingof more than two miles, when she reduced her sails to a yet smallernumber; and, heaving into the wind, she fired a gun in a directionopposite to that which pointed to the Ariel.
"Now I would wager a quintal of codfish, Master Coffin," saidBarnstable, "against the best cask of porter that was ever brewed inEngland, that fellow believes a Yankee schooner can fly in the wind'seye! If he wishes to speak to us, why don't he give his cutter a littlesheet, and come down?"
The cockswain had made his arrangements for the combat, with much moremethod and philosophy than any other man in the vessel. When the drumbeat to quarters, he threw aside his jacket, vest, and shirt, with aslittle hesitation as if he stood under an American sun, and with all thediscretion of a man who had engaged in an undertaking that requiredthe free use of his utmost powers. As he was known to be a privilegedindividual in the Ariel, and one whose opinions, in all matters ofseamanship, were regarded as oracles by the crew, and were listened toby his commander with no little demonstration of respect, the questionexcited no surprise. He was standing at the breech of his long gun, withhis brawny arms folded on a breast that had been turned to the color ofblood by long exposure, his grizzled locks fluttering in the breeze, andhis tall form towering far above the heads of all near him.
"He hugs the wind, sir, as if it was his sweetheart," was his answer;"but he'll let go his hold soon; and if he don't, we can find a way tomake him fall to leeward."
"Keep a good full!" cried the commander, in a stern voice; "and let thevessel go through the water. That fellow walks well, long Tom; but weare too much for him on a bowline; though, if he continue to draw aheadin this manner, it will be night before we can get alongside him."
"Ay, ay, sir," returned the cockswain; "them cutters carries a press ofcanvas when they seem to have but little; their gafts are all the sameas young booms, and spread a broad head to their mainsails. But it's nohard matter to knock a few cloths out of their bolt-ropes, when she willboth drop astarn and to leeward."
"I believe there is good sense in your scheme, this time," saidBarnstable; "for I am anxious about the frigate's people--though I hatea noisy chase; speak to him, Tom, and let us see if he will answer."
"Ay, ay, sir," cried the cockswain, sinking his body in such a manneras to let his head fall to a level with the cannon that he controlled,when, after divers orders and sundry movements to govern the directionof the piece, he applied a match, with a rapid motion, to the priming.An immense body of white smoke rushed from the muzzle of the cannon,followed by a sheet of vivid fire, until, losing its power, it yieldedto the wind, and, as it rose from the water, spread like a cloud, and,passing through the masts of the schooner, was driven far to leeward,and soon blended in the mists which were swiftly scudding before thefresh breezes of the ocean.
Although many curious eyes were watching this beautiful sight from thecliffs, there was too little of novelty in the exhibition to attracta single look of the crew of the schooner from the more importantexamination of the effect of the shot on their enemy. Barnstable spranglightly on a gun, and watched the instant when the ball would strike,with keen interest, while long Tom threw himself aside from the lineof the smoke with a similar intention; holding one of his long armsextended toward his namesake, with a finger on the vent, and supportinghis frame by placing the hand of the other on the deck, as his eyesglanced through an opposite port-hole, in an attitude that most menmight have despaired of imitat
ing with success.
"There go the chips!" cried Barnstable. "Bravo! Master Coffin, you neverplanted iron in the ribs of an English man with more judgment. Let himhave another piece of it; and if he like the sport, we'll play a game oflong bowls with him!"
"Ay, ay, sir," returned the cockswain, who, the instant he witnessed theeffects of his shot, had returned to superintend the reloading of hisgun; "if he holds on half an hour longer, I'll dub him down to our ownsize, when we can close, and make an even fight of it."
The drum of the Englishman was now, for the first time, heard rattlingacross the waters, and echoing the call to quarters, that had alreadyproceeded from the Ariel.
"Ay! you have sent him to his guns!" said Barnstable; "we shall now hearmore of it; wake him up, Tom--wake him up."
"We shall start him on end, or put him to sleep altogether, shortly,"said the deliberate cockswain, who never allowed himself to be at allhurried, even by his commander. My shot are pretty much like a shoal ofporpoises, and commonly sail in each other's wake. Stand by--heave herbreech forward--so; get out of that, you damned young reprobate, and letmy harpoon alone!"
"What are you at, there, Master Coffin?" cried Barnstable; "are youtongue-tied?"
"Here's one of the boys skylarking with my harpoon in the lee-scuppers,and by and by, when I shall want it most, there'll be a no-man's land tohunt for it in."
