taken the alarm and cleared out, but the other boats were all
fast to fish, so that didn't matter. Now, at the rate our "game"
were going it would evidently be a long while before they died,
although, being so much smaller than a whale proper, a harpoon
will often kill them at a stroke. Yet they were now so tangled
or "snarled erp," as the mate said, that it was no easy matter to
lance them without great danger of cutting the line. However, we
hauled up as close to them as we dared, and the harpooner got a
good blow in, which gave the biggest of the three "Jesse," as he
said, though why "Jesse" was a stumper. Anyhow, it killed him
promptly, while almost directly after another one saved further
trouble by passing in his own checks. But he sank at the same
time, drawing the first one down with him, so that we were in
considerable danger of having to cut them adrift or be swamped.
The "wheft" was waved thrice as an urgent signal to the ship to
come to our assistance with all speed, but in the meantime our
interest lay in the surviving Black Fish keeping alive. Should
HE die, and, as was most probable, sink, we should certainly have
to cut and lose the lot, tools included.

We waited in grim silence while the ship came up, so slowly,
apparently, that she hardly seemed to move, but really at a good
pace of about four knots an hour, which for her was not at all
bad. She got alongside of us at last, and we passed up the bight
of our line, our fish all safe, very much pleased with ourselves,
especially when we found that the other boats had only five
between the three of them.

The fish secured to the ship, all the boats were hoisted except
one, which remained alongside to sling the bodies. During our