Un capitaine de quinze ans. English Read online

  CHAPTER VI.

  A WHALE IN SIGHT.

  It was only what might be expected that the dog's singular exhibitionof sagacity should repeatedly form a subject of conversation betweenMrs. Weldon, the captain, and Dick. The young apprentice in particularbegan to entertain a lurking feeling of distrust towards Negoro,although it must be owned that the man's conduct in general afforded notangible grounds for suspicion.

  Nor as it only among the stern passengers that Dingo's remarkable featwas discussed; amongst the crew in the bow the dog not only soon gainedthe reputation of being able to read, but was almost credited withbeing able to write too, as well as any sailor among them; indeed thechief wonder was that he did not speak.

  "Perhaps he can," suggested Bolton, the helmsman, "and likely enoughsome fine day we shall have him coming to ask about our bearings, andto inquire which way the wind lies."

  "Ah! why not?" assented another sailor; "parrots talk, and magpiestalk; why shouldn't a dog? For my part, I should guess it must beeasier to speak with a mouth than with a beak."

  "Of course it is," said Howick, the boatswain; "only a quadruped hasnever yet been known to do it."

  Perhaps, however, the worthy fellow would have been amazed to hear thata certain Danish _savant_ once possesed a dog that could actuallypronounce quite distinctly nearly twenty different words, demonstratingthat the construction of the glottis, the aperture at the top of thewindpipe, was adapted for the emission of regular sounds: of course theanimal attached no meaning to the words it uttered any more than aparrot or a jay can comprehend their own chatterings.

  "This Dingo is nothing out of the way."]

  Thus, unconsciously, Dingo had become the hero of the hour. On severalseparate occasions Captain Hull repeated the experiment of spreadingout the blocks before him, but invariably with the same result; the dognever failed, without the slightest hesitation, to pick out the twoletters, leaving all the rest of the alphabet quite unnoticed.

  Cousin Benedict alone, somewhat ostentatiously, professed to take nointerest in the circumstance.

  "You cannot suppose," he said to Captain Hull, after variousrepetitions of the trick, "that dogs are to be reckoned the onlyanimals endowed with intelligence Rats, you know, will always leave asinking ship, and beavers invariably raise their dams before theapproach of a flood. Did not the horses of Nicomedes, Scanderberg andOppian die of grief for the loss of their masters? Have there not beeninstances of donkeys with wonderful memories? Birds, too, have beentrained to do the most remarkable things; they have been taught towrite word after word at their master's dictation; there are cockatooswho can count the people in a room as accurately as a mathematician;and haven't you heard of the old Cardinal's parrot that he would notpart with for a hundred gold crowns because it could repeat theApostles' creed from beginning to end without a blunder? And insects,"he continued, warming into enthusiasm, "how marvellously they vindicatethe axiom--

  'In minimis maximus Deus!'

  Are not the structures of ants the very models for the architects of acity? Has the diving-bell of the aquatic argyroneta ever been surpassedby the invention of the most skilful student of mechanical art? Andcannot fleas go through a drill and fire a gun as well as the mostaccomplished artilleryman? This Dingo is nothing out of the way. Isuppose he belongs to some unclassed species of mastiff. Perhaps oneday or other he may come to be identified as the 'canis alphabeticus'of New Zealand."

  The worthy entomologist delivered this and various similar harangues;but Dingo, nevertheless, retained his high place in the generalestimation, and by the occupants of the forecastle was regarded aslittle short of a phenomenon. The feeling, otherwise universal, was notin any degree shared by Negoro, and it is not improbable that the manwould have been tempted to some foul play with the dog if the opensympathies of the crew had not kept him in check. More than ever hestudiously avoided coming in contact in any way with the animal, andDick Sands in his own mind was quite convinced that since the incidentof the letters, the cook's hatred of the dog had become still moreintense.

  After continual alternations with long and wearisome calms thenorth-east wind perceptibly moderated, and on the both, Captain Hullreally began to hope that such a change would ensue as to allow theschooner to run straight before the wind. Nineteen days had elapsedsince the "Pilgrim" had left Auckland, a period not so long but thatwith a favourable breeze it might be made up at last. Some days howeverwere yet to elapse before the wind veered round to the anticipatedquarter.

  It has been already stated that this portion of the Pacific is almostalways deserted. It is out of the line of the American and Australiansteam-packets, and except a whaler had been brought into it by somesuch exceptional circumstances as the "Pilgrim," it was quite unusualto see one in this latitude.