"Never mind the boy, Tom; send him aft here to me, and I'll polish hisbehavior; give the Englishman some more iron."
"I want the little villain to pass up my cartridges," returned the angryold seaman; "but if you'll be so good, sir, as to hit him a crack ortwo, now and then, as he goes by you to the magazine, the monkey willlearn his manners, and the schooner's work will be all the better donefor it. A young herring-faced monkey! to meddle with a tool ye don'tknow the use of. If your parents had spent more of their money on youredication, and less on your outfit, you'd ha' been a gentleman to whatye are now."
"Hurrah! Tom, hurrah!" cried Barnstable, a little impatiently; "is yournamesake never to open his throat again!"
"Ay, ay, sir; all ready," grumbled the cockswain; "depress a little;so--so; a damned young baboon-behaved curmudgeon; overhaul that forwardfall more; stand by with your match--but I'll pay him!--fire!" Thiswas the actual commencement of the fight; for as the shot of Tom Coffintraveled, as he had intimated, very much in the same direction, theirenemy found the sport becoming too hot to be endured in silence, and thereport of the second gun from the Ariel was instantly followed by thatof the whole broadside of the Alacrity. The shot of the cutter flew in avery good direction, but her guns were too light to give them efficiencyat that distance; and as one or two were heard to strike against thebends of the schooner, and fall back, innocuously, into the water, thecockswain, whose good-humor became gradually restored as the combatthickened, remarked with his customary apathy:
"Them count for no more than love-taps--does the Englishman think thatwe are firing salutes!"
"Stir him up, Tom! every blow you give him will help to open his eyes,"cried Barnstable, rubbing his hands with glee, as he witnessed thesuccess of his efforts to close.
Thus far the cockswain and his crew had the fight, on the part of theAriel, altogether to themselves, the men who were stationed at thesmaller and shorter guns standing in perfect idleness by their sides;but in ten or fifteen minutes the commander of the Alacrity, who hadbeen staggered by the weight of the shot that had struck him, foundthat it was no longer in his power to retreat, if he wished it; when hedecided on the only course that was left for a brave man to pursue, andsteered boldly in such a direction as would soonest bring him in contactwith his enemy, without exposing his vessel to be raked by his fire.Barnstable watched each movement of his foe with eagle eyes, and whenthe vessel had got within a lessened distance, he gave the order for ageneral fire to be opened. The action now grew warm and spirited on bothsides. The power of the wind was counteracted by the constant explosionof the cannon; and, instead of driving rapidly to leeward, a whitecanopy of curling smoke hung above the Ariel, or rested on thewater, lingering in her wake, so as to mark the path by which she wasapproaching to a closer and still deadlier struggle. The shouts of theyoung sailors, as they handled their instruments of death, became moreanimated and fierce, while the cockswain pursued his occupation with thesilence and skill of one who labored in a regular vocation. Barnstablewas unusually composed and quiet, maintaining the grave deportment of acommander on whom rested the fortunes of the contest, at the same timethat his dark eyes were dancing with the fire of suppressed animation.
"Give it them!" he occasionally cried, in a voice that might be heardamid the bellowing of the cannon; "never mind their cordage, my lads;drive home their bolts, and make your marks below their ridge-ropes."
In the mean time the Englishman played a manful game.
He had suffered a heavy loss by the distant cannonade, which no metal hepossessed could retort upon his enemy; but he struggled nobly to repairthe error in judgment with which he had begun the contest. The twovessels gradually drew nigher to each other, until they both enteredinto the common cloud created by their fire, which thickened and spreadaround them in such a manner as to conceal their dark hulls from thegaze of the curious and interested spectators on the cliffs. The heavyreports of the cannon were now mingled with the rattling of musketsand pistols, and streaks of fire might be seen glancing like flashes oflightning through the white cloud which enshrouded the combatants;and many minutes of painful uncertainty followed, before the deeplyinterested soldiers, who were gazing at the scene, discovered on whosebanners victory had alighted.
We shall follow the combatants into their misty wreath, and display tothe reader the events as they occurred.
The fire of the Ariel was much the most quick and deadly, both becauseshe had suffered less, and her men were less exhausted; and the cutterstood desperately on to decide the combat, after grappling, hand tohand. Barnstable anticipated her intention and well understood hercommander's reason for adopting this course; but he was not a man tocalculate coolly his advantages, when pride and daring invited him to amore severe trial. Accordingly, he met the enemy half-way, and, as thevessels rushed together, the stern of the schooner was secured to thebows of the cutter, by the joint efforts of both parties. The voiceof the English commander was now plainly to be heard, in the uproar,calling to his men to follow him.
