time, strange as it may seem, no word of this, the central idea
of all our minds, had been mooted. Every man seemed to shun the
subject, although we were in daily expectation of being called
upon to take an active part in whale-fighting. Once the ice was
broken, nearly all had something to say about it, and very nearly
as many addle-headed opinions were ventilated as at a Colney
Hatch debating society. For we none of us KNEW anything about
it. I was appealed to continually to support this or that theory,
but as far as whaling went I could only, like the rest of them,
draw upon my imagination for details. How did a whale act, what
were the first steps taken, what chance was there of being saved
if your boat got smashed, and so on unto infinity. At last,
getting very tired of this "Portugee Parliament" of all talkers
and no listeners, I went aft to get a drink of water before
turning in. The harpooners and other petty officers were grouped
in the waist, earnestly discussing the pros and cons of attack
upon whales. As I passed I heard the mate's harpooner say,
"Feels like whale about. I bet a plug (of tobacco) we raise
sperm whale to-morrow." Nobody took his bet, for it appeared that
they were mostly of the same mind, and while I was drinking I
heard the officers in dignified conclave talking over the same
thing. It was Saturday evening, and while at home people were
looking forward to a day's respite from work and care, I felt
that the coming day, though never taken much notice of on board,
was big with the probabilities of strife such as I at least had
at present no idea of. So firmly was I possessed by the
prevailing feeling.

The night was very quiet. A gentle breeze was blowing, and the
sky was of the usual "Trade" character, that is, a dome of dark