  But, however void of traffic was the surface of the sea, to none but anunintelligent mind could it appear monotonous or barren of interest.The poetry of the ocean breathes forth in its minute and almostimperceptible changes. A marine plant, a tuft of seaweed lightlyfurrowing the water, a drifting spar with its unknown history, mayafford unlimited scope--for the imagination; every little drop passing,in its process of evaporation, backwards and forwards from sea to sky,might perchance reveal its own special secret; and happy are thoseminds which are capable of a due appreciation of the mysteries of airand ocean.

  Occasionally Dick Sands would take a pistol, and now andthen a rifle.]

  Above the surface as well as below, the restless flood is ever teamingwith animal life; and the passengers on board the "Pilgrim" derived nolittle amusement from watching great flocks of birds migratingnorthwards to escape the rigour of the polar winter, and ever and againdescending in rapid flight to secure some tiny fish. Occasionally DickSands would take a pistol, and now and then a rifle, and, thanks to Mr.Weldon's former instructions, would bring down various specimens of thefeathered tribe.

  Sometimes white petrels would congregate in considerable numbers nearthe schooner; and sometimes petrels of another species, with brownborders on their wings, would come in sight; now there would be flocksof damiers skimming the water; and now groups of penguins, whose clumsygait appears so ludicrous on shore; but, as Captain Hull pointed out,when their stumpy wings were employed as fins, they were a match forthe most rapid of fish, so that sailors have often mistaken them forbonitos.

  High over head, huge albatrosses, their outspread wings measuring tenfeet from tip to tip, would soar aloft, thence to swoop down towardsthe deep, into which they plunged their beaks in search of food. Suchincidents and scenes as these were infinite in their variety, and itwas accordingly only for minds that were obtuse to the charms of naturethat the voyage could be monotonous.

  On the day the wind shifted, Mrs. Weldon was walking up and down on the"Pilgrim's" stern, when her attention was attracted by what seemed toher a strange phenomenon. All of a sudden, far as the eye could reach,the sea had assumed a reddish hue, as if it were tinged with blood.

  Both Dick and Jack were standing close behind her, and she cried,--

  "Look, Dick, look! the sea is all red. Is it a sea-weed that is makingthe water so strange a colour?

  "No," answered Dick, "it is not a weed; it is what the sailors callwhales' food; it is formed, I believe, of innumerable myriads of minutecrustacea."

  "Crustacea they may be," replied Mrs. Weldon, "but they must be sosmall that they are mere insects. Cousin Benedict no doubt will like tosee them."

  She called aloud,--

  "Benedict! Benedict! come here! we have a sight here to interest you."

  The amateur naturalist slowly emerged from his cabin followed byCaptain Hull.

  "Ah! yes, I see!" said the captain; "whales' food; just the opportunityfor you, Mr. Benedict; a chance not to be thrown away for studying oneof the most curious of the crustacea."

  "Nonsense!" ejaculated Benedict contemptuously; "utter nonsense!"

  "Why? what do you mean, Mr. Benedict?" retorted the captain; "surelyyou, as an entomologis
t, must know that I am right in my convictionthat these crustacea belong to one of the six classes of thearticulata."

  The disdain of Cousin Benedict was expressed by a repeated sneer.

  "Are you not aware, sir, that my researches as an entomologist areconfined entirely to the hexapoda?"

  Captain Hull, unable to repress a smile, only answeredgood-humouredly,--

  "I see, sir, your tastes do not lie in the same direction as those ofthe whale."

  And turning to Mrs. Weldon, he continued,--

  "To whalemen, madam, this is a sight that speaks for itself. It is atoken that we ought to lose no time in getting out our lines andlooking to the state of our harpoons. There is game not far away."

  Jack gave vent to his astonishment.

  "Do you mean that great creatures like whales feed on such tiny thingsas these?"

  "Yes, my boy," said the captain; "and I daresay they are as nice tothem as semolina and ground rice are to you.

  "When a whale gets into the middle of them he has nothing to do but toopen his jaws, and, in a minute, hundreds of thousands of these minutecreatures are inside the fringe or whalebone around his palate, and heis sure of a good mouthful."

  "So you see, Jack," said Dick, "the whale gets his shrimps without thetrouble of shelling them."

  "And when he has just closed his snappers is the very time to give hima good taste of the harpoon," added Captain Hull.

  The words had hardly escaped the captain's lips when a shout from oneof the sailors announced,--

  "A whale to larboard!"