"Away there, boarders! repel boarders on the starboard quarter!" shoutedBarnstable, through his trumpet.
This was the last order that the gallant young sailor gave with thisinstrument; for, as he spoke, he cast it from him, and, seizing hissabre, flew to the spot where the enemy was about to make his mostdesperate effort. The shouts, execrations, and tauntings of thecombatants, now succeeded to the roar of the cannon, which could beused no longer with effect, though the fight was still maintained withspirited discharges of the small-arms.
"Sweep him from his decks!" cried the English commander, as he appearedon his own bulwarks, surrounded by a dozen of his bravest men; "drivethe rebellious dogs into the sea!"
"Away there, marines!" retorted Barnstable, firing his pistol at theadvancing enemy; "leave not a man of them to sup his grog again."
The tremendous and close volley that succeeded this order nearlyaccomplished the command of Barnstable to the letter, and the commanderof the Alacrity, perceiving that he stood alone, reluctantly fell backon the deck of his own vessel, in order to bring on his men once more.
"Board her! graybeards and boys, idlers and all!" shouted Barnstable,springing in advance of his crew--a powerful arm arrested the movementof the dauntless seaman, and before he had time to recover himself, hewas drawn violently back to his own vessel by the irresistible grasp ofhis cockswain.
"The fellow's in his flurry," said Tom, "and it wouldn't be wise to gowithin reach of his flukes; but I'll just step ahead and give him a setwith my harpoon."
Without waiting for a reply, the cockswain reared his tall frame on t
hebulwarks, and was in the attitude of stepping on board of his enemy,when a sea separated the vessels, and he fell with a heavy dash of thewaters into the ocean. As twenty muskets and pistols were discharged atthe instant he appeared, the crew of the Ariel supposed his fall to beoccasioned by his wounds, and were rendered doubly fierce by the sight,and the cry of their commander to:
"Revenge long Tom! board her! long Tom or death!"
They threw themselves forward in irresistible numbers, and forced apassage, with much bloodshed, to the forecastle of the Alacrity. TheEnglishman was overpowered, but still remained undaunted--he rallied hiscrew, and bore up most gallantly to the fray. Thrusts of pikes and blowsof sabres were becoming close and deadly, while muskets and pistolswere constantly discharged by those who were kept at a distance by thepressure of the throng of closer combatants.
Barnstable led his men in advance, and became a mark of peculiarvengeance to his enemies, as they slowly yielded before his vigorousassaults. Chance had placed the two commanders on opposite sides of thecutter's deck, and the victory seemed to incline towards either party,whenever these daring officers directed the struggle in person. But theEnglishman, perceiving that the ground he maintained in person waslost elsewhere, made an effort to restore the battle, by changing hisposition, followed by one or two of his best men. A marine, who precededhim, leveled his musket within a few feet of the head of the Americancommander, and was about to fire, when Merry glided among thecombatants, and passed his dirk into the body of the man, who fellat the blow; shaking his piece, with horrid imprecations, the woundedsoldier prepared to deal his vengeance on his youthful assailant, whenthe fearless boy leaped within its muzzle, and buried his own keenweapon in his heart.
"Hurrah!" shouted the unconscious Barnstable, from the edge of thequarter-deck, where, attended by a few men, he was driving all beforehim. "Revenge!--long Tom and victory!"
"We have them!" exclaimed the Englishman; "handle your pikes! we havethem between two fires."
The battle would probably have terminated very differently from whatprevious circumstances had indicated, had not a wild-looking figureappeared in the cutter's channels at that moment, issuing from the sea,and gaining the deck at the same instant. It was long Tom, with his ironvisage rendered fierce by his previous discomfiture, and his grizzledlocks drenched with the briny element from which he had risen, lookinglike Neptune with his trident. Without speaking, he poised his harpoon,and, with a powerful effort, pinned the unfortunate Englishman to themast of his own vessel.
"Starn all!" cried Tom by a sort of instinct, when the blow was struck;and catching up the musket of the fallen marine, he dealt out terribleand fatal blows with its butt on all who approached him, utterlydisregarding the use of the bayonet on its muzzle. The unfortunatecommander of the Alacrity brandished his sword with frantic gestures,while his eyes rolled in horrid wildness, when he writhed for an instantin his passing agonies, and then, as his head dropped lifeless upon hisgored breast, he hung against the spar, a spectacle of dismay to hiscrew, A few of the Englishmen stood chained to the spot in silent horrorat the sight, but most of them fled to their lower deck, or hastenedto conceal themselves in the secret parts of the vessel, leaving to theAmericans the undisputed possession of the Alacrity.
