Frank Thomas Bullen

“ I have seen a group of Naval officers brave a most tempestuous passage of half an hour’s duration, the picquet boat taking green water over as she plunged through the seas, merely to have an hour’s lawn tennis or golf and come off again, and I have known repeatedly whalemen brave the terrors of the great Southern ocean rollers in half a gale of wind at night merely in order to have a chat with some fresh fellows, exchange a few ideas that to strangers might have the merit of novelty. ”

“ On deck it was beautiful; a strong breeze was blowing, and the sturdy ship under easy sail was making good way through the water. Under the brilliant moon the bold outlines of his island home were fast fading into indistinctness, and for all his high resolves he felt a pang as he thought of all that he had left and the unknown troubles he was going to meet. And then a deep kindly voice behind him said—
“Well, Mr. Man, feeling a bit homesick, are ye? That’ll wear off mighty sudden, but in the meantime you’ve got to have some clothes. Come down into the cuddy and I’ll fit ye up.” ”

“ As soon as she had disappeared Philip cried, “Out oars, boys, and let’s get home,” following up his order by breaking out into song, in which all the twelve lustily joined in perfect harmony until nearing the beach, upon which the vast rollers of the Pacific, despite the glorious weather, broke in massive rollers topped with dazzling foam. A sweep or two of the steering oars and the graceful craft swung round head to seaward, and as the mighty combers came irresistibly shoreward just a measured stroke or two was made to meet them. ”

“ Burnt black by the sun, every bone showing clearly beneath the strained withered skin, hair and beards like weeds, and lying in the bottom of the boat sundry awful fragments of humanity that told their own horrible tale of cannibalism. And a foul stench arose from the boat which befouled the pure air and made the visitors feel deathly sick.
It was no time, however, to give way to any weakness of that sort, especially as they had nothing with them in the way of restoratives, supposing that any life remained in these pitiful relics of human beings. ”

“ Merritt’s grip, the boat steerer of the rushing craft made a mighty effort, bending his steer oar like a great bow, and she flew past them only a few feet away. It was a breathless moment, but such are frequent in this strenuous business, and except at the moment are thought little of. Here, if anywhere, the proverb of a miss being as good as a mile holds true—it generally means the difference between life and death.
Slowly, certainly, fake after fake of the line left the tub until it was exhausted, and now the smaller one began to empty in its turn. ”

“ So at eight bells, 8 p.m., as her lights were seen stationary abeam about a mile away, a boat was lowered from the Eliza Adams into which the captain and C. B. with the boat’s crew descended, and pulled away into the darkness until the dim black hull of the vessel they are bound to suddenly loomed huge and threatening from the darkness.
“Ship ahoy!” roared the skipper. “Here’s Captain Taber of the Eliza Adams come a gamming.” ”

“ Beloved children, especially you by my side, Grace and Philip; I am full of joy at being among you at this happy time. Surely we are peculiarly blessed among all the people on earth, here in this little out-of-the-way corner of the great globe. We live in love, fearing no evil, having all our wants supplied to the full. We suffer neither from cold nor heat ”

“ Happy in the coarse shirt and trousers, bare headed and shoeless, but well nourished and healthy, how could he understand the myriad artificial cravings that shut out from the soul all desire for true happiness, or how in his perfect faith in the love of God and His creation could he realize the awful fear of eternal punishment that prompted men into excesses of religiousness in order to escape from what they felt was the inevitable due of their misdeeds. ”

“ Philip, perched on a pair of cleats in the stern, guided the boat, which was well ahead of her sister, as she silently stole nearer the victim. Presently Philip swung his boat round, making the signal to the harponeer to spring to his feet with his weapon as the boat glided alongside the quiet monster. And, then to the amazement of everybody, Philip shouted, “Put that iron down, Fletcher! This whale is safe from us. Look, boys!” All hands did look, and saw that the object of their pursuit was a cow with a calf clinging to her huge breast, the nipple held in the angle of its immature jaw. ”

“ Merritt had got the cap off his favourite lance’s point there was a sudden cessation of the uproar, a huge whirling in the sea and the vast body sank from sight, slowly, majestically, as if the monster had suddenly regained the dignity befitting him in spite of these new and terrifying circumstances. Now the line attached to the harpoon led right aft, round a stout oak post built solidly in the boat, the “loggerhead,” and thence into the tub where two hundred fathoms of it was neatly coiled, a smaller tub on the other side of the boat holding a hundred fathoms, but all in one length. ”

“ Stewart, holding out his hand, blurted out, “Mr. Christmas, you’re the whitest man I know. And if you can believe me, there isn’t anything that lies in my power to do for you that I won’t do on the word. So give it a name and let me show my gratitude.”
It was then Mr. Stewart’s turn to feel astonished and set back, for C. B. with some dignity replied, “Mr. Stewart, I don’t understand you. I really haven’t done anything but what any man would have done. I can’t imagine what makes you American gentlemen and ladies try and spoil a poor man like me. ”

“ Flinging the warp or line by which it was attached to the bow oarsman, he snatched another lance, uncapped it, and was about to repeat his assault, when there came a warning shout from C. B. as the agonized monster turned a somersault, his huge flukes snapping in the air as he brandished them frantically.
“Stern, stern,” roared Merritt, and all the energy the crew possessed went into those awkward strokes, while the turmoil made by the maddened whale was deafening. ”

“ Few things try my patience more than to listen to hair-splitting doctrinal arguments, whether they be on so-called New Theology, or the cut of ecclesiastical vestments, while my mind reverts to the lonely soul in the ship’s fo’c’sle, who has just given his heart to the Lord, and has been compelled by the exigencies of his calling to go back to the foul life and conversation which never irked him before, but now is torture.
The proverb that a man is known by the company he keeps has no meaning at sea because your company is not of your own choosing. ”

“ Stewart proving himself to be a golden talker upon an immense variety of subjects, while the car, having been very gently attached to the engine, began to glide out of the station with an easy motion almost akin to that of a ship, the great machine being beautifully balanced upon many springs so that even the casually laid road-bed did not make it jolt, only sway and roll slightly, keeping up the nautical comparison. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Two big tears rolled quickly out of Captain Taber’s eyes and down his cheeks as he strove to speak. At last he said—
“Stewart, I would refuse if I could, but how can I? I’m a broken man and all I have been able to save, having been a fairly lucky whaleman too, is five thousand dollars. I have three youngsters, two boys and a girl, none old enough to begin the world, and I have been worried about the future. But Christmas taught me to pray and rest in the Lord, and since then I’ve been happier, feeling that He would see me through in His own way.” ”