  "There's the whale!" repeated the captain. All his professionalinstincts were aroused in an instant, and he hurried to the bow,followed in eager curiosity by all the stern passengers.

  Even Cousin Benedict loitered up in the rear, constrained, in spite ofhimself, to take a share in the general interest.

  There was no doubt about the matter. Four miles or so to windward anunusual commotion in the water betokened to experienced eyes thepresence of a whale; but the distance was too great to permit areasonable conjecture to be formed as to which species of thosemammifers the creature belonged.

  Three distinct species are familiarly known. First there is the Rightwhale, which is ordinarily sought for in the northern fisheries. Theaverage length of this cetacean is sixty feet, though it has been knownto attain the length of eighty feet. It has no dorsal fin, and beneathits skin is a thick layer of blubber. One of these monsters alone willyield as much as a hundred barrels of oil.

  Then there is the Hump-back, a typical representative of the species"balaenoptera," a definition which may at first sight appear to possessan interest for an entomologist, but which really refers to two whitedorsal fins, each half as wide as the body, resembling a pair of wings,and in their formation similar to those of the flying-fish. It must beowned, however, that a flying whale would decidedly be a _rara avis_.

  Lastly, there is the Jubarte, commonly known as the Finback. It isprovided with a dorsal fin, and in length not unfrequently is a matchfor the gigantic Right whale.

  While it was impossible to decide to which of the three species thewhale in the distance really belonged, the general impression inclinedto the belief that it was a jubarte.

  With longing eyes Captain Hull and his crew gazed at the object ofgeneral attraction. Just as irresistibly as it is said a clockmaker isdrawn on to examine the mechanism of every clock which chance may throwin his way, so is a whaleman ever anxious to plunge his harpoon intoany whale that he can get within his reach. The larger the game themore keen the excitement; and no elephant-hunter's eagerness eversurpasses the zest of the whale-fisher when once started in pursuit ofthe prey.

  To the crew the sight of the whale was the opening of an unexpectedopportunity, and no wonder they were fired with the burning hope thateven now they might do something to supply the deficiency of theirmeagre haul throughout the season.

  Far away as the creature still was, the captain's practised eye soonenabled him to detect various indications that satisfied him as to itstrue species. Amongst other things that arrested his attention, heobserved a column of water and vapour ejected from the nostrils. "Itisn't a right whale," he said; "if so, its spout would be smaller andit would rise higher in the air. And I do not think it is a hump-back.I cannot hear the hump-back's roar. Dick, tell me, what do you thinkabout it?"

  With a critical eye Dick Sands looked long and steadily at the spout.

  "It blows out water, sir," said the apprentice, "water, as well asvapour. I should think it is a finback. But it must be a rare largeone."

  "Seventy feet, at least!" rejoined the captain, flushing with hisenthusiasm.

  "What a big fellow!" said Jack, catching the excitement of his elders.

  "What a big fellow!"]

  "Ah, Jack, my boy," chuckled the captain, "the whale little thinks whoare watching him enjoy his breakfast!"

  "Yes," said the boatswain; "a dozen such gentlemen as that wouldfreight a craft twice the size of ours; but this one, if only we canget him, will go a good way towards filling our empty barrels."

  "Rather rough work, you know," said Dick, "to attack a finback!"

  "You are right, Dick," answered the captain; "the boat has yet to bebuilt which is strong enough to resist the flap of a jubarte's tail."

  "But the profit is worth the risk, captain, isn't it?"

  "You are right again, Dick," replied Captain Hull, and as he spoke, heclambered on to the bowsprit in order that he might get a better viewof the whale.

  The crew were as eager as their captain. Mounted on the fore-shrouds,they scanned the movements of their coveted prey in the distance,freely descanting upon the profit to be made out of a good finback anddeclaring that it would be a thousand pities if this chance of fillingthe casks below should be permitted to be lost.

  Captain Hull was perplexed. He bit his nails and knitted his brow.

  "Mamma!" cried little Jack, "I should so much like to see a whaleclose,--quite close, you know."

  "And so you shall, my boy," replied the captain, who was standing by,and had come to the resolve that if his men would back him, he wouldmake an attempt to capture the prize.

  He turned to his crew,--

  "My men! what do you think? shall we make the venture? Remember, we areall alone; we have no whalemen to help us; we must rely upon ourselves;I have thrown a harpoon before now; I can throw a harpoon again; whatdo you say?"

  The crew responded with a ringing cheer,--

  "Ay, ay, sir! Ay, ay!"