Two-thirds of the cutter's crew suffered either in life or limbs, bythis short struggle; nor was the victory obtained by Barnstable withoutpaying the price of several valuable lives. The first burst of conquestwas not, however, the moment to appreciate the sacrifice, and loud andreiterated shouts proclaimed the exultation of the conquerors. Asthe flush of victory subsided, however, recollection returned, andBarnstable issued such orders as humanity and his duty renderednecessary. While the vessels were separating, and the bodies of the deadand wounded were removing, the conqueror paced the deck of his prize, asif lost in deep reflection. He passed his hand, frequently, across hisblackened and blood-stained brow, while his eyes would rise to examinethe vast canopy of smoke that was hovering above the vessels, like adense fog exhaling from the ocean. The result of his deliberations wassoon announced to the crew.
"Haul down all your flags," he cried; "set the Englishman's colorsagain, and show the enemy's jack above our ensign in the Ariel."
The appearance of the whole channel-fleet within half gunshot wouldnot have occasioned more astonishment among the victors than thisextraordinary mandate. The wondering seamen suspended their severalemployments, to gaze at the singular change that was making in theflags, those symbols that were viewed with a sort of reverence; but nonepresumed to comment openly on the procedure except long Tom, who stoodon the quarter-deck of the prize, straightening the pliable iron of theharpoon which he had recovered with as much care and diligence as if itwere necessary to the maintenance of their conquest. Like the others,however, he suspended his employment when he heard this order, andmanifested no reluctance to express his dissatisfaction at the measure.
"If the Englishmen grumble at the fight, and think it not fair play,"muttered the old cockswain, "let us try it over again, sir; as they aresomewhat short of hands, they can send a boat to the land, and get off agang of them lazy riptyles, the soldiers, who stand looking at us, likeso many red lizards crawling on a beach, and we'll give them anotherchance; but damme, if I see the use of whipping them, if this is to bethe better end of the matter."
"What's that you're grumbling there, like a dead northeaster, youhorse-mackerel?" said Barnstable; "where are our friends and countrymenwho are on the land? Are we to leave them to swing on gibbets or rot indungeons?"
The cockswain listened with great earnestness, and when his commanderhad spoken, he struck the palm of his broad hand against his brawnythigh, with a report like a pistol, and answered:
"I see how it is, sir; you reckon the red-coats have Mr. Griffith intow. Just run the schooner into shoal water, Captain Barnstable, anddrop an anchor, where we can get the long gun to bear on them, and giveme the whale-boat and five or six men to back me--they must have longlegs if they get an offing before I run them aboard!"
"Fool! do you think a boat's crew could contend with fifty armedsoldiers?"
"Soldiers!" echoed Tom, whose spirits had been strongly excited by theconflict, snapping his fingers with ineffable disdain; "that for all thesoldiers that were ever rigged: one whale could kill a thousand of them!and here stands the man that has killed his round hundred of whales!"
"Pshaw, you grampus, do you turn braggart in your old age?"
"It's no bragging, sir, to speak a log-book truth! but if CaptainBarnstable thinks that old Tom Coffin carries a speaking-trumpet for afigure-head, let him pass the word forrard to man the boats."
"No, no, my old master at the marlinspike," said Barnstable, kindly, "Iknow thee too well, thou brother of Neptune! but shall we not throw thebread-room dust in those Englishmen's eyes, by wearing their bunting awhile, till something may offer to help our captured countrymen."
The cockswain shook his head and cogitated a moment, as if struck withsundry new ideas, when he answered:
"Ay, ay, sir; that's blue-water philosophy: as deep as the sea! Let theriptyles clew up the corners of their mouths to their eyebrows, now!when they come to hear the ra'al Yankee truth of the matter, they willsheet them down to their leather neckcloths!"
With this reflection the cockswain was much consoled, and the businessof repairing damages and securing the prize proceeded without furtherinterruption on his part. The few prisoners who were unhurt were rapidlytransferred to the Ariel. While Barnstable was attending to this duty,an unusual bustle drew his eyes to one of the hatchways, where he behelda couple of his marines dragging forward a gentleman, whose demeanorand appearance indicated the most abject terror. After examining theextraordinary appearance of this individual, for a moment, in silentamazement, the lieutenant exclaimed:
"Who have we here? some amateur in fights! an inquisitive,wonder-seeking non-combatant, who has volunteered to serve his king, andperhaps draw a picture, or write a book, to serve hi
mself! Pray, sir, inwhat capacity did you serve in this vessel?"
The captive ventured a sidelong glance at his interrogator, in whom heexpected to encounter Griffith, but perceiving that it was a face he didnot know, he felt a revival of confidence that enabled him to reply:
"I came here by accident; being on board the cutter at the time her latecommander determined to engage you. It was not in his power to land me,as I trust you will not hesitate to do; your conjecture of my being anon-combatant--"
"Is perfectly true," interrupted Barnstable; "it requires no spyglassto read that name written on you from stem to stern: but for certainweighty reasons--"
He paused to turn at a signal given him by young Merry, who whisperedeagerly, in his ear:
"'Tis Mr. Dillon, kinsman of Colonel Howard; I've seen him often,sailing in the wake of my cousin Cicely."
"Dillon!" exclaimed Barnstable, rubbing his hands with pleasure; "what,Kit of that name! he with 'the Savannah face, eyes of black, and skin ofthe same color?' he's grown a little whiter with fear; but he's a prize,at this moment, worth twenty Alacrities!"
These exclamations were made in a low voice, and at some little distancefrom the prisoner, whom he now approached and addressed:
"Policy, and consequently duty, require that I should detain you for ashort time, sir; but you shall have a sailor's welcome to whatever wepossess, to lessen the weight of captivity."
Barnstable precluded any reply, by bowing to his captive, and turningaway to superintend the management of his vessels. In a short time itwas announced that they were ready to make sail, when the Ariel and herprize were brought close to the wind, and commenced beating slowly alongthe land, as if intending to return to the bay whence the latter hadsailed that morning. As they stretched in to the shore on the firsttack, the soldiers on the cliffs rent the air with their shouts andacclamations, to which Barnstable, pointing to the assumed symbolsthat were fluttering in the breeze from his masts, directed his crewto respond in the most cordial manner. As the distance, and the want ofboats, prevented any further communication, the soldiers, after gazingat the receding vessels for a time, disappeared from the cliffs, andwere soon lost from the sight of the adventurous mariners. Hour afterhour was consumed in the tedious navigation, against an adverse tide,and the short day was drawing to a close, before they approached themouth of their destined haven. While making one of their numerousstretches to and from the land, the cutter, in which Barnstablecontinued, passed the victim of their morning's sport, riding on thewater, the waves curling over his huge carcass as on some roundedrock, and already surrounded by the sharks, who were preying on hisdefenceless body.
"See! Master Coffin," cried the lieutenant, pointing out the objectto his cockswain as they glided by it, "the shovel-nosed gentlemen areregaling daintily: you have neglected the Christian's duty of buryingyour dead."
The old seaman cast a melancholy look at the dead whale and replied:
"If I had the creatur in Boston Bay, or on the Sandy Point of Munny-Moy,'twould be the making of me! But riches and honor are for the great andthe larned, and there's nothing left for poor Tom Coffin to do but toveer and haul on his own rolling-tackle, that he may ride out on therest of the gale of life without springing any of his old spars."
"How now, long Tom!" cried his officer, "these rocks and cliffs willshipwreck you on the shoals of poetry yet; you grow sentimental!"
"Them rocks might wrack any vessel that struck them," said the literalcockswain; "and as for poetry, I wants none better than the good oldsong of Captain Kidd; but it's enough to raise solemn thoughts in a CapePoge Indian, to see an eighty-barrel whale devoured by shirks--'tisan awful waste of property! I've seen the death of two hundred of thecreaturs, though it seems to keep the rations of poor old Tom as shortas ever."
The cockswain walked aft, while the vessel was passing the whale, andseating himself on the taffrail, with his face resting gloomily on hisbony hand, he fastened his eyes on the object of his solicitude, andcontinued to gaze at it with melancholy regret, while it was to be seenglistening in the sunbeams, as it rolled its glittering side of whiteinto the air, or the rays fell unreflected on the black and rougher coatof the back of the monster. In the mean time, the navigators diligentlypursued their way for the haven we have mentioned, into which theysteered with every appearance of the fearlessness of friends, and theexultation of conquerors.
A few eager and gratified spectators lined the edges of the small bay,and Barnstable concluded his arrangement for deceiving the enemy, byadmonishing his crew that they were now about to enter on a service thatwould require their utmost intrepidity and sagacity.